Devotional Fuel to Reboot Your Mind

What gives you comfort when you need it most?

Macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, pizza, ice cream, and soup, are considered comfort foods. There is a slogan that says: “Comfort food is wanting a hearty meal and a little taste of home.” That is what defines comfort foods.

After experiencing a loss or disappointment who is your go to person? Is it a friend? Or maybe your mother? A mother’s role never stops in being able to have those magic words that lessen the hurt and helps to restore hope. Mother’s know how to listen and nurture. Mother’s are born with compassion.

Personal contact is needed when sharing grief.

Job’s friends were not the best comforters. They assumed that suffering and tragedy was punishment of some kind of sin. They thought they had the answers as to the why rather than trying to be of help to Job. Then they took offense when Job didn’t agree with their assessments.

But God and His Word is the epicenter of finding genuine and lasting comfort. Here are several verses to hold onto when needing profound and lasting alleviation of feelings of grief or distress, which only the Holy Spirit can give:

Psalm 23:4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.” Life is uncertain. But God is our shepherd. When we feel hedged in and surrounded, we are in the presence of God. That is our comfort.

Psalm 71:21: “You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.”

Psalm 119:50: “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.”

Psalm 119:76: “Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise of your servant.”

2 Corinthians 1:4: “Who comforts us in all of our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”

Jesus’s last words in Matthew 28:20b give us reassurance: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Sometimes we do not need anyone to tell us what to do. We are not asking for advice. We just need a hug and a smile. We need reassurance. All we are asking for is a listening and empathetic sounding board to bounce off our thoughts. Oh for those apples of gold words!

But, we have total acceptance and receive unconditional love from God, our heavenly father. He is our shield and rock. He is our good shepherd. He is our protector. He is the great I AM!

If I hadn’t gone through a series of Mt. Everest size trials from 1991 through 2013, I would have never written my first book, “Taming the Lion’s Roar. Handling Fear in the Midst of a Trial.” I desperately needed the comfort that only Christ could satisfy. I was in the boot camp of hard knocks. However, those trials taught me endurance, courage, and steadfastness. I had to seek and study the truth from God’s Word regarding fear, not knowing the future, and what is totally out of my own control. One individual verse became my lifeline –  Psalm 119:92: “If your law had not been my delight I would have perished in my affliction.” I would pray, “Teach me Your Word during this season of my life like I have never known it before and make this verse my testimony when I emerge from this place.”

Some people say that God will not give you more than you can handle. That is a total myth. That verse has to do with temptation and not storms in our life. Life provides us with more than we can handle. Yes, I am not strong enough, but God wants to be my strength when it is more than I can handle.

Christ just asks us to draw near to Him. He is waiting. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus proclaims: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Are you in need of comfort today? Do you need to share your pain with a person? Are you in need of compassion, understanding, patience, and a listening ear? I would be happy to do that for you if you leave a comment below, so that I can pray for you as well.

Some of the hardest lessons in life just take time to work through, pray through, and wait upon God’s timing and plan to be revealed. Sometimes there are no instant answers. But remember, you are in the presence of almighty God. He is waiting to give you hope.

My prayer for today: Dear Lord, give me your comfort today. I need it now. Thank you that I do not have to enter a password to receive your peace, hope, and comfort. You are the all-sufficient, Lord of Peace, the Alpha and Omega, the great I AM! You are my comforter.

 

Matthew 17:20: “. . . For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Often times our faith needs strengthening and needs to be enlarged. Is your faith being stretched right now? Do you need encouragement? I have been there a time or two or three.

In Matthew 21: 21b-22, Jesus tells the disciples to have faith and “do not doubt . . . And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive if you have faith.”

Has 2016 tempted you with doubt and feeling hopeless? I have had numerous people tell me they couldn’t wait for 2017 to begin, because 2016 was the hardest year they had ever experienced. Some had financial upheavals, others had heartaches with their children. Others were victims of fraud and working through those issues. Disappointments in  expectations often promotes discouragement.

Our personal faith in Jesus Christ is the core of our spiritual strength. Satan will do all he can to disrupt it and put feelings of uncertainty in our mind. He wants us to question if we really believe God can do it? The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy all that God has for you. He is full of distractions and confusion. Do not let him win.

