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.
If we are traveling the road of life, which all of us are, we will encounter sin and evil. Nevertheless, God’s Word tells us to stay on the path to life and He will honor us. One day, the wicked will be totally destroyed. That is our hope and our assurance. Not that we want to see the wicked destroyed, of course, What we really want is for them to repent and come to God. But God promises that one day we will not have to endure their wickedness, their plots and schemes against God and His people will be gone forever.
In the meantime, as we face the trouble here during our earthly journey, we can depend on God to rescue us and to provide a shelter for us. He is our stronghold, our fortress, the One on whom we can always depend.
The wicked think that they are winning the battle. What they don’t know is that they have already lost the entire war. The final victory belongs to God!
If you look carefully at the image of the fortress, you will see that it appears to be built among the rocks. That large structure is not moving! It isn’t going to go anywhere any time soon. That’s why when we call on God to be our fortress, we need to run to Him. Then He surrounds us with His protection, but first we have to go into the safety that He has provided for us. God rescues us when we run to him for the protection He already has available for us.
May your day be blessed with the knowledge that God will always be your fortress.
For many years I felt like an invisible person, without a lot of worth and not much to offer to others. Then, the Lord got hold of my life and showed me that I am worthy because of who He has made me to be. He reassures me daily that He sees me and notices the steps that I am taking, the direction in which I am going and the people that I encounter along the way. God sees everything I do every day! Some may say that sounds like some kind of stalker. Well, maybe, but God is the best kind of “stalker” because He sees me in order to be able to prepare the way for me and to protect me.
May you always be aware of God’s presence in your life and the blessing that it is that He is constantly seeing you.
When my children were younger, it was easy to find a gift that would please them because they wanted just about everything they saw on TV or that their friends had. So, from their lengthy wish list, I chose a gift or two and they were generally happy. As they got older, it became more of a challenge to find something to surprise and satisfy them. As a result, I had each child create a wish list on Amazon and I choose gifts from that list or similar to items on that list. I also always add a surprise that isn’t on the list since I listen carefully to our conversations all year long and try to glean from those the information I need to make informed and wise gift choices. The gifts I choose are not always perfect, but they are always appreciated. It makes my heart happy to see sweet smiles and hear a grateful “thank you.”
In my devotional this morning, I was reminded that I don’t have to present a wish list to God in order to receive gifts from Him. In fact, getting up this morning is a gift, seeing photos online of my grandchildren having weekend fun is a gift, meeting our son today to celebrate his birthday is a gift. Everything I have is a gift from God, especially my health and my attitude of gratitude. It was not always that way. I used to complain about everything, even after I became a Christian. Yes, that suit you chose for me is nice, but the color is all wrong. I like the cute socks you got, but they are a little too thick for me. Get the idea? Nowadays, and for the past two decades or so, I have been practicing being grateful, especially to God, for the little things and the big things that He does for me every day. God chastised me about my complaining spirit and that is a habit I have to consciously be aware of and flee from.
Of course, the best gift God ever gave is His salvation to us by sending Jesus to die for us on the cross. But God didn’t stop there. He also sent His Holy Spirit who guides and comforts us. He sends us promises in His word, promises that He fulfills daily. In addition to the verse about God’s perfect gifts, I read a verse this morning that spoke to my heart about one of the gifts that I hold most dear.
This is a promise that I cling to when I am afraid, and there is a lot that makes me fear sometimes. I don’t like to be alone at night, but sometimes my husband has to go see his brother who is about five hours away and he spends several days and nights there. But I hold tightly to Psalm 91 and the verse above goes right along with it. The Book of Psalms is filled with God’s promises. In fact, if you follow David Ettinger’s posts, he wrote about Psalm 67 this morning and the glorious promise that Jesus will return.
We are meeting our son today and celebrating. I hope that he will enjoy his gifts, but mostly I pray for him to have a good year, one filled with hope in God’s promises and confidence that God is in control. Having a God-centered life is the best gift of all!
May you have a blessed day with time to reflect on God’s gifts to you and how perfect each one is, especially the timing when He gives them.
No matter what has happened in my life, I have counted on God to be there for me and He has never failed me. He is my refuge and fortress, and I hope that he is yours, too.
May you be blessed as you go through your daily routine, always mindful that God is only a prayer away.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 