{"id":19765,"date":"2023-08-31T20:20:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T03:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patriciakingministries.com\/?p=19765"},"modified":"2023-08-29T12:12:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T19:12:13","slug":"devotion-sept-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patriciakingministries.com\/devotion-sept-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Object Permanence – by Michelle Burkett"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.patriciakingministries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Michelle_Bio_Photo_cropped.png” alt=”Robert Hotchkin” title_text=”Michelle_Bio_Photo_cropped” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Devotion Author Image” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ custom_margin=”|||10px” animation=”off” sticky=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” always_center_on_mobile=”on”] [\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Author Bio” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” sticky_enabled=”0″]Dr. Michelle Burkett<\/strong> is an anointed counselor, equipper, and leader in the Body of Christ. Ministry is no stranger to her as she was raised in a family of respected ministers and has served the Lord faithfully for decades. She diligently stewards her professional counseling practice and currently directs Patricia King\u2019s Women In Ministry Network, Voice4Victims, and the Everlasting Love Academy. As a dynamic preacher of the Word and committed to Kingdom life and advancement, Michelle has blessed many locally and abroad with her insightful messages and revelations of the Word.<\/p>\n

Do you have areas of your life you have tried to battle on your own? Are you unable to see past your immediate circumstance? This month, Michelle reminds us of the reality of His steadfast presence and faithfulness, even when our natural eyes don\u2019t see it. <\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”1834px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Devotional Copy” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]A baby has a stage of cognitive development called \u201cobject permanence.\u201d This is when a baby begins to realize that just because they don\u2019t see Mom, Dad, or an object, it does not mean they no longer exist. We\u2019ve seen this and laughed as babies are completely enthralled with a game of peek-a-boo, or later, as they close their own eyes and think they can\u2019t be seen.<\/p>\n

While this comes together cognitively for a child within their first year, I find that sometimes our \u201cobject permanence\u201d is not so well developed in the things of the Spirit. As we read the journey of the Israelites through the desert, we see God provide EVERYTHING for them faithfully, over and over again. Yet each time they would encounter a new circumstance, fear would cloud their vision – the eyes of their hearts would close – and they would default to feeling abandoned, alone\u2026 \u201cWhere are you, God?\u201d\u00a0 While peek-a-boo is delightful with a baby who rediscovers you every time you \u201cdisappear,\u201d if it continues past a certain point, there is a developmental issue.<\/p>\n

With each new obstacle on the way to their Promise, the Israelites would accuse God and Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die. They refused to grasp the always present, always faithful, always loving, always seeing, and always compassionate reality of God and the joyous future He had prepared for them\u2026. They couldn\u2019t see it. They were ruled by what they could only immediately see in their circumstance.<\/p>\n

In Exodus 32, we see that Moses was gone 40 days, and when he returned, he found that the Israelites had fashioned a new \u201cgod.\u201d A little god-object that they could put on a stick, see with their eyes, and touch with their hands\u2026 It was powerless, but they could \u201chandle\u201d it. Having a god that fits in MY hands is not big enough\u2026 Our God of AWE has us in HIS hands! (Also see Isaiah 44:6-21 & 46:9-10).<\/p>\n

How I\u2019d love to just point my finger at the Israelites, but we must look to our own hearts. We have the benefit of a Bible that lays out God\u2019s faithfulness from the beginning to the end of time. He says that He will never leave us, that He has opened the Kingdom to us, and we are His children with full access to ALL His goodness, and ALL His love\u2026 Yet, at times, I find that our response to a new obstacle or circumstance is still fear, \u201cOh no! Where did He go? What am I going to do now?\u201d In the circumstance — the loss, the sudden change, the doctor\u2019s report, the bank statement, the family crisis, the state of our nation — the enemy wants us to be afraid and lose our object permanence, our faith in the One Who was, Who IS, and Who is to come. He is eternal \u2013 that\u2019s permanent!<\/p>\n

We are never alone in our walk. But sometimes, instead of waiting on our faithful Father to show us the way through to what He has promised; when it seems like it\u2019s been too long (It\u2019s been 40 days, where are You?), we strike out blindly, reaching for anything that looks like it might work or make me more comfortable. Things that will fit in our hands, things we can see, familiar tools that we can lean on to make something happen, instead of the eyes of our heart being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit for divine breakthrough strategies, or the shifts that only He can bring. Our object permanence \u2013 our FAITH \u2013 is the eyes of our heart being open to the reality of His steadfast presence and faithfulness, even when our natural eyes don\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it looks dark; we can\u2019t see the promised end with our eyes, and it doesn\u2019t always \u201cfeel\u201d like God is here – BUT GOD IS PRESENT! He hasn\u2019t gone anywhere, and He never will. Nothing takes Him by surprise, and He will NEVER leave you! Throughout Scripture, there is a picture of your tender Heavenly Father with arms open wide to embrace you, saying and demonstrating repeatedly, \u201cI will never leave you\u2026 Believe me!\u201d<\/p>\n

I WILL NEVER [under any circumstances] LEAVE YOU [nor give you<\/p>\n

up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you<\/p>\n

helpless] NOR WILL I FORSAKE or LET YOU DOWN or RELEASE My<\/p>\n

HOLD ON YOU [assuredly not]! \u2013Hebrews 13:5b (Amp)<\/p>\n

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Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the\u00a0Lord\u00a0will personally go ahead<\/p>\n

of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.<\/p>\n

–Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT)<\/p>\n

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Even when I walk through the darkest valley of death, I will not be afraid,<\/p>\n

for you are close beside me. \u2013Psalm 23:4 (NLT)<\/p>\n

\u00a0Your faith will never be misplaced when it is placed in God and His Word. Anything else will eventually fail. But God is the same in the night as He is in the day. Just because things look different (and they will), or look dark, it does not mean that the One in whom you delighted and rejoiced has diminished in any way\u2026 Nor will He \u2013 assuredly NOT. Let the eyes of your heart be permanently fixed on Him. When the battle is longer than you hoped, continue to trust Him, be with Him, see what new thing He is doing\u2026 Your answers are going to sometimes look different from how they may have looked in the past, or how you had pictured it to work out. But even when your natural eyes don\u2019t see, don\u2019t settle for a gold calf you can hold in your hand. Keep your heart fixed on His goodness and faithfulness\u2026 Nothing can pluck you from His hands (John 10:28). You won\u2019t lose!<\/p>\n

Activation:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n