I have been going to physical therapy for several lower lumbar back issues. The purpose is to strengthen my core in order to have better mobility without pain. The doctor at my recent check-up just told me that I have to train my mind and body to engage my core first (sucking in the abs), before lifting, reaching, twisting, sitting, vacuuming, or doing any bending from here on out, because then I should have a better ability to be able to function adequately, until other measures are needed next.

Our core is our body’s powerhouse. Not only does it facilitate movement, but it also houses our body’s central nervous system and inner organs. Your core muscles are considered the most important muscles in your body.

Just as our body’s core is the basis of our physical strength and mobility, so is our faith in Christ, the basis of our spiritual strength. Just as we strengthen our physical core, we must strengthen our spiritual core, which begins with faith. That is where everything starts and is our foundation while we are on this earth.

A mustard seed is only one to two millimeters in size. It is extremely tiny. A mustard seed takes three to five days to germinate. Mustard seeds grow into shrubs. So must our faith increase and progress in maturity. Sometimes our faith has to mature by going through trials. We never learn from our successes, but by our mistakes.

It is not the quantity or size of your faith that counts. It is the quality of your confidence in God’s Word and His immeasurable power in your life that matters. Faith like a mustard seed needs to be cultivated, watered, and nurtured, so that it will grow.

In faith, I must cast all of my anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7) and rest assured He’s got this! It is not for me to know how or why. God is in charge of those details.

In Times of Disillusionment or Discouragement:

• Engage your spiritual core which is your faith and confidence in Christ.
• Have verses hidden in your heart so the Holy Spirit can remind you of God’s truths while undergoing any trial. Memorize scripture.
• Jesus is your teacher. Be His student. Learn from Him.
• Let your light shine in spite of your circumstances.
• Faith believes without seeing the proof. Faith is the action!
• Review past answers to prayer requests.

Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

How to Strengthen Your Spiritual Core:

1. Spend more time in prayer and meditate on God’s word daily. Keep a journal of what God is saying to you as you read His Word. Record your prayer requests and date them.
2. Ask a trusted friend to hold you accountable for having more faith in God’s almighty plan for your life.
3. Engage your confidence in God, to perform the needed action when tested so the Holy Spirit will be able to fill your heart, soul, and mind with the peace only He can provide.
4. Be on guard against Satan’s efforts. Make Ephesians 6:16a become the script of your life: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one . . .”

Do you really know who Jesus is? Do you believe Him? Throughout the gospels, Jesus responded to people who didn’t have much faith. Jesus just wants us to believe He is the Messiah, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, our Savior, the Son of the living God. He wants us to have heart knowledge and not just head knowledge. He wants us to have no doubts that He can if He chooses.

Several years ago we went through a plethora of trials. It seemed as if they would never stop. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse it did. We didn’t know why. We asked ourselves if there was some deep sin in our lives that was the cause of these heartaches. The word agony pretty much describes how we felt. It was a very hard season of our life.

But “during that time period, God started a work within my heart and mind through Psalm 119:92: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” Psalm 25 was another great passage, along with many others, that God comforted me with. It gave me a passion to encourage others, through His Word, when they are going through a Mt. Everest-sized trial and start to wonder why, and if God really loves them.” Quote from “Taming the Lion’s Roar. Handling Fear in the Midst of a Trial,” by Linda Killian.

I have Hebrews 11:6 on a stand at my kitchen sink to remind myself of God’s promise to me during times of difficulty: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

“Faithfully carry what God has put in your hands right now. This is God’s will.” Louie Giglio

“Where are you the most proficient, most sufficient? Maybe that is precisely where God wants you to trust Him to do something beyond your ability.” Mark Batterson

May this be your prayer today: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: “That God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 19:7: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

God’s word is reliable, right, pure, holy, and true. It gives us CPR – it revives our soul. It is where we find strength in time of need. God’s law shows us our imperfections.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:48: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The Greek word for perfect in this verse is “teleios.” It means wanting nothing necessary to completeness; finished.

Jesus had just taught in Matthew 5, on the importance of forgiving and loving our enemies, not taking retaliation, and that our character should be different than the unsaved. In other words, more should be expected from Christians since they claim to be different, renewed, and repentant in Jesus Christ. After all, we have the spirit of God living in us.

