John 14:1-4 is all about trust. Trust and faith go hand in hand. If Jesus had wanted to He could have given His disciples a play by play account of the next 24 hours…arrest, trial, beating, crucifixion, and death. He could have laid it out in so much detail that they would have not had so much fear and doubt. But He didn’t. He gave them just enough clues to hold on through all the turmoil but not so many clues to keep Peter from his denials and all eleven from fleeing the garden. He could have told them when and where to run and all the rest but He didn’t. He let them wrestle with all that was to come and either their faith would make or it would break.

I think that is how God deals with us as well. He doesn’t give us the play by play of all the difficult moments that are coming in our lives. We don’t know what sickness, death, or disaster will come the next day or the next decade. But we rest in the fact that Jesus has told us enough to sustain us through the difficult times in life. And like Peter it doesn’t mean we will never make a mistake or that our faith will never waiver but it does mean that in the end everything will get worked out, our faith will grow and God will make good on His promises. What a blessing to know that God has prepared and in a sense continues to prepare a place for His people. So while we may not get all the answers we want we know the answer to the most important question of all – God is working behind the scenes to prepare our lives to be lived with Him, for Him, and in line with His will. Second, He has not left us alone. Even though Jesus has left this earth He doesn’t call us orphans. He calls us brothers / sisters and friends. God calls us His children and so we can expect good things from our Father in heaven.

I don’t know what you are going through in your life today. But I do know God is going to make everything alright in His perfect timing. It won’t all make sense. It won’t always be comfortable or enjoyable. But God is working something good in us if we will humbly submit and be alright with not having all the answers all the time. Hear the words of Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” (John 14:1)
(MATT DABBS)

The LORD is my shepherd:
THAT’S RELATIONSHIP!

I shall not want:
THAT’S SUPPLY!

He makes me lie down in green pastures:
THAT’S REST!

He leads me beside still waters:
THAT’S REFRESHMENT!

He restores my soul:
THAT’S HEALING!

He leads me in paths of righteousness:
THAT’S GUIDANCE!

For His name’s sake:
THAT’S PURPOSE!

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death:
THAT’S TESTING!

I will fear no evil:
THAT’S PROTECTION!

For You are with me:
THAT’S FAITHFULNESS!

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me:
THAT’S DISCIPLINE!

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
THAT’S HOPE!

You anoint my head with oil:
THAT’S CONSECRATION!

My cup overflows:
THAT’S ABUNDANCE!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
THAT’S BLESSING!

And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD:
THAT’S SECURITY!

Forever:
THAT’S ETERNITY !

Keenly aware of my physical weaknesses and limitations—and the fact that I’m growing older
much more rapidly than I‘d like—each morning I open the cupboard and reach for an assortment of nutritional supplements to help provide what my body needs. Each formula has something that I need, but no one source is enough to provide all that I need.

How thankful I am that in my relationship with the living God, I can truly say that He alone is enough for my every need. I never have to ask, “Is He enough?”

His death on the cross is sufficient for my salvation.  Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

His strength is sufficient to overcome my weakness.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, (Matthew 11:28)

His authority is sufficient to overcome my inadequacy.  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me”. (Matthew 28:18)

His power is sufficient for any struggle I face.  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

His strength is sufficient to pick me up when I fall.  The LORD helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. (Psalm 145:14)

His wisdom and knowledge are sufficient to direct my every step.  But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold,        (Job 23:10).

His grace is sufficient for my every need.  But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

The words of 19th century author Hannah Whitall Smith sum it up well:  “If God is what He would seem to be from His revealings; if He is indeed the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor.1:3); if He is our Shepherd; If He is really and truly our Father; if, in short, all the many aspects He has told us of His character and His ways are actually true, then we must come to the positive conviction that He is, in Himself alone, enough for all our needs and that we may safely rest in Him absolutely and forever.”                                                                                        (ANN SHORB)

Jesus said, “I am the Door of the sheep” (John 10:7). Sounds peculiar, doesn’t it? It stretches the imagination to think of a person acting as a gate, or a door. But that’s just what a shepherd does, particularly one who is devoted to his sheep.

One day Sir George Adam Smith, an Englishman who traveled extensively in the Middle East, came across a sheepfold and said to the shepherd, “That is where they go at night?”

“Yes,” said the shepherd, “and when they are in there, they are perfectly safe.”

“But there is no door,” said the Englishman.

“I am the door,” replied the shepherd.

Sir George looked at him and asked, “What do you mean by the door?”

The shepherd answered, “When the light has gone out, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open space, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door.”

When Jesus said He is the Door of the sheep, He meant that the fold has only One entrance; life has One source; spiritual nourishment is obtained One way; heaven can be entered through One entrance. And the single means of access to all that is life is Jesus.                                            (RICK EZELL)

The life of Daniel provides a clear example of a man who was faithful to God in his career.

Daniel lived in the context of foreign conquest and exile. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, solidified his conquest over the people of Judah by bringing the best and brightest Israelites to Babylon to work in his royal court. The Book of Daniel mentions four of these chosen men: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. For three years they underwent training in the Babylonian language, tradition, political structure, literature and many other subjects. They worked amidst the best of the best, the elite of Babylonian society. Here are three lessons Daniel models for Christians seeking to honor God in the workplace.

Lesson #1: Christians can and should enter the workplace.  As Hugh Whelchel explains: In the tent city in Babylon, a young man in the crowd heard Jeremiah’s letter and believed that it meant a new vocational call on his life. From that moment, he totally committed his life to working for the Shalom, the peace and well-being, of the great city of Babylon. The young man’s name was Daniel. Daniel pursued the Shalom of the city through his position in Nebuchadnezzar’s royal court.

You may not have a position in a king’s inner circle, but you can still work towards Shalom in the place you are called to right now.

Lesson #2: Christians should pursue excellence in the workplace.  We’ve already seen how Daniel and his friends were the cream of the crop of Israelite men. These guys stood out, even from the best. They strove for excellence as they worked to bring shalom to Babylon. Because of God’s blessing of skill and success, Daniel and his friends are given greater responsibility as administrators over the province of Babylon.

Likewise, you have been blessed with certain skills, which you are called to develop in order that you might do good work. Like Daniel, we should strive for excellence in our jobs.

Lesson #3: Christians should be obedient in the workplace.   In Daniel 1:8-15, Daniel and his friends refused the diet of royal food and wine set before them by the Babylonians. They saw refusing the king’s food as an act of obedience to God. Another example of obedience is when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship a golden statue Nebuchadnezzar built.

There may be times when your office culture conflicts with your Christian values. You may be asked to do or say something unethical. Daniel and his friends are a model of obedience for us when facing these situations.

Throughout these first few chapters it must be noticed that Daniel and his friends excelled at their careers despite the fact that they did not choose them. They remained obedient to God throughout this experience, despite being a part of their conqueror’s inner circle. These are qualities that we as Christians should develop, too, as we seek the peace and prosperity of our surrounding culture.                                                                                        (TAYLOR BARKLEY)