Resting

On October 31, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

My husband and I both got sick this week. We have some kind of flu, with coughing and sneezing and a low fever. In short, we have been pretty miserable. Harry got sick first, starting with symptoms on Wednesday night. My heart clutched once I heard him coughing because I just about always catch any germs that float around me since my immune system is compromised. Well, I lasted until Friday and then came the drainage down my throat and the plethora of asthma meds that I take so that I can breathe without struggling.

As I prepared for bed last night, I was concerned that I would not be able to sleep since breathing is more difficult once I lie down. I left my husband in the den watching his game and taking his med, used my nebulizer and headed to bed. It was amazing! After praying for all the Lord brought to my mind, I said a simple prayer asking God to give me the rest I needed to get stronger. I was amazed (I guess I should have not been so surprised) when I awakened this morning after having more sleep than I normally get when I am well. Rest is a gift from the Lord, just as each breath we take.

I awoke coughing, but I also awoke feeling rested. Praise God for His answer to prayer!

God gave us the example of resting and knows that our bodies need it. As I have aged, I have found that by late afternoon just about daily, I need a nap. It’s not just that I want to take a nap. I get a little fuzzy brained and I know that I really need to lie down and refresh my body. Yesterday, I tried to take a nap but I coughed too much and couldn’t really rest. So, I was somewhat surprised that I was able to rest all night without choking and grabbing my rescue inhaler. God is so good! He answers prayers for the weak, the weary and even those who don’t have high expectations for the answer.

My testimony is that of Jeremiah the prophet. God satisfied me with a pleasant sleep and I feel better today. I am still taking all of my meds, using my nebulizer and inhalers and nasal spray, but I am feeling stronger. I am so thankful that the Lord who created me knows what I need and provides it for me. Peaceful rest, away from the feelings of gasping for air and gagging on mucus. God loves me, even when I am too weary to exercise my faith properly.

May the Lord bless you with His rest and His peace today and throughout the week.

Real Hope

On October 29, 2022 By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

As humans, we have a tendency to wake up each day and hope for a good day with good things to happen in our lives. God wants that for us, too, but more importantly, He wants us to realize and to tell others that the only hope we have is in Jesus.

God spoke the world into existence and Jesus was right there with Him. Then, when God sent His Son to earth, He did not come to save us because of our own worthiness. Rather, we are saved only because of God’s great mercy. He sent and He saved.

We cannot overcome the sin in our own lives by just hoping that it will go away. We have to believe that Jesus delivered us from that sin on the cross and that we don’t have to bow to sin any longer. We are children of the Most High God, not slaves to sin as we once were. There is where our real hope lies, for today and for eternity.

If we awaken and have hope in things or events coming to pass, then our hope is misplaced. We need to fix our hope on the grace that Jesus gives us each day and the grace that will be ultimately revealed when He returns and takes us to be with Him. That is our real hope.

When I awakened this morning, I was thankful for a new day and hopeful for what it would bring. With my devotional completed and my meditation on the word “hope”, God has shown me that He is my hope and things that happen are just circumstances that change from moment to moment. But His love, grace and mercy in my life stand forever. Real hope!

May each of you know the real hope that is only found in the person of Christ Jesus. God bless you!

Focusing on God

On October 29, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

I know that you are aware that the more problems you have in life, the more your focus is turned towards the problems. I am a walking, talking testimony that focusing on the issues does no good, but focusing on God gives new insight into the problems, whatever they may be.

This Scripture seems to promise deliverance from all trouble. But it doesn’t say that the troubles won’t come, just that God will deliver us from them. Nor does the verse explain exactly how that deliverance will come. I think that is because the Lord has already provided an answer to all of our troubles (problems) through His Son that He sent to save us from our sins. At the root of most, if not all of our troubles, lies sin. We live in a fallen world. Lots of sickness? Lots of financial troubles? Lots of…you fill in the blank. The bottom line is sin and God has already provided the answer. However, Jesus is not a magic genie that you rub the bottle and get an immediate response that solves all of your problems. The troubles we face or ones that we have to deal with just like the rest of humanity, because the world is one that has turned its back on God. But unlike the unsaved, we still have hope, the assurance that no matter what is going on in our lives, God is in control and will ultimately take care of us. He will either take us out of the situation (rare, in my experience) or will lead us through it in a way that will give glory to Him if we will only be patient and follow the path He establishes for us.

