Psalm 73; Luke 8:40-56

Last night in church I was reminded of yesterday's post about asking God for wisdom. Sam Evans taught on Ephesians 1, and I particularly noticed vv. 15-19 in which Paul told how he prayed for the believers at Ephesus. First he thanked God for them; then he assured them that he prayed for them constantly "asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God." Just as Solomon did so many centuries ago, we should ask God for this wisdom for ourselves and for one another.

Psalm 73
"Truly God is good to Israel..." and He is good to us too! Even when things look pretty dark and scary and we feel ourselves drifting from God as Asaph did in this Psalm.
  What were Asaph's problems?
  1.  He felt overwhelmed and slipping away from God.
  2.  He envied others.
  3.  He was discouraged and felt sorry for himself. vv. 13-16
(I've been there...how about you?)

  What did he do about it?
  1.  He turned to God for answers. v. 17-20  We have the advantage of God's Word in our hands, and we can always hear from Him about our troubles.
  2.  He confessed his sin. vv. 21-23
  3.  He remembered God's promises. vv. 23-26  We belong to God; He hold our hands and guides us giving us counsel.
  4.  He renewed his dedication and loyalty to God. vv. 25-26

Then Asaph ends where he started--with God's goodness! "But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do."

Luke 8:40-56
Jesus recognized the faith of the sick woman and healed her though many others were also crowding around him. The others may have come out of curiosity or for some selfish reasons, but Jesus knew what was in their hearts. We also see that Jesus had power to raise Jairus' daughter from the dead. This type of miracle was very rare even during Jesus lifetime. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not allow the crowds of people to witness this miracle--just Peter, John, James and the child's parents.

We all have needs and cares and burdens. So how do we increase our faith? It's not by trying harder or otherwise conjuring up emotional intensity. Romans 10:17 tells us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Let's faithfully and consistently stay in God's Word, and He will increase our faith.