If we would all live as Jesus taught in Matthew 5, we would indeed be perfect. It would look like this:

• Always content.
• Always truthful.
• Allowing God to defend us and take revenge on our part.
• Loving all – even our enemies.
• Never hate anyone.
• A shining light at all times no matter what the circumstances are.
• Praying for our enemies.
• Never hold on to anger and quickly settle any hostile feelings.
• Continually forgive others.

I admit I have a long way to go. I fail every day. I am not always content. I get in a stew about various circumstances that seem unjust and just not right. Then forgiveness is not the first thought that comes into my mind and settles into my heart and soul. I want to protect what is mine.

None of us can attain perfection, but God says He has set the bar in front of us all. I am helpless and hopeless apart from God. But I am complete in Him. It is a process that never ends while we live on this earth.

“I recollect when I resolved never to sin again. I sinned before I had done my breakfast.” Charles Spurgeon.

Psalm 18:30 NLT: “God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Some day we will understand it all when we are in heaven. Answers to our questions will be known and many things won’t matter any longer as Revelation 21:4 declares: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

As we all close the book on our life in 2016, we must reflect and analyze where we have grown and matured in Christ. Some things are now in the past and may leave painful memories. Let them go. It is done. May 2017 be the year of further maturity and perfection in our radically knowing Christ Jesus our Lord more intimately and thoroughly. May we make every effort to add to our faith:

• Endurance and steadfastness.
• Complete trust and hope in the sufficiency of Christ.
• Increase in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ in this forthcoming new year.

Be renewed in Christ day by day. Be quick to forgive and love others. Be content. Abide in Him. Let your light radiate the presence of being with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:24a: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy . . .”

Mark 4:19: “But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”

The NLT words Mark 4:19 this way: “But all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.”

Living real life in today’s economy and culture can be challenging. Relationships can get sticky. Worries play mind games and fears can take root.

Then we women compare ourselves to other women that appear to be more affluent, successful, and smarter. We mistakenly think their grass is greener. We feel less worthy. These are pure lies from Satan we all too often fall into and believe.

2 Corinthians 4:17 brings me back to reality: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” “Momentary” is the key word.

What is your momentary affliction you are experiencing and living through right now? Will it be brief?

Dwell on these verses for the distractions of life:

• Is it financial?

Psalm 50:10: “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” Remember the old hymn, “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills . . . ” God owns it all! His wealth is more than we could ever fathom.

Psalm 50:14-15: “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Genesis 22:8a: “Abraham said, “God will provide for himself a burnt offering my son . . .” God will provide for you just as he did for Abraham, and just when it was needed. Pray for that. Then place your faith and hope in God’s forthcoming provision.

Luke 12:24: “Consider the ravens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse or barn, yet God feeds them. Of how much more value of worth are you than the birds!”

We have had financial hard times throughout our 42 years of married life together. When we moved from Minnesota to California, the economic differences were astounding. Our daughter was then in Junior High and our son was in High School. It was like starting over. We did survive and God did provide for our needs.

Steve was laid off from the company that moved us out here from Minnesota to California, after working for them for five years. The company split into two companies and had a negative cash flow. Then it was discovered that an employee had embezzled money. That was out of our control. But we survived with God’s direction and plan.

• Do you need to forgive someone?

Matthew 6:15-16: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Mark 11:25: “And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses.” My mind just stopped on the phrase: “whenever you stand praying,  forgive . . .”

Romans 12:9: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “I will repay says the Lord.” Yes, let God’s justice take care of the culprit.

• Physical pain or the possibility of a serious illness?

Psalm 16:1: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.”

Psalm 23:2; 4a: “He makes me lie down in green pastures. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me . . .”

Psalm 31:14-15a: “But I trust in you, O LORD: I say “You are my God.” My times are in your hand.”

• The relationship that doesn’t appear salvageable?

Numbers 6:26: “The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Think about the most difficult person, circumstance, pressing problem in your life right now. They are not the real enemy, and they are not your actual problem.

Whatever it is, the enemy wants to distract you from hearing God’s voice. He is trying to keep you so busy that you forget that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

Verses hidden in your heart are the ammunition you need to combat and win. They will squelch the doubts.

God just asks us to obey Him first and in all things. Our ears need to be waiting to hear Him point us in the right direction. We just have to ask. He has the solution. But He needs and requires our full obedience or we will miss out on what He ultimately has in store for us.

