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In life, there’s always going to be messes. We are guaranteed to have problems. John 16:33 tells us so. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Jesus warns us that we should expect to have trouble in this life. But He has also told us that we can have peace despite our trials. The peace that Jesus refers to will come when we keep our eyes on Him and not on the trouble we are facing.
The Christian singer, David Crowder, sings a song, Come as You Are, that says the same thing that Jesus tells us. The lyrics say that, “Earth has no sorrows that Heaven can’t heal.” Then the next line tells us what to do with our troubles. “So, lay down your burdens.” This song is such a good reminder that we need to keep lifting our face to the Lord and just focus on Him. That is how we can dance in the rain and survive the storms. This is my prayer for us today and always.
5…The Right Path
Good morning! Have you noticed how the morning dew refreshes our plants and flowers outside? About five years ago, during one of my hospital stays, the kids sent me a floral arrangement. Along with the fresh flowers was a small plant. The plant had purple leaves and every morning, small pink flowers would bloom. They’d only stay open for a couple of hours, so you had to get up early to see the blooms. When the flowers wilted, we took the plant and planted it in its own pot. Over the years, we’ve kept dividing the plant. Now I have four pots of them hanging on my porch. In late fall, I’ll bring them inside and hang them in my mud room for the winter. They are the heartiest plants I’ve ever seen.
As I was watering them, I thought of the verses in Lamentations 3:22-23: “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” No matter what kind of a day you had yesterday, today is a new day, a fresh start. God’s mercy refreshes us just like the morning dew refreshes the plants. It doesn’t matter if you missed the mark by a mile yesterday or only by a bit, God gives us a new start each day.
I don’t know about you, but there have been many days that I thank the Lord that the day is over because I know tomorrow has to be better. The best way to start each new day is by being in God’s Word. I know mornings can be hectic but if you would give the Lord a few minutes, He will bless that time you spend with Him and start your day on the right path … the one leading straight to the Father!
6…Moving Our Puzzle Pieces
Good morning! “Out of sight, out of mind.” God doesn’t want us to live in the past but from time to time it’s good to reflect on what God has brought us through. We often can see God’s hand at work in our lives a bit clearer once some time has passed. Seeing His handprints on everything that I thought was terrible at the time puts wind underneath my wings. Life sometimes seems like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, with some major pieces missing. But I can promise you that those pieces aren’t lost, God just hasn’t shown you where they belong yet.
Take a situation in your life where you clearly saw God’s hands all over it. Now step back and look at all the things that had to happen to bring you to this place. Those things are the puzzle pieces. It’s mind-boggling how God can orchestrate everything the way He does. Sometimes it’s hard to see God working in our lives. When that happens, we can still be at peace because without a shadow of a doubt, He’s moving the necessary puzzle pieces around for our benefit and His glory.
One of my favorite verses dealing with waiting on the Lord is Isaiah 40:31:
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
So how is your puzzle looking? As we wait to see more pieces revealed, we can rest with 100% assurance that God is indeed moving in our lives. He is perfectly fitting together each piece of your puzzle … in His perfect timing.
7…Singing His Praises
Good morning! Since yesterday was a rainy day, I spent some down time looking through pictures on my computer and I camped out in the folder from one of our excursions to Amidon State Park. It’s located near Fredericktown, Missouri. It was only about a 45-minute drive for us and the drive itself was always pretty. It is one of those hidden treasures and most times we were the only ones there.
Alan and I loved going there to climb on the pink granite rocks and listen to the water rush over them. It’s a very relaxing place to go for a couple of hours. As I was thanking God for this beautiful area He gave us to go to, I was reminded of the verses in Luke that talked about if we didn’t sing praises to God, the rocks would.
Luke 19:37-40 says:
And as He was now approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” And He answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.”
Isn’t that cool? Even if we were silent, the rocks would sing out God’s praises. The Lord is definitely worthy of our praises every day. So, here’s to joyfully singing His praises and letting the rocks remain silent.
8…Holding Tight
Good morning! Going into the grocery store, I saw a mom and a little boy walking hand-in-hand. I thought it was so cute, until I got closer to them. Complete with sound effects, the little boy was doing his level best to get his hand out of his mom’s hand. It was evident that this little tyke thought he could do this without his mom and he was ready to show it. But the mom had quite a grip on him and he wasn’t getting away from her until she said so.
After I finished chuckling about what I had seen, I started thinking. Don’t we do that same thing with God? We think that we can handle things on our own, so we let go of His hand and go about our business thinking we’ve got everything under control. We feel confident that all is good and then when a crisis comes, and some sort of crisis always hits, we realize that we can’t get this one done by ourselves so we want to reach out for and hold His hand again and wonder why we ever let it go in the first place!
Isaiah 41:13 says:
“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, do not fear I will help you.”
Just like the mother didn’t want to let go of that little boy’s hand, our Heavenly Father wants to hang on to our hand, too, knowing that this would be the best thing for us. Life would be so much easier if we just remembered to take hold of God’s hand and not let go. So, here’s to holding tight!
9…Speak What You Believe
Good morning! Have you ever read verses in the Bible and just as soon as you let those words sink in, the Holy Spirit shows you something that you need to fix? This recently happened to me as I was reading Ephesians 3:20-21.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
I have camped out on these verses since Alan died.
Last night I realized that what I was praying wasn’t the same thing I was saying
