Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Today I just want to remind us all that God promises again and again… He won’t leave us or abandon us or leave us fearful or alone. The verse above has a promise and a strong ‘command’… an order from authority. Dictionary.com says command is to direct with specific authority or prerogative, to be in charge of or have responsibility for; a single instruction.
God said ‘I have commanded you’~ be strong and take courage. Don’t fear or get discouraged. You are not ever alone. I find this to be a peaceful thought. When I wake up and feel ‘down’ and fearful of the worlds unrest. When I find myself fearing ‘what if’… I am told by the Lord God who loves me to be strong and take courage. Take courage means action…I must choose something. I have had to be strong at times in my life when I wanted to run and hide. I had to be bold when I wanted to be fearful. I did it then so I know I can do it again. Last night on the news they announced that there seems to be a war out against police officers. Quoting that 11 have been shot nationwide in 24 hours. My son is a uniformed officer. He is sworn in to protect and to serve. He wears a full uniform and drives a marked car. He is at risk everytime he puts his bullet proof vest on and enters his car for duty. This news announcement is not ‘calm’ news to a mother. I have to let my fear go and realize God is in charge. The angels are with him and God will protect him and all the others in uniform. I am glad he promises so much. It feels good to know we are not alone. Not left to fight our battles on our own. That God cares enough to promise the Lord God will be with you wherever you go. How are you feeling today~ can you be strong and take courage with me as we read about the unrest and the worlds dangers. Can we know deep in our hearts…that God is with us?
Psalm 91:14-16 “Because he loves me.” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
I read this today and really wanted to share a few things about it. God promises to rescue us. Have you ever been rescued? each of us have a story… I am sure… of days that were tumultuous when God restored peace in the midst of the storm. God promises to protect us. Have you ever felt protected in a powerful way? When you had NO doubt it was HIS protection that saved you. God promises to answer us when we call to him. Have you ever called out and heard back a small quiet ‘I am here’… in the midst of your panic? God promises he will be with us in trouble and he will deliver us and not only deliver us but honor us. Remember yesterday when I was amazed how he rejoices over us and gives us praise? Then he says ~ with long life I will satisfy him ~ that means we won’t be searching for other things to fill our hearts we will LOVE him and be fully satisfied in his love. Then within that promise and process we will see salvation for what it is. The beginning verse says. “Because he LOVES me.” Is that a condition? I think so. We have a response and he has a response. Just as it is with any relationship. Oh that we can grasp his great love for us today for this new year. The Lord says I will …over and over… the question is will we love him so he can do what he has promised?
Have your sound on… and sit back and listen to a voice of hope, of worship and of deep spiritual insight. If you purchase one book this year make it this one.
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 5:3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Lamentations 3:24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
We often don’t like to wait. In the fast culture we live in where slow cooking is replaced with micro waves and horse and buggy replaced with fast cars. We don’t like to wait. To stop and be quiet. To slow down and be still. The word tells us there is a blessing for us when we wait. To wait: dictionary.com says: to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens~ to be available or in readiness~ to look forward eagerly~ to expect~ to be in readiness for- to remain neglected for a time.
Oh we don’t like that last one… to feel neglected for a time? But don’t we feel like that at times when we wait and wait and wonder if God is listening? I love the last promise that says; each one will receive their praise from God. Does that really mean we get God’s praise? I think of my grand children and when they do good I say. “Good job~that was wonderful.” As I say it I can see them stand up taller and take it inside themselves, “yes I did good”. Is God really going to do that for us? This is just a little word study for us to think about. Waiting patiently is sometimes really hard but we miss the blessing when we don’t wait with the right heart attitude. How are you doing at waiting these days?
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” NIV
This weekend we spent time with our grandsons. Samuel is 6 1/2 Josiah is almost 3 and Seth is 3 months. When I read this verse it reminded me of the way grand parenting is for us. We rejoice over them. We take delight over them. When Seth fussed I held him and he calmed down and went to sleep.