Yes, how the worries of our life choke out the truth from God’s Word and become an obstacle in living out the real life, one day at a time, in the path that God has chosen for each one of us.

One last verse I want to leave with you is 1 Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”

When the impossible financial dilemmas come, read God’s Word, pray, and give Him your sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Whenever you pray ask yourself is there anyone you need to forgive?

Physical health issues? There is a time and place to ask friends and elders of your church to pray for you.

Relationship issues? Commit them to God and let God balance the scales. Let it go!

• Worries of life.
• The lure of what I don’t have.

All are distractions that will choke and blind me to eternal concerns. I have to keep developing a heavenly mind control and reboot my mind with the truth from God’s Word. I must do this daily.

Don’t let the distractions of life lead you down the wrong path. Ask God to tell you what only He knows. Listen. Obey. Have faith. Have hope. Live in expectancy and in anticipation that God is answering throughout the activity of your life right now. God will answer your momentary affliction and is preparing you for His eternal glory, sister.

Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

I remember hearing for years the phrase “patience is a virtue” as being a Bible verse. Do you know that verse is not in the Bible? It is from a poem written between 1360 and 1387 by William Langland, who wrote “Piers Plowman.”

Ten years later there was a similar theme written called “Canterbury Tales” by Chaucer. Later many Latin and French authors had their literary versions of the subject of patience being a virtue.

So the origin of the phrase “patience is a virtue” cannot be pinpointed to any one person. However, it is entirely Biblical.

• John Piper has said: “The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all of our delays and detours.”
• Elizabeth Elliott stated: “I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done.” 

VERSES ON PATIENCE: 

Proverb 25:15: “With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.” Patience is a mighty weapon.

Proverbs 15:1: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Proverb 16:32: “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient and kind . . . it is not irritable or resentful.”

Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

Ephesians 4:2: “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”

Colossians 3:12: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”

2 Timothy 2:24-25a: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.”

Sitting in my car, on the 5, 60, or 405, and the traffic moving only 10 – 15 miles per hour is torture. That happens to me weekly in my sales job. Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room waiting to get test results afflicts us with anxiety. Waiting for prayers to be answered for a wayward child is another area in life where our faith and patience is tested.

Bayless Conley has said: “A number of years ago I heard one person say that faith is like your hand and patience is like your arm. When you exercise faith, it is like holding up your hand against the problem, and as you do, things are being worked out. But if you take your patience down, your faith comes down with it.

Patience is the thing that keeps your faith applied until the answer comes.”

Yes, “patience is a virtue” is not a verse found in the Bible. However, a person that has integrity and godly behavior must display: wisdom, courage, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, love, good manners, courtesy, courage, modesty, self-control, and last but not least, patience.

• Delays
• Detours

Display the virtue of patience all the while having faith in God’s divine timing and plan.

Rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done in answering many prayers in the past, and those that He will answer in the future.

I just glanced at a peace of paper with a verse I had written down that spoke to me months ago. I have had it sitting next to my laptop on my desk. Talk about being hit over the head! It is so applicable right now! This is it. God is speaking to me through 2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT: “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” That is better than taking Pepto-Bismol! “This too will pass (quote from my Grandma Helmers).”

Are you waiting for an answer from the Lord about a particular burden or answer to a problem? My heart is often touched through music. Listen to John Waller’s song “While I am Waiting” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9DTwLOxzhE

My prayer for today: “God I don’t feel like displaying patience right now. Being irritable seems to be much easier in comparison. I am not very tolerant in waiting for delays to solutions needed, and for my own expectations just not happening. But your Word tells me it is the right thing to do. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and for your amazing patience with me time and time again as you intercede on my behalf. My hope is in You. Show me what I need to know in order to participate with you in your divine plan for my life. I want to be aware of your activity and spiritual plan in it all. Amen.”

  

When I got up this morning, I asked God, as I do every morning, when I go into my office and open up my Bible and have my prayer notebook open: “What do You want to say to me?”

How do we hear or know God is talking to us? By memorizing His word and storing it up in our hearts and minds. Psalm 119:11 declares: “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” God’s word gives us power in our life against sin. It is the power that keeps us from temptations, from stumbling and falling.

If a verse leaps up at you, off the printed page, it is the Lord, speaking to you. God’s word will comfort, counsel, guide, and keep our conscience sharp.

