Tag: power

Power

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

I am easily irritated during stormy weather because we live rurally and our electricity goes out pretty regularly. Sometimes, we are in the dark for hours, sometimes for days. Once, during a tropical storm, we were without power for almost two weeks. I don’t like the dark or the inconvenience of having no power for anything.

Worse than losing electricity is to not be plugged into our power source of life itself.

Through being plugged into the source of our life, strength and hope, we get the benefits of endurance, patience and joy. We don’t have to worry about storms knocking us offline because God is only a prayer away.

God is always right there even when we wander off the path and away from the source of our power. He is ready and willing to help us plug back in, get renewed energy from His Holy Spirit flowing in us and then He enables us to reach out to others and share the power He gives us with them. The current of God is flowing in us, through us and out to others. That’s the kind of power that we never have to worry about losing!

Timid but Bold

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

I am generally a very introverted, timid person. I don’t like large crowds (or even medium-sized ones). I avoid being around a group of strangers, not because of them but because of my own timidity. Today I have a women’s group meeting at church. I have looked forward to it and dreaded it at the same time. I look forward to it because of the fellowship but I dread it because I’m so shy and it’s hard for me to talk to people and feel as though I fit in. Usually, in group settings, my husband is there to run interference, check on me, draw me into conversations, etc. But with a women’s meeting, I’m on my own. Thus, the dilemma.

As I prayed this morning and spent time in God’s Word, this is the Scripture that I read. I did not go looking for it, but God directed me to it through a devotional that I read daily. Just in time for my meeting today! God will be with me, He loves and accepts me and I can count on Him to stay right by my side even when I’m feeling alone. I know that all of this is very strange to my readers who know that I taught in public schools for over thirty years, a profession that required public speaking daily. But I should note that I always had lesson plans to keep me focused on my tasks instead of how self-conscious I was feeling. In the group today, I fear leaving my comfort level, but I am also going to be bold and go regardless of my timidity. How’s that for stepping out in faith?

My other verse for the day is all about God’s calming my fears, so I’m trusting Him to come through for me and that I will make some new friends there. (The ladies that I used to be with at these meetings have moved to a different church.) Inhale and exhale, deep calming breaths…almost time to get ready to go. God is my Redeemer, my Savior, my Father and my Best Friend, so I’m counting on Him!

The Lord

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song1 Comment

Who is the Lord of your life? Is it yourself? Something you have accomplished in your life that you are proud of? A material possession that means more to you than anything? Or perhaps your family whom you love dearly. These things may be important to us, but none of them can be the Lord of your life. There is only one Lord, one God, and as a dear pastor used to say, “It ain’t you!”

Only our God can help us when we are fearful. He is our Lord.

God’s Spirit was sent to abide in each of us and gives us the freedom to choose to make Him Lord in all of our daily decisions.

God is our lighthouse, the one who shows us the way and gives us the power and strength to follow the right path towards eternity with Him.

My Lighthouse-Rend Collective

He is Lord-Elevation Worship

The Present Tense

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

As a grammarian and a retired foreign language teacher, I am generally aware of the use of tenses in sentences. I notice present, past and future tenses and sometimes that makes all the difference in my thinking. Today in my devotional, it’s all about the present tense, where I am right now.

The Lord keeps me from all harm…right now. He is currently watching over me and all that I do. I consider that very comforting. God is not confined by the constraints of time as we know it because He is infinite, but He steps into my present and is carefully watching over me. Comforting, isn’t it?

The verb “is” means currently, present tense. God has been my refuge and strength in the past and will continue to be in the future. But for today, I can count on Him to be my refuge, to be my strength right now, right where I am and in the circumstances I am currently facing. Encouraging, isn’t it?

Every day, each of us faces new troubles, whether from our health, our family circumstances, our finances or whatever comes up. God is always present, right there with us, no matter what we face. He saves us, present tense, from whatever enemies may attack us. The promise is that He will protect us and the reality is in the present tense. His hand is already there, ready for us to grasp and be saved by His power and mercy and grace. Humbling, isn’t it?

Although my focus is on the present tense in this little blog today, I want to end with a view of the future. God is always trustworthy. He is a rock on which we can stand and take refuge. We can trust Him forever because He never changes and He never will. Powerful, isn’t it?

As you read your devotional today and spend time with the Lord, may He be ever present in your heart, mind and soul.

Teach about God

On By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

One of the most solemn tasks that God gave us to do is to teach the next generation about Him and His power and His wonderful deeds. Our testimony is not to be hidden in our hearts where we can savor it all alone. It is to be shared vocally and frequently with others, especially our children. Although they may reject the message we are proclaiming, the seeds will be sown and with prayer and faith will one day bear fruit. It’s our responsibility to do our part, share the truth, and then let God take over softening the heart and opening the eyes to His love, mercy and grace.

A Prayer with Confident Hope

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture1 Comment

I pray daily, throughout the day. Some days my prayer is a whisper, a hopeful murmuring to the Lord. Other days, my prayer is intense. Yesterday was a day of intense prayer as our grandson was traveling alone to D.C. to start his new internship there. But his trip was delayed due to car troubles, so he ended up having to travel at night. So, my husband and I prayed that God would work out things with the car and get him there safely. God came through for Isaac as he left about 6 p.m., arrived at 9 and missed a lot of the awful traffic on the beltway. Sigh of relief and praise of thanksgiving that he arrived safely in spite of all of the obstacles. Of course, prayers will continue for him and our other loved one in the days ahead. I must admit that sometimes I am ashamed of how little confidence I have that God will answer my prayers. I pray, wait for an answer and hope that it will come but I am not surprised when the answer is delayed or doesn’t take the form that I thought it would. There is a prayer in scripture that addressed that for me this morning.

