I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
God doesn’t move or change and he is unshakeable. Good to know in a world that is constantly shifting its values and the people it esteems. God is the One who is always there, always steadying me and helping me to get through life’s surprises. Curve ball after curve ball has been thrown at me this last year, but each time, God is the catcher and has not allowed the unexpected pitches to throw me. I may have been down for a while, but I was never out of the game of life because God has been there for me. In a sea of whitewater everywhere, He has been my anchor and the person in my boat who calms me. The sea may be rolling all around me, threatening to tip my boat, but the Lord calms me so that I see Him and trust in Him instead of fearing the power of the overwhelming waves. I hope that you let God be your steady anchor in the storms of life. If you aren’t in a storm right now, then praise God for the calm, but be ready to face the storms when they come by choosing to trust the Lord no matter what comes your way.
Just in case you think that you can have secrets from God, let me clue you in to some truth. You can’t! Try reading Psalm 139 aloud and let it speak to you about where God is and how intimately He is involved in your life. This psalm was in both of my devotional books this morning, so if I didn’t get the message the first time, God repeated it.
When I got up this morning, my first thoughts after saying my thanksgiving prayer were all that I have to do today to get ready to go to the beach to meet our daughter and her family. No, I didn’t procrastinate. Well, maybe a little. We have known since April that we would be meeting our daughter at Myrtle Beach and I waited until today to organize and pack. It’s not that I don’t want to see everyone. I do, I really do! I just am not a big fan of traveling or packing or unpacking. I get anxious that I will forget something vital (like meds), so I make lists. Then I check things off, highlight them, circle them, carry the list with me from room to room. You get the idea, right? We were away from home for three weeks in June to July. Then, mid-July, I visited my sister in NC for a week. Two weeks at home and back on the road again for another week now. We will be traveling again later in August and one final trip in September. So, all of this traveling and packing has me a little fidgety. But God surprised me with a verse this morning that jumped off the page at me and immediately calmed me down.
Wow! Just wow! I always pray for traveling mercies and know that God goes with me wherever I go, But for Him to affirm that He is seeing me as I travel…this blows my mind. I know it shouldn’t because of course, God sees me everywhere, doing everything that I do routinely. I am blessed that He is aware that I am traveling again, that my heart wants to go but my mind is reluctant, and that I have tons to do to get ready to head to SC. For now, I will focus on God’s great love for me and His attention to details. I have no doubt that He will help me to remember all that I have to pack and do to get ready for the trip. But mostly, I pray that He will continue to bring this verse to my mind so that the anxiety that I usually suffer when traveling will flee.
Many of us seek safety and security in things or in other people. But the Bible teaches that it is the Name of the Lord that is our safety, our strong tower into which we can run to seek shelter. Buffeted by the world and all of the bad news that is reported daily, I find myself frequently just withdrawing and calling on God. His answer is to calm my spirit and reassure me that He is in control in spite of circumstances. I have needed that reassurance this week and I am thankful for His strength that has carried me back to calm waters.
May your day be blessed with worship, peace and the love of the Almighty surrounding you.
From my devotional this morning, I got this promise. Isn’t it wonderful to know that no matter where you are or what is happening in your life, the Lord God is with you? He is the same Lord who died for you on the cross, the same Lord who loves you with an eternal love, a love that no one can change or take away. He saves! Hallelujah!
As I read, I related to being a small child and waiting anxiously for my father to come home from work. No matter what had happened that day, daddy always knew what to say and how to calm my fears. Now, broaden the scope and imagine that our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to call on Him. We don’t have to anxiously sit and wait for His arrival; He is always right there beside us. In my mind, I recall my daddy picking me up and holding me and telling me that he loved me. Those moments with my father were worth all that had happened that day: the hurt of being different from the other children because I couldn’t run and play due to my health conditions, the anguish of being rejected by my mother, and the multitudes of other pains that small children go through and think we just can’t live through them. I survived because I knew my daddy loved me and would be home soon to cuddle me. And when I began to go to church, the comforting arms of my earthly father were replaced by the everlasting comfort of my Heavenly Father. By that time, I was living alone and needed to know His love since my daddy was hours away and I could not share my daily frustrations with him. But God was there! He was there for me all along, just waiting for me to ask Him to come alongside me and be that One that I can always count on.
God quiets us with His love. He loves us totally, completely and unconditionally. I can choose to leave Him, but He will not leave me. He sees me as worthy, as beautiful and as a necessary part of His creation. The God of the Universe looked down on earth and thought it needed one of me. Awesome thought, right? Of course, it is also an awesome responsibility to fulfill His purposes for me during the years He has established for me here. Nevertheless, while I am here, He rejoices over me. Just as my daddy used to sing songs (“The Church in the Wild Wood” was a favorite of his) that showed me his love for me, imagine the Heavenly Father singing songs over you, not just when you need comfort, but just because He loves you. What song is in your heart today? Imagine the Father singing that to you. That thought makes my whole being quiver with anticipation for what the new day will bring and what the Father will do for me and through me in it!
I like the mental images that come to my mind when I meditate on these two verses. I added them to my promise journal so that I can look back and remember. That’s what life is all about sometimes, a series of memories that mean something important to us. When I am remembering the afternoon minutes that I spent with my daddy, I also recall the many times that God has shown me grace and mercy and love…lots of love. Can I do any less for others who are hurting and need a Mighty Warrior to save them and a loving God to calm and rejoice over them with songs? We are sent to tell others because we have a great truth that should never be hidden. The world is hurting, and we have just the right remedy…a relationship with the Lord!
www.bible.com/reading-plans/44512/day/5
proverbs.bible/proverbs-18-10
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 