When a verse pops out on the page, I then record that verse on a card and have a stack of them on my desk to read through to remember and review verses that have made a powerful impact on my mind. I also write down the date on the card and in my Bible next to the verse.

It is God’s responsibility to direct and guide us by His word. But we must be listening. We must be aware. That is our job. That is how God primarily speaks to us.

In Psalm 119:11, the ESV uses the phrase “stored up your word in my heart,” the HCSB uses the word “treasured,” the KJV and NLT both use the word “hidden.” The MSG says: “I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.”

Psalm 119:11 was a verse that I remember memorizing as a very young child. It has stayed with me just as Psalm 23 and Romans 12:1-2 have as well. These scripture verses were stored in my heart before I was in Junior High. These particular verses come to my mind from childhood.

I remember a particular verse my Grandma Helmers would recite to me on various occasions as I was growing up: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV. That verse has reminded me time and time again the importance of humility, and when I judge someone, I look at myself first, because it could have been me. No one is exempt from temptations. Steadfastness and self-control must be exercised.

I wonder what verses come up from memory in our daughter’s and son’s lives that they learned in their grade school years? Which verses does the Holy Spirit bring up to them as they are now both married and have children of their own, and living what I call “real life?”

I am becoming more fully aware of the importance of memorizing God’s word. When I was having my MRI of my back this week, reciting a particular passage from 2 Peter, was a help in keeping me relaxed through this procedure. I was given instruction to be very still and not to move. Reciting from memory the six verses I have been working on was helpful and helped pass the time quickly.

God’s Word gives us wisdom in helping us to make decisions in life that will be in harmony with His will for our lives. We will more fully recognize what that is, by committing scripture to memory.

I continue to enjoy using the Scripture Typer Bible Memory ap on my iPhone. It gives me a message on the front of my iPhone when it is time to review a verse that I have entered in “MY VERSES.” It keeps me currently reviewing verses by typing them, memorizing them, and then mastering each verse. This tool makes Bible memory much easier.  It has a calendar schedule of its own, so it will remind you to review a particular verse over a regular period. Once you have mastered a verse it will automatically be entered into the Scripture typer review system. It also gives you the option of memorizing verses with a common topic, such as wisdom.

God’s word gives true fulfillment, from delighting in His word.

Psalm 119:1-2 in the HCSB states: “How happy are those whose way are blameless, who live according to the LORD’s instruction. Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart.”

Being a student of the word of God never stops. It is a lifetime requirement and commitment. It gives us access to God’s heart and mind as Psalm 119 102b states: “. . . for you have taught me.”

I was caught locked out of our house one evening this week. Frustration and lack of patience set in as I was trying to figure out what to do without having to call my husband for help since he was still at work. I was exasperated and highly annoyed. As I was trying to use my phone as a flashlight, trying to find my solution, all at once my Bible ap started to read out loud from Psalm 120! That was where I had left off reading in the morning! All at once I heard the reader say something about peace and war! I started laughing so hard I almost had tears in my eyes! Then it continued to recite Psalm 121:1-2: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” This was quite fitting. I did get back into our house and was still laughing about this episode when my husband arrived.

Have you set apart a time each day to seek the Lord from His word? Are you focusing on a verse or chapter in the Bible and working on gleaning the importance of it in your life? That is a requirement in having God speak to you. Next spend time in prayer. Talk to God one on one. Thank Him for His goodness, confess anything that needs confessing. Then commit over to Him any desires and needs on your heart. This doesn’t have to take a long portion of time.

After I have my own personal devotional and prayer time, I like to listen to a Christian song from my  Music Library play list on my iPhone or on Pandora, to finish my time with the Lord in songs. I often do this as I put on my make-up, in order to keep my mind focused on praising the Lord through music, before my day opens up into chaos.

The Bible is our spiritual operations procedures manual for life. It is relevant.

My prayer for today: “Oh God, open my eyes. Open up my heart to your word. Speak to me through it and guide me with your instruction for today. I need to understand your complete knowledge and wisdom entirely. As Psalm 119:18 says: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law!”

Listen to the Newsboys anthem “Committed.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Tn_r-XYWw

 

 

Do you ever wonder what the why is when things turn out differently than you had planned, scheduled, or anticipated? When a curve ball deters your direction and makes your life just go into pause mode?

