help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” David knew that the Creator of the mountains is the same Creator whom he had learned to trust for help.
We never know from minute to minute what life will bring us but there are a couple of truths we can stand on. If Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we know where to turn for help. From little things, like sending someone to give you a way off the roof, to big things like we read about through the life of David in the Bible. Once we’ve learned to trust the Lord in all things big and small, it’s much easier to patiently wait for help to arrive, in whatever form God sends it. And while we trust and wait on the Lord to help us in our time of need, we can still keep our joy and enjoy life. So, here’s to patiently and joyfully waiting for our ladder to arrive!
Lord, our help comes from You. Because we know You are always with, it is easier to wait for help when we need it. Just like with Alan, he joyfully waited for his help to arrive. Please remind me of this example when You see me impatiently waiting. It will bring a smile to my face, and more importantly, to my heart. Amen.
21…TEACH US
Good morning! As I was moving things around in my house, I came across a plaque in the shape of an apple. My sister gave me this plaque while I was still teaching. It has Psalm 27:11 printed on it. “Teach me your way, O Lord.” During my teaching years, I kept it on my desk as a reminder to keep seeking God, especially when situations would arise that needed a fresh solution from Him.
As much as learning God’s ways are important to our faith walk, I ran across another verse in Psalms this morning that will help us as we live out our days for Jesus. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
Just knowing about God doesn’t translate into a successful Christian life. As Christians, others look at us to see how we live out our faith. The verse in Psalm 139 reminds us that we need to continually ask God to search our hearts to see if there is anything blocking us from being all that He has created us to be. And once God shows us areas that we need to work on, we need to be faithful and let the Holy Spirit help us change our ways. Those that are watching how we live our lives will learn just as much, if not more, during our times of failure than those times when we have everything all together. So, here’s to letting God teach us so we can in turn teach others through the example of how we live our lives for Him.
Heavenly Father, as we live our lives for You, we know we can’t be those witnesses You have called us to be without Your constant help. As we study Your word and learn more about You, we pray that this would change the way we live. Thank You for Your patience as we learn to live out the life You have called us to. Amen.
22…TIMING
Good morning! I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how the Lord wants us to wait on Him. There are situations in my life, like I’m sure there are in yours, that make me wonder how long the wait will be. As I wait, I was reminded about a story in Genesis dealing with Abraham and Sarah. Genesis 21:1-7 gives us that story of how God fulfilled the promise He had made to Abraham through Sarah by giving her a child in her later years. Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. I don’t know how long you’ve been waiting for God to handle whatever the situation is in your life, but chances are that Sarah and Abraham waited longer.
As I was reflecting on this story, I was reminded of the pain and heartache we can cause ourselves and others by not trusting and waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing. Even though Sarah and Abraham caused themselves heartache when they took matters into their own hands with Hagar (Genesis 16), I wonder how Sarah and Abraham felt when Isaac was born. Was the birth of their son sweeter because they waited so long for him to be born, for God to fulfill His promise to Sarah? I think the process of waiting, even though we don’t enjoy it much, makes God’s answers that much sweeter. You know, there’s not one story in the Bible that I’ve read where Jesus was in a rush to do anything. He didn’t live a life of hustle and bustle like we all too often do. There are many reasons for why God has us wait but I wonder if one of the reasons is to make sure He has our full attention. Another reason might be so that there is no question as to Who brought the solution to our situation. With the story of Sarah and Abraham, there was no doubt, because of their age, that God brought them Isaac. Whatever you are waiting for God to handle in your life, let Sarah and Abraham’s story reassure you that God will take care of everything … in His perfect timing.
Lord, help us wait for Your answers to our prayers. Help us not to take matters in our own hands instead of waiting for Your perfect timing. Amen.
23…SNOW DAYS
Good morning! To all my teacher friends, a big “woohoo” for your Christmas break is about to begin!! I received a text yesterday from a friend of mine that I used to teach with. She sent a picture she’d knew I’d enjoy. They received 6 inches of snow the night before so they were having a snow day!! Oh, how I loved snow days when I was teaching and everyone from my students to the superintendent knew it. The kids would yell down the hall when they came in from outside, “Mrs. Estes, it’s snowing!!!” What they didn’t know was that I’d already been doing the snow dance … LOL
I was reflecting yesterday on why I loved snow days so much. I think the simplest answer is that it would give me an unplanned day. It would be a day that could just unfold naturally, without anything on my schedule. A day where I was able to hear God easier, without all the schedules and busyness of normal days interfering.
Psalm 46:10 tells us to just let go and let God be God, knowing He is in control, or that’s how I paraphrase the verse. None of us know what we are going to encounter in our days, but God does. If you’re like me, we try to schedule what will happen because we want control. But God wants us to let go of that control and have “snow days,” where we give God our days and let Him do our scheduling.
Just as snow brings about peaceful tranquility, letting go and letting God be in control of every detail of our life brings about a peace that not even a snow day could compare to. Here’s to not waiting for a snow day before we let God be God in our life. And if God wants to give us some snow, that would be the icing on our cake!!
Lord, please help us transfer the lessons we learn from having snow days to our everyday lives … letting You schedule our days. Amen.
24…LIGHT AT THE END OF
YOUR TUNNEL
Good morning! We live in such an instantaneous world. I think having all the technology that’s available to us today helps make us want everything right now. When’s the last time you marveled at the fact that you can send emails, text, or photos to someone hundreds of miles away in just moments? But here’s a more telling question. When’s the last time you got really aggravated when that same technology took a minute to work instead of merely seconds?
Patience is something I think everyone walking on the face of this earth struggles with. We want to get from A to Z at lightning speed. We often don’t have the patience to get through the processes that are required in life. You know, like when a loved one dies, and you don’t want to go through the grieving process. You just want to get to the other side of it, so the heartache will stop. Or when you’re suffering with a physical ailment and you just want the healing to happen so that the pain will go away. And when there are broken relationships and you go through the “breaking up” process, there’s pain there, too. God uses every ounce of our pain in life for His purpose and glory and our good. Not one single tear goes unnoticed by our Heavenly Father. When in pain, I go to a couple of verses for comfort. 1 Peter 5:10 says, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.“ And 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…” These verses comfort me because they remind me that the pain will end. These promises of God do not say that we don’t have to go through the processes though. But based on these and many other promises, we know there is a light at the end of those painful tunnels. When our Light is Jesus Christ, we can endure the pain. Praying you can comfort