“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.41.10.NIV
Tag: devotions
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Do not fear …
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Decisions
The truth is that God wants to talk with you about your decisions, and is waiting for you to bring these decisions to Him.
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Cling to God’s Promises
Cling to God’s Promises
What do you think about?
The thoughts you fill your mind with are crucial because what you cling to influences your worldview.
If you choose to dwell on God’s promises, you start to recognize God’s blessings during uncertain times. Trusting that God will redeem your present pain equips you to walk forward in faith and keep on fighting.
Isaiah 12:2 reminds us that we belong to a God who is faithful to keep His promises. This God rescues us and fights for us. So when we belong to God, we have nothing to fear—all we need to do is cling to God and wait on Him to act.
So as you walk forward today, reflect on some of God’s promises, and let them transform the way you think:
God will sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)
God’s peace will guard your heart. (Philippians 4:7)
God delights over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
God will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. (Psalm 32:8)
God is your refuge and strength, your help in times of need. (Psalm 46:1)
In all things, you are more than a conqueror because God loves you. (Romans 8:37)
God will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
God’s perfect love casts out all your fear. (1 John 4:18)
Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39)
God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. (Philippians 1:6)
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Trust or Control.
From today’s devotion…
The problem, however, is that trust and control do not coexist. You can have control or you can have trust, but you can’t have both. This presents a challenge considering that throughout scripture, God’s instruction to us is to trust Him. In fact, we often see that God’s guidance does not include the final picture nor are all the details known.
Following God surrendering control to Him.
With long life He will satisfy me.
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Eternity
Where will you spend it?
Today’s devotion also lead to reading about Arthur Stace, Mr. Eternity. I highly recommend giving it a read.
And as things do on the web it lead to a look at Copperplate Script which lead to a calligraphy course which I might try.
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He is near us
There’s never a place we can go where His presence won’t be there first. He’s in our yesterday, He’s in our today, and He’s in our tomorrow all at the same time. He rejoices over us, rewards us, blesses us, and smothers us with His forgiveness and grace every day, throughout the day. In addition to the good, there is no tragedy we’ll face, no hardship we’ll endure, and no adversity we’ll encounter where God is not with us, steadily holding us up with His mighty, righteous, and perfect right hand.
When you feel lonely and wonder where God is, know that He is about you, above you, after you, amidst you, around you, among you, before you, behind you, beneath you, beside you, beyond you, by you, for you, inside you, near you, and over you. He is everywhere, all the time. Always and forever, He is near us.
When you experience fear and wonder why God won’t remove it from you, know that He hasn’t given you a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. That nothing can separate us from His love and presence. Always and forever, He is near us.
When you’re sick and don’t understand why God won’t heal you, know that He is still the Great Physician and Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals. The time frame you have in mind may not match His, but rest assured, He is doing a work in you and through you. Always and forever, He is near us.
There is nothing that we’ll encounter that God has not already defeated. And not just defeated, but totally annihilated on our behalf when He put Jesus on the cross to cover our past, present, and future sins. Always and forever, He is near us.
When you go through devastating situations, He is with you.
When your life seems to be spinning out of control, He is with you.
When you can’t see the path or even the next step, He is with you.There are options everywhere that beg us to place our trust, hope, and joy in them. Those temporary joys and pleasures hold no comparison to the eternal, never-ending presence of our Almighty God who calls us His children. His presence is the prize. It’s what we get for all eternity.
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What you leave behind
People are watching.
Day 7 It’s hard to believe, but we may find ourselves leaving behind springs of water when we pass through the desert (Psalm 84:6.) Imagine that. You’re in a low spot, tired and weary, walking through a desert season in life, but you look behind you and notice that every place you have stepped is becoming lush, filled with life. In front of you, you see dry places, but behind you, you see life. If you’re a parent or a mentor with someone following you, they get a completely different view. Imagine what it looks like from their perspective. They’re in a desert, too. It’s hot and tiresome, but they look up and see flowing waters. Your willingness to fight changes others’ perspectives. People see you running to your Father even when it’s tough, and those who follow you may be filled with life.
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Where does my help come from?
Many years ago my mom shared some of her experiences as she returned home from Montreal in September of 1961 after attending the funeral of her brother Ken, age 37.
Mom recounted how on the drive home this verse helped her deal with the tragedy of Ken dying at such a young age.
Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the mountains
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.Over the years this verse has come to have a special place in my heart. Most mornings as I sit in my downstairs office I get to look at this picture while doing devotions and reading the bible.
This is a painting my mom did and is one of many works of art that we’re blessed to have in almost every room of our house. If you look closely on the road there is a boy and he’s playing with his dog. I like to think that boy is me. I never had a dog growing up due to allergies and I think mom was not too thrilled with the possibility of looking after a pet. Instead, I got turtles and fish. Less work and less attachment, easier to “let go”.
Anyway, recently one of the devotions was all about Psalm 121 entitled “I will lift up mine eyes“. Every time I look at this picture I’m reminded of this Psalm by the mountains in the background. Interestingly enough there is some bible commentary about looking up to the mountains for help from the gods as people believed way back in the day that “the gods” dwelled in the mountains. For me the forceful comeback to this idea is NO, My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Another take on lifting up you eyes is to get you focus off your problems and up onto God. From Day 1 of the devotion:
When chaos surrounds you and the waves of life seem to crash against your ship, choose to lift up your eyes beyond life’s challenges and circumstances. Choose to lift up your eyes and focus on Him. Remove your gaze off of the problem and center your focus on Him.
What are your eyes focused on? Who are your eyes fixed on? Are you meditating on the problem or are you trusting in the One who can shift the situation in an instant? When you meditate on the problem you’re amplifying its weight on the throne of your heart.
What are you feeding the ground of your heart? You can either feed your faith by meditating on God’s Word or you can feed your problem by worrying on the cares of the world. Fix your eyes on Christ. Lift up your eyes from your narrow problem and shift your eyes onto a bigger God. God is bigger than your problem. Worship God.
Lifting is a choice. When you choose to lift up your eyes, you’re making a conscious decision to worship God instead of worshipping your problem.
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.