Thank God I'm Forgiven! Real life begins and flows from that special gift from God. How many benefits and praises can you lift from that truth as you begin your quiet time. Try it! Yes, thank God I am forgiven because...
Good Morning Thankful Worshipers! Been thinking a lot lately about Job's great praise through his troubling times, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Praise be the Lord! I wonder why he allows only one night of sleep out of 20-30? But hey, Praise be the Lord because He has a plan and purpose for allowing it. PTL because I have to lean more on Him. PTL because I have to slow down and rely on others. PTL because others are stepping into their purposes. Thank God I'm forgiven and can know His love, grace and mercy no matter what I am facing or enduring! Yes, PTL!
This mornings devos really spoke to me and thread together to remind us of God's loving presence and how He works all things together for good. he is faithful--always! He doesn't waste our pain and wants to use it to grow us and the use us. he makes us new and sometimes that is through hard times. But because we are saved, we are activated and empowered to do the things He made us to do. We are His masterpieces. And the masterpieces become beautiful and useful as He pieces our lives together. Amen and PTL!
Spend some time in His loving presence today and soak in His love. he is working all things together for good! Amen! I heard Him and responded by spending time with Him and now I am very tired and praying He allows some sleep. If not, He has a plan in that. PTL!
UR: Eternal Faithfulness
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23 (NRSVUE)
This verse is one we can turn to when we feel overwhelmed, and I imagine overwhelmed is what Jeremiah must have been feeling when he wrote Lamentations. Things were the worst they had ever been for Israel. Many people had been slaughtered in a losing battle, while others died of starvation.
But Jeremiah tells us that he had hope because he called to mind God’s promises. He remembered how God’s steadfast love had not changed or been altered by the sins of the people. It was based not on their performance but on God’s unchanging heart. Next, Jeremiah tells us that God’s mercies never come to an end. Even though his nation had been defeated and the enemy had burned down the temple, God continued to be merciful to them. God hasn’t stopped being merciful to us either.
God is willing to forgive anyone who cries out for mercy. Jeremiah tells us about God’s great faithfulness. He had hope because he knew that no matter what was to come, God would faithfully provide for God’s people. Today, no matter what we face, no matter what has been torn down, we can call to mind God’s promises and put our hope in God.
Today's Prayer
Dear God, thank you for inspiring us with your word. Help us to have hope in all circumstances. Amen.
ODB
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She looked into my eyes and said, “Don’t waste your pain.” My mind immediately returned to the time years prior when I’d led the memorial service for her young adult son whose life was taken in a car accident. She knew what she was talking about. She knew pain. But she also knew how God could use it to honor Him and help others—something this friend had done so very well. And as I heard her words, they comforted and encouraged me as I faced a serious cancer diagnosis. She was reminding me that God heard my cries and lament, and that He was with me in my pain and might use it to help others in a new way.
Moses also learned that God was with His people in their pain. “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt,” God said. “I have heard them crying out . . . and I am concerned about their suffering” (Exodus 3:7). The Israelites, like us at times, must have felt alone in their pain. But God assured them He had a plan to “rescue them” and that “the cry” of their hearts was heard (vv. 8-9). He would ultimately use their pain to grow their faith, defeat their enemies, and bring Him honor.
In Psalm 90, the only psalm attributed to Moses, he declared that even though our “best years are filled with pain” (v. 10 nlt), God’s “unfailing love” is with us “to the end of our lives” (v. 14 nlt). He lovingly won’t waste our pain—and neither should we.
By Tom Felten
REFLECT & PRAY
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What does it mean for you to know God hears your cries? How is God using your pain to help others?
Loving God, thank You for hearing my cries and using my pain to help others.
Discover why we believe in a God who allows suffering.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
“God to the rescue!” is a major biblical/theological theme in Scripture and history. Because of His person and His promises, He’s mindful of the plight of His people throughout the ages. He’s loving, merciful, and compassionate; therefore, He sees the dilemmas and hears the groans of His people (see Exodus 2:23). And because He’s a promise keeper (v. 24), He acts for the well-being of those who belong to Him. We see this same dynamic in God’s ultimate rescue plan through Jesus (Galatians 4:4-5). Mary sang about such things in Luke 1:54-55: “[God] has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” And God was with Mary and Abraham as they experienced pain in life, just as He’s with us in our pain.
Arthur Jackson |
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I to We (I really love how this devo keeps affirming what I am hearing form God and His plans for us!)
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