“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that when we are in Your habitat, life is beautiful, for You lead us in Your wonderful ways. We are sorry that, often, we do not remain in Your habitat but try to manage life on our own. Please forgive us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 1:23-26 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. (24) And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen (25) to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” (26) And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles”. It was the Lord who had guided them in choosing Matthias.
We can experience the direction of God in our lives when we remain in the canopy of God. We must live and move and have our being in Him. When we walk in His ways, then the Lord guides us with His direction at every twist and turn in life. Unfortunately, many of us, go to God, only when we are in a crisis. We are baffled by our circumstances and we, desperately, cry out to God to guide us. Then we hit a blank wall and we are further perplexed. Why does this happen? This takes place because we are not living our lives in the habitat of God. We live our lives on our own terms and we go to God as a fall-back option. Therefore, there is no steadfastness in our lives. We must make a decision today to come into the shelter of God and stay there. This must become the natural and normal way in which we live. It is when we are in the habitat of God and then seek His direction for specific matters, He leads us.
Psalms 32:7-11 “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah (8) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (9) Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. (10) Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. (11) Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart”! Being in the habitat of God requires us to meet His righteousness. We live based on the Law of liberty. This is how we remain in the habitat of God.
Isaiah 30:18-21 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. (19) For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. (20) And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. (21) Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left”. The Lord longs to guide our ways. Even when He takes us through adversity, it is for our good, so that we will learn to rest in the Lord and not be afraid or anxious. It is in those times that we can experience the leading of the Lord.
Isaiah 48:17-19 Thus says the Lord , your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. (18) Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. (19) Your descendants also would have been like the sand, And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand; His name would not have been cut off Nor destroyed from before Me.” God longs to bless our generations as we remain in the habitat of God. It requires us to live by the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. When we live in His righteousness, we are bound to see the direction of the Lord in our daily life circumstances.
James 1:5-8 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”. James is speaking here about faith, where there is no doubting. How do we have this kind of faith in God?
“This is the faith that says, “God is my habitat. I am rested in Him.” It is out of our restedness in God that we seek His wisdom in the everyday matters of life. God then directs our paths.” This was how God’s choice of a replacement for Judas was beautifully revealed and the matter was brought to a closure.