whenever he chooses.
Today, as you examine your effort at the things you do, don’t worry about who else might win at the game you are playing. Just trust and believe that it’s important for you to be the best you can possibly be. Your Heavenly Father knows why.
Let go of your worries because you have received God’s grace.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, help me stop comparing myself to others and be willing to bring only my best to you no matter what. Amen.
When You Don’t Know How to Pray
We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit itself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.
—Romans 8:26
Our instincts are heightened, our thoughts are somewhat vaguely tuned in to someone we love or something that we just can’t put our fingers on, and yet we have a feeling we should stop everything and pray. But for what, or for whom?
When the Holy Spirit nudges you to pray with some insistence, it’s good to listen. You may come to the Lord with a vague awareness that you were meant to pray only to discover that you still don’t know exactly what brought you to your knees. All you know now is that you haven’t hit on whatever it was and so you wait, hoping it will come to you.
The good news is that your obedience is all that was needed. The Spirit has directed it so that your heart and God’s will are aligned. You have served as a prayer warrior for someone out in the world.
John Calvin wrote, “God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us.” We are blessed with a freedom to address our God at any time. We can put all things in front of him because he cares so much about us. Prayer is one of your best habits.
Always be ready to pray when the Spirit urges you.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, I thank you for hearing me and accepting my most humble prayers. Thanks for all your blessings to me. Amen.
Another To-Do List
People plan their path, but the Lord secures their steps.
—Proverbs 16:9
Are you a list maker? You know, you write out the things you’ll do tomorrow, jotting notes to yourself about what you hope to achieve. You may not get all of it done, but at least it’s on a list. Then you walk out the door, and you forget to take the list. You strive to remember each thing you had so carefully noted, but somehow still arrive back home with the most important one of all left undone.
Setting goals and making plans are both good things. In fact, it’s wise indeed to make plans for the things you anticipate. The proverb here, though, reminds us of one important fact. Planning provides an invitation to pray. Only God can secure the way for you and create the opportunities that will bring the desired result.
What if you start your to-do list like this: Things I have to do tomorrow. No. 1: Pray. No. 2: Thank God for today, because he created it for me. No. 3: Get some guidance about the things on my to-do list.
It’s a new day and a new opportunity to make some plans. Include your heavenly Father in your to-do list and it won’t matter if you leave the house without your list. He knows what you need to get done.
Put prayer at the top of your to-do list.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, you know that I have a lot of things to accomplish today. I know that I can’t do one of them without you. Please be with me today and help me get all my tasks done. Amen.
Clinging to the Vine
Now choose life—so that you and your descendants will live—by loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice, and by clinging to him.
—Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Life is full of amusement to those who observe it philosophically. It is a reason to laugh out loud. For those who filter everything through the lens of the heart, through the things that touch every nerve in their being, it can be overwhelming, even tragic. Life is not easy for the sensitive of heart. Yet, for those who seek God first, who cling to the Vinedresser and press forward, it is indeed a victory.
The Vinedresser presents you with daily choices, designed to help you experience more of what he has for you. He offers you an abundant journey as you listen to him and to voices that resonate with you and stay steadily on the path. Every day, perhaps even every hour, you are asked to choose. What will you cling to?
Believers in Christ may differ in the practice or the intensity of their system of belief, but they all have one thing in common. As believers, they all have the victory through Jesus. This is your day to proclaim the victory and to let others know your choice to do so.
Live today in the joy of the Lord.
Choose to follow Jesus as you go through the day.
QUIET THE WAVES
Lord, you have opened your arms to me, ready to guide me to the victory that comes from knowing you. Help me keep making the choices that will bring me safely home. Amen.
Seek First to Understand
Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing their opinion.
—Proverbs 18:2
Some people never tire of sharing their opinion on the topic of the day, whether anyone asked them for it or not.
Wisdom doesn’t care so much about opinions. Wisdom always seeks first to understand. Understanding something is a layered process. You can understand the first layer, but once you’ve peeled it off, somewhat like an onion skin, and gone to the next