As I stated in a previous post, God has not moved. It is up to us to acknowledge His sovereignty and to wait for Him to act. We need to be mature enough to wait quietly before Him, constant in our faith and in our total assurance that He is already acting on our behalf.

No crops, no food, no animals to provide skins for clothing and meat to eat? Is the answer to throw a pity party and rail against God? Of course not! The answer comes after the word “yet.” It means “despite anything to the contrary” according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. A synonym is “nevertheless.” I think of it as “in spite of all that has come before.” So, the verse is “In spite of no buds on the fig tree, no grapes on the vines, no olives, no food and no livestock, I will, nevertheless, rejoice in the Lord.” We don’t rejoice because we have troubles. We keep our focus on God and rejoice in spite of them. When we keep our focus on God and not the problems, then we can focus on how He is is acting on our behalf, not on how everything is wrong and seems against us. God is always for us, but sometimes we focus on the problems and cannot see that God is working out a solution that makes more sense for us than anything we could come up with using our finite minds and resources.

The conclusion is that troubles will come because we live in a fallen world. But that is not the end of the story. The “rest of the story” (as a great radio personality named Paul Harvey used to say) is the most important part. God is on His throne and acting for us; our part is to wait and to rejoice. The waiting is hard and the rejoicing may be even more difficult sometimes, but the alternative is hopelessness as we focus on problems instead of on God. May we ever remember that as long as we have breath to pray and praise, we have hope! But God…

May you have a blessed day, filled with the promise of God’s solution to all of your problems.

Running the Race

On October 28, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I have heard most of my life as a Christian that life is like a race that we are running, towards the prize of eternal life.

I do believe that the race analogy is true. But something in my devotional this morning led me to open my eyes to a different observation about this truth.

Our life is not meant to be a race to the finish line, in my opinion. Rather, we are part of a relay race and are supposed to pass the baton of our faith on to the next generation. They will continue to run the race themselves, sharing the Gospel and spreading the good news that eternal life is the prize at the end of each individual’s race. It puts a smile on my face to know that when my life is over, others will continue to carry the banner of faith that has been shared with them by the saints who went before them. This is not a profound revelation, but it is one that opened my eyes to the kind of race I am running. Life with Jesus is not a sprint, but it is a relay race. The “leg” that I am running is only part of the race and I will one day leave the baton behind for others. That is why it is so important to share the Gospel message, so that the baton of His love, mercy and grace will not be dropped in mid-race, but it will continue to be passed on to the younger generations, those who need to hear and believe.

May you continue to run the race with persistence and consistent faith until the day that the Lord calls you to pass on the baton.

Just Be Quiet

On October 27, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

I know that I talk too much, not to strangers, but to friends. I get on the phone with one particular friend and we can talk for an hour or more. The same is true of my chats with our daughter. Recently, the Lord has been telling me to be quiet more and to just listen. I’m not the only one bursting with things I want to share, but I am aware that at times, I ramble and the other person doesn’t get a chance to share what is on their hearts. Imagine if God never listened to us how frustrating that would be!

People do not ask for or desire that I tell them all that I am thinking or my opinion about everything. Mostly, they just want a listening ear. Of course, if they are sharing something that is against my moral code, I will speak up, but my new thing to do is just to listen. Did you know that there are studies about being quiet and letting the other person fill the silence? How much we can learn about what is going on in another person’s life is dependent on our truly listening.

We are repeatedly admonished in the Scripture to listen and to think before we speak. I think it would solve a lot of relationship problems if we would make following this verse a habit. It’s hard to argue with someone who isn’t arguing back but is remaining silent, isn’t it?

May we all be blessed today with the reminder to listen carefully and to just be quiet.

Words Matter

On October 26, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

Have you ever thought of how many words you say every day? Ponder that. Then, think about how many of them are kind words, words that build up and encourage.

Encouragement should be as much a part of our being as Christians as reading God’s Word for the encouragement that we get from that. Consider that many do not read His Word (although we are in absolute agreement that they should), and the only encouragement that some may get is from what may come out of your mouth. The clerk is slow and you’re in a hurry. Be gracious anyway. The traffic is backed up and you feel like you’re going to explode with anger. The passengers in your car need to hear gracious words instead. In whatever situation we find ourselves, we can choose to use grace in our words. Give love with your words, not judgment and condemnation. It’s your opportunity that God has given you to represent how He would respond to frustrations and challenges. Just be kind. I saw a sign that had a familiar saying on it, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” You don’t have to accept sin. I am not saying that by any means. But no matter what is happening in someone’s life, you can make a difference with a kind word, just noticing that the other person needs your encouragement just as much as you need to take in the manna from God’s Word daily.

May your day be filled with the opportunity to reach out to others with kind words, offering needed encouragement and a picture of what kindness looks like.

Blessed

On October 25, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

One of the habits that I have tried to cultivate is to count my blessings before I get up in the morning. Of course, I have to be alert enough to do this, but I have found that it starts my day off on a positive note. It only takes a few minutes to tell God how grateful I am for His blessings and for being able to be alive for a new day.

One of my greatest blessings is being able to read and memorize God’s word, hiding it in my heart so that the verses and sometimes scripture songs go through my mind as I fall asleep. This morning was one with this verse front and center. God gives me counsel daily and that is a blessing. He orders my steps, helps me organize my busy days and to take time for Him first every morning. The best news is that after all of my life is done, He has a big plan for me. He will take me to be with Him in glory! I didn’t and couldn’t do anything to earn his mercy and grace, but I am so grateful for it and for His unconditional love for me. Before you head out today, I hope that you will take a few minutes just to reflect on God and His goodness and blessings in your life.

***May your day be blessed with the knowledge that you are blessed to be a blessing!***

When I Am Afraid

On October 24, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I don’t know how your week has been going, but I have felt as though I have met myself coming and going. Since last Wednesday, I have had an appointment or meeting every day and sometimes in the evening, too. Of course, I didn’t plan it that way, but it turned out to be busier than I expected because several of my regular doctors wanted to check on me and that meant appointments in town. Then, Sunday, a day of rest, I had to get up extra early to get showered and ready for Sunday school and then to help out in children’s church. Oh, my! Sometimes the thoughts overwhelm me, but I have to get hold of those thoughts and let God control my mind. I still have three more appointments and or meetings this week, and then, finally, a blessed “free day.” Finding time to read Scripture has been an absolute must for me, just to get me through the challenges of each day. It’s not that I mind appointments. I mind the interruption to my regular routine, the nagging fear that they may find something more wrong than I already know about and the travel back and forth that is stressful in itself because of the traffic. Nevertheless, God gives me His word, especially when I am afraid.

We hold doctors and other professionals like them in high esteem, but we need to remember that they are only men and women, just like we are. I don’t believe that there is anything that they can tell me that God doesn’t already know about and is already prepared to handle with me. So, I don’t like the heavy daily schedule, added with the problem of persistent insomnia, but I accept that God is with me regardless of the daily sword thrusts that try to attack my faith.

Thus as I start a new day filled with a longing to just sit and be quiet and relax, but knowing that again today, I have things to do and obligations to fulfill, I go out knowing in my heart that God is right beside me and I believe that with all my heart.

Falling Down

On October 23, 2022 By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

As I have aged, I have discovered that the law of gravity seems to be more active in my life. As I told one of my physicians, “I don’t know how or why I fell. I was just walking, and then I wasn’t.” Fortunately, each time I have fallen, I have had the helping hand of my spouse to assist me in getting up.

Did you know that it is possible to fall in other ways, too? When we venture too far from the Lord and the reading of His Word, we have a tendency to “fall away” from Him. I don’t think that this is the law of gravity at work, however, because it is actually that we are moving away instead of toward Him. It is my belief that we are always moving in our relationship with God, either closer to Him or further away and that is based on our own choice. But God doesn’t leave us way out in left field, unable to get up and calling loudly for help.

No matter how far we get from the Lord, He is only a prayer away. We just call on His Name and He lifts us up. That is not to say that confession and repentance may not be necessary. It is saying, though, that God doesn’t just leave us there on the ground unless that is where we want to be, stubbornly refusing to call on Him for help. It is in our actions that we determine how much God will do for us because I firmly believe that He will not come in when He is not welcome. So, if you feel yourself getting further from God, ask yourself honestly who moved. I can assure you that it was not the Lord who moved away from you! Since you are the one who moved, then you can also be the one to move back and press in closer to the one who upholds and lifts you up.

**May you be blessed with God’s grace, mercy and peace today and may you always strive to move closer to Him.**

Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner

Category: Scripture