Wednesday Devotion 8-26-20 6 Minutes

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

Our reading this evening comes from Galatians 3:23.

In my devotional reading yesterday,,, I read this from my Logos subscription,,, "Streams In The Desert" that I have and it was titled “Shut up to faith.”

The examples that it used were eye opening for me and hopefully they will be for you as well.

Galatians 3:23 (KJV 1900) 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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God gave us the law so that we could see just how much we needed His saving grace and to help us see that saving ourselves by anything that we try to do is a waste of time.

My Holman Christian Study Bible says that we were "imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed."

So by the law,,, we were imprisoned,,, put in jail basically or as the Streams In The Desert Devotion says,,, "shut up to faith".

It says,,, for by the law we would see God’s holy standard and by the law we would see our utter helplessness; then we would be glad to learn God’s way of faith.

It went on to say that,,, God still shuts us up to faith.

Our natures,,, our circumstances,,, trials,,, disappointments,,, sickness,,, whatever we are going through at the time,,, all serve to shut us up and keep us focused on ourselves and our problems,,, until we see that the only way out,,, is God’s way of faith.

That's why we have the Bible,,, so that we can study and know that others that came before us,,, had their own problems and fears,,, and,,, there are many examples of those that have been "shut up to faith"!

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Moses tried to help out the Israelites,,, by personal influence,,, even by violence,,, to bring about the deliverance of his people.

God had to shut him up forty years in the wilderness before he was prepared for God’s work.

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Paul and Silas were bidden of God to preach the Gospel in Europe.

They landed and proceeded to Philippi.

They were flogged,,, they were shut up in prison,,, their feet were put fast in the stocks.

They were shut up to faith.

But,,, they trusted God.

They sang praises to Him in the darkest hour,,, and God brought deliverance and salvation.

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John was banished to the Isle of Patmos.

He was shut up to faith.

Had he not been so shut up,,, he would never have seen such glorious visions of God.

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It goes on to ask the question,,, are you in some great trouble?

Have you had some great disappointment,,, have you met some sorrow,,, some unspeakable loss?

Are you in a hard place?

Cheer up!

You are shut up to faith.

Take your trouble the right way.

Commit them to God.

Praise Him that He maketh “all things work together for good,” and that “God worketh for him that waiteth for him.”

He ends by saying,,, there will be blessings,,, help and revelations of God that will come to you that never could otherwise have come; and many besides yourself will receive great light and blessing because you were shut up to faith.—C. H. P.

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As I look back over my life,,, I continuously see God's blessings and teachings that I learned from the trials that I went through.

Granted,,, they were never fun to go through,,, but I know that God was always faithful and helping to make a better way for me,,, even if it was something that I messed up myself!

Try to remember,,, no matter what you are going through,,, God can and will,,, somehow,,, some way,,, bring something good out of it,,, even if it might be a long time before you can see it!

Let us pray: