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I am sure we can all
relate the many times that we grow weary and feel literally spent. We, as
women especially, wear many hats and are continuously giving of ourselves in
many ways and in many directions.
I ran across this verse
today that so touched and ministered to me and reminded me where my source of
power and strength comes from.
It is out of Psalms 87:7 and says:
As they
make music they will sing. "All my fountains are in You." Psalms 87:7
As we are fully depleted, we can sit at the feet of Jesus, worship Him, and be replenished through Him.
He will pour out His refreshing waters all over us and refuel us with all that
we need. Everything we could possibly need we will find in Him!
I envision myself with
Jesus and see His living waters being poured out on me. I am thankful that His
fountains never go dry. He is my forever supply, and I will continue to open my
life to Him for those living fountains!
Come on and stretch yourself and and greet God as your day begins!
Yeah Right!
That is the ideal but often we wake up feeling like we need about four more hours of sleep. Our minds start racing fixing on the tasks for the day. Make school lunches...take the kids to school...maybe even stay for your volunteer morning as a teacher's aide...come home and do some household chores...the list goes on and on driven by the particular day. Before our feet touch the floor and our slippies are on we have lost any hope of the promise that "joy comes in the morning."Our first thought is the need for coffee. We head for the kitchen waiting and enduring the excruciating 1/2 minute for the Keurig to be ready and add insult to injury waiting for the time required for the coffee to brew...I estimate that takes about ten more seconds. Then we often sit for a few more minutes in somewhat of a stupor. We don't even notice the singing of the birds and all the other beautiful things outside the window.
I know that I am exaggerating a bit...maybe even a lot. All days do not begin this way, but some do, and when they do, our whole day becomes unpleasant. It is important to remember that this day is a treasure from God. We have a brand new, unspoiled, sparkly clean gift of twenty four hours to move down the path God is leading us to. The opportunities of this day may never come again. Hopefully this will become the new way we will now be to waking up.
The Bible has many verses about having a happy first minutes
in the morning and, thereby also having a more happy day.
All you saints!
Sing your hearts out to God! Thank him to his face!
He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love.
The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.
But as for me, I will sing each morning about your power and mercy. For you have been my high tower of refuge, a place of safety in the day of my distress. Psalm 59:16 Lord, I bring myself and the readers of this devotional to You that we will be able to wake up joyful with an attitude of Seize the Day, and that we seize it for You. Thank you Lord. Amen.
Written by
Corinne Mustafa
Here is a song that I would love to use as my alarm every morning.
A heavy mist hung over the morning, as good an excuse as any to get a nice warm drink. Trying to stay dry, I ducked under store front canopies as I made the 1 minute walk to our nearest Starbucks. I saw a large black dog laying on the pavement as I approached. Leaving just a few minutes later I spied a business card on the ground next to the Rottweiler who had not moved an inch though customers had petted and spoken to her before they hurried on their way.
Hmm, I wondered if it was going to be an "Adopt me" card? What a novel idea, I thought. Then I felt a surge of emotion rising in my chest as I petted the peaceful pup and thoughts of my own beloved pet, gone just 4 months, flooded my memory.
A dog training service was on the business card. How brilliant! It gave all the necessary contact information but it was the dog that was the real advertisement: Look at my dog, no leash, no owner nearby, and yet still she has self control.
I thought about the young dog we had just adopted and how much work she is because she's so young and needs so much training. Taking a picture of the business card, I headed back to work thinking how nice it would be if our new pup was as well behaved as our old pup had been.
It wasn't until Sunday's sermon on contentment that I even realized what I had been doing lately. While missing our 12 year old Rottweiler, Sienna, I was forgetting to count my blessings of having a family who was willing to adopt 2 year old Fifi, the 3-legged Pit bull.
Fifi is full of energy, and enthusiasm, while training is full of tedious repetition, improvement is visible very quickly. She loves to snuggle and she makes us smile more often than frown.
Turns out that missing my old pet was just the tip of the iceberg. My life is changing and a new season has begun. Although I am confident that I am where God wants me, I am missing the way things were, and the friends and family who I used to see or talk to more often. One interesting part of the change is that I talk to God more, and depend on "venting my feelings" less. I do want to be content in all things, but having the all or nothing tendencies of human nature, I have to find the balance between keeping my eye on the prize that is Jesus Christ, and to be more like Him, while relaxing and accepting where I am now: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I have experienced times of need and times of abundance.
In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment,
whether I go satisfied or hungry,
have plenty or nothing.
Philippians 4:12 NET
This is the day the LORD has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it.
Psalm 118:24 NET
Dear Lord, thank You for showing me that in focusing on the past, and planning for when the future will get here, that I am missing and even avoiding the present. Thank You for giving me opportunities to practice contentment each day. Please give me eyes to see and a heart to understand Your love. In Jesus name, amen.
"When I grow up..." That is a phrase that many children use to declare what they might want to be when they are old enough. It is as if growing up happens at a certain time in life. But to be honest, life and growth are a process. While many may cite a certain age as being "an adult" based on what the laws allow a person to do, that age is quite variable when considering maturity of emotions, responsibility, etc. "Youthful indiscretions" don't happen only when we are under a certain age. Even when we may feel mature, we may find ourselves falling into doing the wrong things. We may develop shortcomings we never imagined we would have, or become addicted to something that begins to run and ruin our lives. These things may go against everything we have learned and felt about ourselves. But if we continue to grow, we will continue to turn to God for forgiveness and to help us change. As we grow older, hopefully we also grow wiser and closer to God and never stop growing in this way.
Our faith life reflects our earthly life. If we were children when we first began to learn of God's love, perhaps we sang songs like "Jesus Loves Me" or said simple prayers like "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep." As we grew older, we began to read Bible stories and learn about God's laws as well as the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we became adults we continued to seek God through worship and Bible study, either through individual devotional work or corporate Bible classes. As our spirituality continues to grow, God will constantly disclose more to us. Sometimes life throws things at us that we don't understand, and we may wonder why we have to go through them. We must realize that we will never know everything there is to know, and that more will be revealed as we continue to grow in Christ. As long as we remain faithful and do not reject his free gift of salvation, this pattern will continue until the day we join Jesus in heaven or He returns. Only then will everything we need to know be revealed.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (NIV)
People look to a lot of things to get them through a day, or a crisis. We
look to parents, best friends, the pastor of our church, psychologists,
self-help books, advice from the internet -- just about anything a person can
think of.
Why is it that sometimes even Christians look at anything or anyone else to
help and then go to the Lord as the last resort when all else fails?
We should be going to God for all of our needs, for all of the wisdom we need,
for all of the guidance we seek. God is the One who holds the universe in
His hands. He is the God who knows and sees all and has our best
interests at heart. God knows each of us individually better than we know
ourselves -- He made us.
In
addition, God has promised to hear our prayers. Sometimes other people
would really like to help us but just can't for various reasons or in various
circumstances. God doesn't have any limitations on His ability to
help. Plus His unconditional love for us in Jesus is never ending.
The
next time you get to the end of your rope -- let go. God is already
waiting there for you!
There have been so many times in my life that I have
struggled with MY PLAN for my life. It
sure isn't the fairy tale that I had planned on! My most recent struggle has been the most
difficult. I believe that is because I am at a place in which I am spending the
majority of my time with myself.
Therefore, it is a constant reminder that I am not where I had planned
to be. Instead of seeing all of the
lessons learned, growth accomplished and strength that I have gained, as well
as all the amazing blessings I have been given during my life, I have been only
seeing what I thought was disappointment.
Not until I stopped, looked and listened to my heart did I realize the
negativity of my ways. I turned to the
Lord and remembered one of my favorite bible verses.
For I know the
plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
(NIV)
Yes!! Now that I have
my brain back on track thinking the way I should be, I can completely see how
God has worked His plan for me. There
are things that I have wanted and truly expected to happen in my life thus
far. I realize now that the reason they
have not happened or have not worked out is because, I, being the silly human
that I am, have forced these things and have not waited upon God’s perfect
timing and planning. He knows when I am
ready for each and every event that will be going on in my life. He knows everything about me. He alone had a plan for me even before I was
born.
For you created my inmost
being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 (NIV)
You have searched
me, Lord,
and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)
It truly is so incredibly amazing how my beautiful God has
me under His wing, in His arms, and been carrying me through my life on
earth. I am so very blessed to be living
this very fun (yet sometimes challenging) life of mine. But, you know the challenges are just really
bumps along the road of this journey that I have been allowed to live. There is so much growth and strength and
happiness in my life that God has created for me. It is my responsibility to remember I am only
the co-pilot of this life. God is the
pilot and has it all worked out for me.
My most important task at hand is to remember He has a grand plan for
me, and stop trying to take back the control from Him. I will do this with great joy in my heart and
happiness on my face!
Take delight in
the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.Hebrews 11:6(NKJV)
Here are some thoughts, definitions, and scriptures that that will shine a light on the topic of Faith...
Faith is mandatory for us to approach God. Faith is the Word of God acted and lived out.
Comes-Drawing near to God.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8
Believe-accept something is true; feel sure of the truth of.
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour. Matthew 8:13
He is- When we come to God we have to believe He is!!
That He is your SALVATION Psalm 68:19
That He is your REDEEMER Psalm 19:14
That He is your HEALER 1Peter 2:24
That He is your PROVIDER Genesis 22:14
That He is your STRENGTH Psalm 19:14
That He is your PEACE Psalm 29:11
That He is your JOY Galatians 5:22
That He is your ALL SUFFICIENT 2Corinthians 12:9
That He is your ALL AND ALL
Rewarder-One who gives rewards.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
As we diligently seek our God He reveals all that He has for us. We are given revelation knowledge. He shows us of things to come. He guides our footsteps.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,the eyes of your understandingbeing enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,and whatisthe exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
Ephesians 1:17-19
This is my prayer...
Direct my steps by Your Word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me. Psalm 119:133