There are times in my life when I don’t understand  the why. I don’t like things on my schedule being put on hold. I don’t like having to wait for appointments. But that is what I am having to do right now.

Recently our granddaughter Harper, told me she remembers me singing to her “Jesus Loves Me” song when she was a baby. I was shocked she brought that up and remembered it! I would sing to her that song and others to make her stop crying, when we would be babysitting and needing to put the grandkids to bed before mommy and daddy got home. It worked. Harper would stop crying and relax in my arms and fall asleep when I sang to her that particular song.

“Jesus Loves Me” was written by Anna Bartlett Warner and published in 1860. The scripture verses this song points to is from Ephesians 3:17-19: “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This was Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus. Trials in life test the reality and depth of our experience.

“The storm that blows reveals the strength of the roots.” Warren Wiersbe

Then Paul concluded his doxology with verse 20: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

Yes, there are many things I don’t know or understand right now, but this is what I do know regarding Jesus’ love for me:

Psalm 23:2-3: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Psalm 25:14 NIV: “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”

Psalm 28:7: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

Romans 8:34b: “Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Romans 5:2b-5: “. . . We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Are you going through a time of being forced to grow in not giving up, and living out in real life what you believe? Character building always is a stretching and growing experience. We are not always given a choice about the process, but the end result is what God has in mind. It is always about His glory that will be revealed at His appointed time. He is in charge of the “how.”

Adversity has a way of challenging us. Being in physical pain can be a purifying process. It has taught me new things I did not know before. Once again I have had to rely on God’s strength and will for my life one day at a time. He knows what is best for me. God knows the “how.”

Listen to Rye Stevenson’s song, “In the Eye of the Storm”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB0ReTpA6Gg

This song has been running through my mind for a solid week. The words speak of the power of God. It points me back to praising God for all He has abundantly done in my life. It reminds me that He guards me, His loves encompasses me, He is my anchor, and in times of adversity He is there right beside me. Yes! Jesus loves me!

“Life has famines and funerals. Nobody registers for the school of suffering. Don’t mistake the silence of God for the absence of God.” Pastor Todd Smith

The words of the song, “Jesus Loves Me” is still factual truth for all of us at any age or stage in life. I may be physically weak, but He is strong. Yes! Jesus loves me!

Are you experiencing adversity in the form of physical pain right now? Please share in a comment below so I can pray for you and be of encouragement through this time. Perhaps you would be willing to share how people have come along beside you and helped you in special ways that ministered to your life while you were experiencing physical, health challenges. I would love to hear your story.

Our aim still needs to be about bringing glory to God in the midst of our suffering. That is our purpose in life. Satan wants to squelch that. He will not win when our shield of faith is raised. It will extinguish the enemy’s arrows (Ephesians 6:16) when we raise our armor of God. Prayer activates our armor.

In the hands of God, nothing is ever wasted.

If you have not read, Adam Holland’s book, “Anchored In The Storm,” I would highly recommend you buy it on Amazon. Adam has gone through physical suffering from having a brain tumor. He had cancer. He writes of his experience, but every page is written as a devotional for those who are suffering. Adam’s desire is for anyone in this situation, to be pointed to Christ, and the “incredible destiny He has for you.”

Yes! Jesus loves me!

 

God audibly spoke to young Samuel three times, but Samuel did not realize it was the LORD calling out to him. 1 Samuel 3:7 tells us: “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” Then Eli wisely instructed Samuel to reply the next time the LORD was calling to him and say: “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.”

1 Samuel 3:10: “And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” Samuel was now ready and had his ears tuned to listen to God’s message to him.

Think about these three questions:

• How can I train my heart and mind to listen for God’s message to me in my life?
• Am I diligently and with anticipation waiting for God to speak to me each time I read His Word?
• In what ways does an awareness of God’s presence change the way I live each day?

It tells us in 1 John 2:20: “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.” This “anointing” refers to the Holy Spirit. He is our comforter. He is our counselor. God gives us the Spirit of truth at the time of our salvation. At this point, the Holy Spirit immediately begins to illuminate our minds and is renewing us from the inside out.

But am I waiting and watching and listening for His Spirit to speak to me through the verses of Scripture I read this morning? What about my prayer time? Am I waiting to hear what God wants to say to me instead of monopolizing the conversation with all of my requests?