Knowing that God is the source of hope helps me to trust in His sovereignty. My confidence is in His answering in His timing and in a way that is best for all concerned. Look at the powerful words in this verse: joy, peace, trust, overflow and confident hope. This is a verse that I need to personalize daily and pray over myself as I come before the Lord and present my thanksgiving and petitions. Today, I pray this prayer for each of my readers, with the confident hope that God will completely fill you with His joy and peace as you trust in Him.

The Prayer-Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli

Learning to Be God-Confident

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

During my growing up years, I was shy and so introverted that I often hid away while others socialized. After I got married, I started becoming more confident, first as a wife and then as a mother. I was confident in my ability to make meals, organize schedules and to also teach if the opportunity presented itself. Now, as I am growing older, I am no longer very confident in my own abilities because my body frequently betrays me. I think I am going to walk from point A to point B with no problems but I stumble and fall along the way. God is teaching me to be God-confident, with total dependence on Him to get me where He wants me to go and to do what He wants me to do. I may be getting weaker but God wants me to know that He is getting stronger within me as I let go of my own self-dependence.

It’s an awesome thing to know that I can completely rely on God. There is no fear or anxiety in being God-confident because my heart tells me that He is steadfast and that He will take care of all of my burdens that I have tried to carry all alone.

When Gideon was called to rescue Israel from the Midianites, his first response was that his tribe was too small and he himself was too weak. God doesn’t need people who are powerful and mighty. He needs those who are submitted to Him and committed to making a difference right where they are.

God wanted Gideon to stop looking at what he didn’t have and to take a close look at Who was fighting for him. He wanted Gideon to be God-confident. When we trust in our own abilities, we may fail (and often do), but when we trust in God, confident in His power and willingness to carry out His plan, then there is no way we can fail. If you want to be a winner in all of the challenges that life hurls at you, one of the first steps is to learn to be God-confident!

Dependent or Independent?

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

For all the years that my husband was in the military, I was known as a dependent. At first, I resented the terminology, saying vocally and emphatically, that I was not really dependent on anyone because I could take care of myself just fine, thank you. After all, I had graduated with honors and had a teaching job and career in front of me. But, for the purposes of the military, I was a dependent. And you know what? I learned that it wasn’t such a bad thing. My husband’s status as active duty got me into the commissary to shop for groceries, the exchange to shop for other things, the Officers’ Club for luncheons and housing on the base at a lower cost and at a convenient location. So, maybe being a dependent wasn’t so bad.

I have since been schooled regularly by the Lord about the necessity of my losing my independent streak and being willing to submit myself to Him. Unless I am dependent on Him, I can’t grow, learn and teach others.

No matter what I try to do on my own, it really doesn’t work out well unless I first invite the Lord to be the leader. He is the chief everything…He is the one who gives me my identity, just as my husband provided my military ID for me that is still available for me to use today as a spouse of a retiree. My entire being is wrapped up in who I am in Jesus. I am independent in my choices because He lets me make them, even when I make bad ones. But He is also always there to help me out of the situations I get myself into because of those wrong choices and to help me back onto the path that I was supposed to take all along.

When I admit that I can’t do anything all alone, then Jesus steps in and it is His power that works in me to complete the task that He has given me to do. Sometimes I need His help and intervention more than others, but I am always thankful that I know that He is right there, ready to offer assistance, guidance and strength.

So, dependent or independent? I choose to be dependent on the Lord Jesus, grafted into His vine so that I can produce quality fruit for Him. It’s nice to let go of the wheel and know that Jesus is steering me in the right direction as I depend on Him to take me safely to my final destination!

Power and Weakness

On By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

I must admit that when I try to do too much, I get to feeling weak and powerless. But God’s power in me is always sufficient and gets me through whatever the situation is.

I have found that the more I lean on God, the more powerful I feel. The weakness that overwhelms me sometimes goes away and is replaced with a sense of well-being and peace.

God shields me constantly from attacks, both physical and spiritual. How do I know? Because I can sense His presence and know that He is right there with me guarding me from all sides and making sure that I am able to withstand the fiery darts of the enemy, whoever and whatever form that might take.

Holding God’s hand is like holding no other. He reaches out with immeasurable love and promises and He is always faithful. When I feel weak, He is my faithful shield, always there, silently on guard and waiting for me to call on Him. We have an agreement, God and I. I call His Name and He responds as my Father…He answers and reassures, holds me gently and comforts. Whatever I need for that moment, He provides because I trust Him to continue to watch over me.

May your day be blessed with the presence of the Lord and the knowledge that He is a faithful shield and a power that will be made perfect in your weakness.

Every Creature…All

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/rev.5.13.mev

I have read this verse numerous times, but today when I read it the words “every” and “all” jumped off the page at me. Every single creature, all made by the Lord God, which is all, will bow down to the Lamb and recognize that all honor and glory and power belong to Him. Not to the greatest governor of the land, or the richest, or the most talented Hollywood star! No! The Lord Jesus deserves all the glory for it is He who has saved us! The chaos of our current governments will be gone. There will be no more sin or sickness or death. Oh, my! It all boggles my mind to even consider it. Think about the person who considers himself to be most powerful and then imagine that person standing before the Lord Jesus. Where is the power then? Blessings today, my friends, as you face a day of challenges and prayers asked and answered. May you remember that in the end, the glory and power and honor belong to only One, the One and only Son of God.