God Knows What We Need
Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
"Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!" Matthew 6:8b NLT
Dear Friends,
Over the past few weeks, we have unpacked “The Only Psalm”, (Psalm 62) and listened as David declares God as his Rock, Rest, Rescue, and Refuge. He quickly dismantles any dependence on any other “rock” for safety and then exhorts listeners to “pour out your hearts to God” who alone is our Rock, Rest, Rescue, and Refuge. He doesn’t keep the encouragement that He has received from God to himself. He builds a foundation of faith and then tells us that because of that foundation we can trust every drop of our pain, doubts, fears, and even anger to God’s care. Why can we trust Him? Because God is our Rock, Rest, Rescue, and Refuge.
We also saw that when David says his soul waits in silence on the Lord, there are two ways to view the word “wait.” We wait on the Lord as servants, eager to obey because we can wait on the Lord to care for our needs. Often, we want a list of rules that outline how to “wait” on God. In other words, “Just tell me what to do!” But is that what David means when he uses the word “wait”?
David starts with our hearts and says that because of who God is, we obey out of love and in response to His love. Because of that love, there are actions we must choose to take, but not what we might first suppose.
Tammy Maltby, our guest writer last week and part of this week has experienced trauma and crisis throughout her life. Through it all, her love for Jesus as Lord continues to drive her to embrace disciplines (actions) that are deliberate choices that make a difference in her pathway to restoration. In her book, The God Who Sees, Tammy encourages us to believe that all along the way, though God may seem far away, He is right here, He sees and He is working His perfect eternal purposes for our good. Sometimes there is restoration work taking place in our hearts that we didn’t know we needed. This week Tammy wraps up her devotions by sharing several of those profound moments when those disciplines prepared her to recognize that God’s loving eyes were always on her and helped turn her heart toward Jesus, God’s greatest gift.
I will wrap up this week’s devotionals with a final visit to Psalm 62 as an encouragement that whether the earth shifts beneath our feet or our pathway feels mundane, we will make these words our daily mantra: God, You are MY Rock, MY Rest, MY Rescue, MY Refuge.
Treasured by Him,
Sharon
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
At MARKINC Ministries we produce resources for our Help & Hope library that are conversations with people further along in life who have experienced trauma, crisis, disappointments, and unexpected twists and turns in their lives. No matter how horrific the abuse or circumstances each one always declares, “When I look back over my life, especially at those terribly painful times, I realized Jesus was with me.” Sometimes this confidence in His presence has not been easily won. Years pass with lots of wrestling with the Lord and His promises. Every time I hear such a declaration, I am in awe of the supernatural work of restoration embedded in those words. Think back over your life and identify those times when God was your Rock, Rest, Rescue, and Refuge and you didn’t realize it until many years later.
More free resources for help, hope, & healing:
In His Grip is the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. Chuck F. Betters from almost fifty years in church ministry. This month’s featured series is: The Grapes of Wrath with Dr. Chuck Betters
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Sunday, 29 October 2023.
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