Much in our lives results instantly or quickly. It started with the Polaroid camera. Getting to see a printed picture of what we had just snapped within minutes miraculously would appear. We have microwaves for reheating and preparing our food within seconds. If our computer is not booting up quickly, we complain and want it replaced with a newer and speedier one. We use WAZE for finding the quickest route to our destinations. The Keurig Coffee maker enables making one cup of tea, or coffee, or hot cocoa, within minutes. Sending a text message or email has replaced writing a letter and putting it in the mail. So many things happen instantly in our generation. Patience is not our virtue.

But Psalm 37:7a states: “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him . . .” There is that word patiently.

Psalm 46:10 declares: “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted above the nations, I will be exalted above the earth!”

It requires patience for us to purposefully be quiet before the Lord. To only pause and sit at His feet. To wait for Him to speak to us through His Word and our prayers.

“The more you immerse yourself in the Word, the more closely your thoughts, emotions, and decisions will align with what the Spirit is saying to you and the more your flesh will lose its power and strength.” Priscilla Shirer.

Ephesians 6:18-19a declares: “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints, and also for me . . .”

Am I watching and looking for God’s handprint in every person I encounter since I have asked God to bless and lead and guide me throughout this day? I ask Him to help me be that shining light for the people I am with, but does my faith in God show that? I so often fall short.

In this busy season of the upcoming holidays, may we stop, be still, and wait for God’s Spirit to speak to us, the anointed ones, in blessing our minds and hearts from His precious promises to us that we read and deposit into our mind and then develop deep into our heart.

For just a few minutes block out emails, block out messages, block out social media, and simply “be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.”

My prayer for today: God I am patiently waiting for you to speak to me from the verses that I have just read in Your Word. Give me blessings, insight, and full knowledge of the many precious promises you have just waiting for me to read and reflect on. Thank you that your forgiveness is unconditional and you never bring up my past sins that You have mercifully and graciously forgiven! You are the great I AM! I praise you for being my overseer, my shepherd, my comforter, and how abundantly you have restored my life! Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen!

Let us train our hearts and minds to look for God working all things together for our good, as He has promised in Romans 8:28.

Let us have a new awareness of God’s presence with us all the day long.

Hebrews 12:1b-2: “. . . let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”

Stop. Be still. Then patiently listen for God’s message.

You will enjoy watching one of my favorite Christian worship song YouTube videos, “It’s One of Those Days, Lord,” by Joseph Cheetham-Wilkenson. This is a “me too!” message in song.

 

 

Are you unsure about an individual decision that needs clarity? Here are ten verses to remember while going through any significant decision process:

Psalm 119: 169: “Let my cry come before you O LORD; give me understanding according to your word!”

Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

Psalm 32:8: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Psalm 24:14 NIV: “The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”

Psalm 37:40: “The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.”

Luke 1:37: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Isaiah 40:2-3a: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God. . .”

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 2:6: “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Needing to make the right decision is not always black and white. There could be consequences for either choice.

The prophet Isaiah stated in Isaiah 30:21: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when your turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Just like a shepherd directs his sheep to head in the right direction, so God will lead all of our ways as we seek and ask how. He will give you the “how” through wise counsel, reading His Word, and prayer.

Do you need that clear direction from God right now? Sit at His feet. Solicit His almighty wisdom. Pray out loud verses regarding asking for wisdom from the Lord and make them your prayer. Wait for any verse that the Holy Spirit speaks to you in clarity of thought and discernment that you are needing. Then take the action that God is revealing to you since you have asked him for it. Do it.

Jesus is our good shepherd. He guides us. He directs our steps. John 10:27-29 HCSB, declares: “My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish – ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

God has promised to direct, lead, and steer us as is stated in John 16:13: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

I have a folding chair in my office that I keep a sign on it that says: “Reserved. God’s chair.” It helps me be more personal in my conversations with God as I picture God sitting right there listening to me as I pour out my heart to Him.

“The Spirit inspired the Word and therefore He goes where the Word goes. The more of God’s Word you know and love, the more of God’s spirit you will experience.” John Piper.

Diligently study God’s Word.

Have a humble heart (Psalm 25:9 above verse).

Seek counsel from mature, wisdom filled Christians.

Ask God to illumine your heart and mind with His wisdom. Listen.

Then go and do it!