Foreboding or Faith?

You wake up and you have a foreboding feeling. Or at least you feel like things aren’t quite right. “Ugg. What is going to happen today?”  What you need is a good dose of God’s lovingkindness. Lovingkindnesses are the special little unexpected things God does for us because He loves us, even though we don’t deserve them and often don’t even think to pray for them. Like you’re in a hurry to get in and out of the grocery store and get home, and a parking space opens up for you right in front. It’s the little kindnesses God shows.

Did you know that God promises to show lovingkindness? Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. (Psalms 89:33)

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:24) 

Because God has promised that He is a God who shows lovingkindness, it’s perfectly within reason to pray and ask Him to show a lovingkindness. How do we know that?

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14-15)

Did you get that? Lovingkindnesses are according to His will (because that’s who God said He is), so you can pray for lovingkindnesses and know you will get them, because He hears you when you ask for things according to His will.

I have years behind me of praying for lovingkindnesses for myself and for those I love. I don’t tell God what the lovingkindness should be. I just pray and watch all day. It’s called faith or trust. I watch expectantly. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Back to waking up with a foreboding feeling. If you feel that way when you wake up, trade that feeling for a prayer for lovingkindness. Then, rather than look for doom all day, you will watch for a gracious gift from God all day. The difference is night and day.