Quieted by love and kindness. (along with his own singing himself to sleep which was very cute)
I love this verse and I think it will be my ‘years’ verse. I love to think of how God quiets me with his love. When I get anxious or overwhelmed I can think of the verse, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’. He delights in me. In us. Can you imagine? He rejoices over us with singing? Oh I would love to hear the Savior sing to me. I wonder if it was like that in the garden before Adam and Eve made the wrong choice and listened to the wrong voice. I think of the old hymn called ‘In the garden’. My husband and I used to sing it together all the time as a duet in church. Harmonizing every note.
And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own and the joy we share as we tarry there non other has ever known. He delights in me In you ~ too Oh that we could grasp that delight to the depths of our hearts. No matter what painful words are spoken or negative behaviors given towards us by others.The Lord Our God is with us. He takes delight in us and he sings over us with gentleness and quiet love. Like a lullaby he rejoices over us with singing. I so wonder what that would be like. Do you?? Just something to think about as we begin a new week.
St. Augustine wrote one time: “Light of my heart, do not let my darkness speak to me.”
I think this is a profound saying because in this time of season where greying days are the norm and the weather is not an invitation to go out and enjoy. The darkness of the day can sweep over our spirit and dare to remove our joy or our hope or our spark of life.
It is easier to want to wrap in a blanket, drink tea by the fire and hibernate. In order for something to speak to us we have to listen. We have to be quiet and be still and listen. Let me lean in and tell you something: Do not LISTEN to the darkness talking… 1 John: 5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
So the message is this. Darkness is not from God. When our spirits feels downcast and sad and the darkness of the overcast day leaves us with a mood that feels defeated it is not from God. We are to speak LIGHT to our day for God is light and life and hope and we stand in HIM. Do not let the darkness speak to your heart.
Light of our hearts illuminate your love to us. Shine it so brightly and so acutely that we will have no reason or desire to doubt or stay in the dark. Light of our hearts we thank you for being who you are and for loving us. Help us to stay in your truth Help us to walk in fellowship with you and help us Lord to keep our hearts pure. Thank you Jesus for all that you do. Amen
Have your sound on please. Oh to dwell and never leave… there is no where else for me… Jesus ~Jesus at your feet Oh I long to rest Oh I long to wait Oh I long to worship at your feet.
Still resting and recouping. Antibiotics are working. I am not as congested and not as ‘sick’ as in the beginning. Still very weak and still coughing. My appetite is very low food has been very minimal for 5 days now. I have been sleeping 12 hours at night and still needing sleep in the day. It has been a very bad bug.
Will try to get back to writing on Monday. It has been one year since this blog was created. I cannot believe it is one years old.
One Word 2018 Simplify/2019 Simplify/2020 Rest, 2021/Comfort
Simplicity
Subscribe
Subscribe Here!
Get encouragement and thought delivered directly to your inbox!
You have Successfully Subscribed!
my 2017 picture
Philipians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ==================== Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Courage is not the absence of fear but it's taking action in the midst of it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
It's your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words. Matthew 12:34 (msg) version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below you will find a few of my favorite websites or blogs. They have given me encouragement and challenged me on this journey.
Ann Voskamp's blog A holy Experience This image of a bleeding heart represents a journey of healing from brokenness to wholeness. Some of my favorite books: One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Married over 46 years and entered into my 65th year of life.
I am a mother of two and grandmother of six and mom to two very spoiled kitties. I love to worship and encourage and of course write whenever I can find a topic or subject to share about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for visiting my blog.
I hope you find it encouraging and that it gives you
'Something to think about'. The vision for this is to challenge the reader into a new and different way of thinking. I appreciate and always value your comments. Having others walk alongside and join in the sharing is part of the process.
Thank you for joining me... on this journey. As we get encouraged ~ Lord help us to encourage others. "And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin my blog button The crosses are found on a beach at Winema Christian Camp on the Oregon coast.. a place to relax and find God in the process. My favorite place ....to rest and restore my spirit.
/>PLEASE DO NOT COPY ANY PART OF THIS BLOG WITHOUT ASKING PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR FIRST. Thank you click onto picture for My etsy store:
