Day One, Psalm 92:1; When I was growing up, one of my mother’s favorite phrases was “If you know what’s good for you…” followed by a statement regarding specific behavior. The message was clear, if you act in a certain way (or fail to act in a certain way) there will be consequences—and she didn’t mean an extra piece of chocolate pie! While the Bible, the wisest of all books, isn’t primarily a psychology or self-help book, it does contain bits of practical wisdom that if followed can provide us with a happier more hope-filled life. This verse has such a gem in it. The writer asserts that it is a GOOD thing to give thanks to the Lord. Over the past 100 or so years, research has consistently verified the accuracy of this ancient observation. People who are aware of all the wonderful things in their lives (even the small ones) tend to be happier and less prone to pessimism and worry. Someone once asked me why there were so many “defeated” Christians in the world. Forty years of observation has lead me to conclude that the answer lies in the failure to follow the sage advice contained in this passage. If we know what’s good for us we will learn to count our blessings and be thankful—then life will truly become good, no matter what we face. It is good to give thanks to the Lord…”
Day Two, Psalm 92:2; Several years ago I read about a study that indicated that the first fifteen minutes of the morning tended to set the tone for the day. The study also concluded that the way we spend the last few minutes before retiring at night can affect our sleep patterns. The psalmist seems to have discovered these principles because he advises us to affirm God’s steadfast love when we rise, and then affirm his faithfulness to us before retiring for the night. A few years ago, there was a popular slogan that reminded us “There is nothing that can happen today that God and I can’t handle.” What better way to start the day than to remind ourselves of this fact? In the same vein we should take time at the close of the day to remind ourselves of the various situations that God has helped you handled during the day, as well as “drop” the situations you know you will face tomorrow into his loving hands and leave them there. (It is good...) to declare thy steadfast love in the morning, and thy faithfulness by night.
Day Three, Psalm 92:4; Almost thirty years ago, my father spent an afternoon making a small wooden table for our daughter. It wasn’t anything fancy, just wooden legs supported by a wooden frame and a plywood top, but it brought gladness to the heart of his granddaughter. Today, it continues to gladden the hearts of her two daughters as they have tea parties, etc. on it. Too often we think that only the “big stuff” can make us happy, but the psalmist says that even the simple things that are the work of God in our lives and the works of God in the world around us can become a source of gladness. How long has it been since you took time to really notice the wonderful world that God has made? You can find reasons for gladness even in the busiest of days when you “take time to smell the roses.” For thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by thy works; at the works of thy hands I sing for joy!
Day Four, Psalm 92:5b; I recall a friend of mine who was facing a decision. He told me that he knew God’s will because he had polled some of his friends who were Christians. When he shared the answer with me, I was apprehensive about the answer was convinced to be right and told him it seemed to contradict some basic Biblical teachings. I then asked him if he had asked God’s guidance in the matter. He replied that he had originally done so, but didn’t like the answer so he decided to talk to his Christian friends about it. When needing advice, most people do one of two things—they either go to someone they know will agree with them or they seek out someone who possesses the knowledge they are lacking along with the skill to apply it to their situation. If you had an opportunity to get guidance from a person considered by his peers to be an expert in an area you needed assistance, you’d probably jump at the chance and consider yourself a fool not to follow his advice. The Bible is filled with testimonies to the fact that Almighty God is willing to share his wisdom with us if we simply ask him to do so. When we make that request of God, we are tapping into the most profound thinker of all time—one who will give us the solution to our most complex problems. Thy thoughts are very deep!
Day Five, Psalm 92:11; A woman who had experience much trouble during her life once complained to me about her brother. I reminded her that he had often come to her aid in ways that went beyond what could be expected of even a brother. She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face and asked me for specifics. Since her brother’s actions on her behalf were well known around the church (and town), I decided I wouldn’t be breaking any confidences to cite a few examples. As I listed off some the ways he had helped her, her demeanor changed and she blurted out, “I had no idea…”. This poor woman had known that her creditors had stopped hounding her and some other problems had been resolved, but she had been so self-absorbed that she was oblivious to why they had ceased. The psalmist, continuing the theme of “It is good” that he set in the first verse, reminds us that it is good for us to open our eyes and ears so we will be aware of the various “enemies” that would have harmed us if the Good Lord hadn’t intervened on our behalf. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies, my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants
Day Six, Psalm 94:18,19; Have you ever thought you were totally defeated only to have things suddenly turn around for you? Have you ever been so worried about a situation that you were depressed, out of sorts and feeling completely helpless, only to have some obscure thought or event brighten your life, and in doing so it seemed to open your mind to solutions you had overlooked? I’m sure most of us have that experience. This is exactly what the psalmist is talking about. He states that there had been times when he felt he was in free fall—that there was no hope of recovery, only to have the Lord catch him and stand him back up. He speaks of being so overly concerned about problems that happiness seemed a fond memory, but suddenly God comes to him and gives him hope that cheers his heart even in the midst of his troubles. In a practical sense, this is what is meant by the steadfast love of God for us—he’s always there for us. When I thought, “My foot slips,” thy steadfast love, O Lord held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul.
Day Seven, Psalm 94:22; Relationships don’t just burst into full bloom. When a child is born, it learns to trust its parents as they care for it. When we are introduced to someone we gradually get to know them—sharing bits and pieces of information about ourselves in order to determine whether to raise our trust level. As our trust level deepens and we establish mutual interests we begin to feel more and more comfortable and a strong friendship develops. We often hear that we need to “grow” in the Lord, the meaning usually being that we need to become more observant of his teachings as we learn them. But I think growing also means allowing our relationship with him to progress to the point of becoming best friends. As I reflected on this verse, several key words jumped out at me, “stronghold”, “rock” and “refuge”. But the real key word to unlocking the meaning of this verse is the word “become”—“the Lord has become my stronghold, rock and refuge.” The word “become” indicates that this is a relationship that has progressed over time, it has evolved from the first timid steps of trusting God to a full-blown relationship of complete confidence in the most difficult of times. So, even if capacity to trust seems to falters at times keep working on your relationship with God and eventually it will become all that you need and more. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sept. 13 through Sept. 20, 2009
This week’s devotional thoughts are in a different format than we normally use. Instead of citing a scripture passage, I’ve shared stories from either my own experience or that I know to be true. These true stories, based on Biblical principles can help bolster our faith as they give us hope and encouragement.
Day 1, One man’s secret for living life to the fullest
You can’t always help overhearing conversations in restaurants and the one I overheard the other day is worth repeating. Someone asked the fellow at the table next his secret for success. “Well,” replied the man, “First, I’ve learned to accent faith in God, life and my fellowman. Second, I believe in and practice the power of prayer in every area of my life—personal and business. And third, I try to cooperate with the leadership of the Holy Spirit in everything I do. If a person does that, then I believe he can live successfully and live life to its fullest.”
Day 2, Learn to lean on the Lord, He will bring about best outcomes for you.
The youngest child of an abusive mother, she was place for adoption before she was ten years old and was adopted by an loving older professional couple. She married young and quickly became the mother of four children, but her husband was not ready to settle down and the marriage ended in divorce. She gathered up what inner strength she had left, found a better job and sat about making a life for her and the children. A few years later, she met and married a wonderful man and life was good again. Then a series of circumstances overwhelmed him and he began drinking heavily and became physically abusive, which ended that marriage. Through the years she had moved up the ranks at her employer to a good position. One day she was called in to the manager’s office and terminated because “corporate feels we have to cut costs”. With only nontransferable skills she was forced to return to school to upgrade her skills. She confided to her adoptive mother that she was afraid she that since she had been out of school for so long she wouldn’t be able to master the new material. Her adoptive mother looked her in the eye and said “Lean on the Lord and do your best—then you’ll be able to do it!” Taking this sage advice, she turned her fears over to God and never scored lower than 85% on any test, and recorded 100% on the main test. Today, she is settled in a good career, bright prospects for the future—and about to marry again—this time to her high school sweetheart.
Day 3, Be open to those times when we can become instruments of God’s help to other people. While we can’t always “witness” in the way conservatives define it, but we can offer hope and encouragement by sharing how faith has helped get us through difficult times. Recently, I had a gentleman in my office to discuss his career. During our discussion he had mentioned his church a couple of times. Sensing that he was fearful of the career uncertainty that lay before him, I ask for and received his permission to tell him how his faith could help in the coming days. A few days later he wrote the following in an email: “Bob no matter how my situation turns out, and we both know it will work out, I will not soon forget our conversation. I truly do feel that one of those "God Things" happened last Friday in your office. Stop and think, we didn't have any knowledge of each other until that meeting. Yet in a very short time, in our own ways, we had a connection with God.”
Day 4, Never be afraid to pray for the seemingly impossible!
“I need a prayer partner” the woman said, “We need to sell our house, and we need to sell it in 30 days!” That’s a tall order, but she and her prayer partners began praying. Ten days past but no one had even looked at the house. Fifteen, then twenty days went by. But they kept praying for what even the most optimistic real estate agent would call a miracle. On day twenty-five a couple said they’d take the house, but on day twenty-seven they changed their mind! But the valiant prayer group kept praying and on day twenty-nine a buyer appeared, offered to pay cash and the deal was completed on the thirtieth day.
Day 5, Follow God’s guidance, He has already opened the way and has a blessing for you!
My late uncle, The Reverend Robert L. King (Big Bob King, to those who knew him) said that early one morning he got an inner stirring to go visit a particularly difficult individual who lived in the community for whom the members of his church had been praying for several months, but to no avail. To say that this individual was anti-church was an under statement, in fact he had threatened to kill my uncle if he ever invited him to church again! Uncle Bob, aware of this fact tried to quell the impression that he needed to visit the man, but the feeling only intensified. After putting it off as long as he could, he got in his car and drove out to the man’s tobacco farm. As he approached the antebellum house, he saw the man working with some of his farm hands at the curing shed. Filled with trepidation, he turned the car down the dusty lane toward the shed. As he started to get out of the car, he noticed that the man was holding a large knife—and decided to get back into the car “for a lengthy time of prayer to be sure this was God’s leadership and not just ‘gas’!” He bowed his head and began to pray. Suddenly, he heard something slam against the windshield of the car. Startled, he looked up and saw the farmer leaning on the windshield peering at him, the menacing knife in hand. With visions of the knife slicing through his neck, he slowly opened the car door. The man rushed around, grabbed him in a bear hug and said, “Preacher, I’m glad to see you! This morning, out in the field I gave my life to the Lord and was planning to call you to see about getting baptized this Sunday!”
Day 6, Keep hope alive through faith
I once asked a person who had endured more than her share of sorrow, hardship and disappointments how she was able to maintain her courage and composure during the dark days of her life. “I realized very quickly that I could get up everyday and decide things were either hopeless or hopeful. Since I am a child of God and believed that he would see me through, I knew that no matter how bad it got, the darkness would pass and things would be better. Therefore, I choose to face whatever came along with hope, because with God, there are no hopeless situations.”
Day 7, Entrust your situation to God and be amazed!
The doctors told her that by the time her breast cancer was discovered, it had advanced to a critical point and that there was only a 30% chance it hadn’t spread. More testing confirmed this bleak diagnosis and surgery was scheduled for the following Monday. After the initial “Why me Lord?” shock had worn off, she and her husband sought out the prayers of friends from church. She was supposed to check into the hospital on Sunday afternoon, but insisted on attending church that morning. As the minister began the pastoral prayer she felt a burning sensation in the diseased breast. The burning sensation became worse during the sermon. As the choir stood to sing the closing hymn, the burning suddenly stopped. About an hour after checking into the hospital the technicians took her down to X-ray. That evening, her surgeon came in with a puzzled look on his face. “The tumor is only half the size that it was.” The decision was made to go ahead with the surgery. As soon as the doctor left the room, the burning sensation began again and continued until midnight. For some reason, the surgeon decided he wanted more X-rays before operating and they were made early the next morning. After he and his team had studied them, he rushed into the room and said he didn’t know what was happening, but he needed more test before operating. Instead of surgery that Monday, she endured what seemed to be an endless battery of tests. Tuesday morning, she was informed that she could go home because there was no tumor and the blood tests were normal—there was no trace of cancer anywhere in her body.
God Bless You In Every Way, Everyday, All The Way!
Robert Hidde
Day 1, One man’s secret for living life to the fullest
You can’t always help overhearing conversations in restaurants and the one I overheard the other day is worth repeating. Someone asked the fellow at the table next his secret for success. “Well,” replied the man, “First, I’ve learned to accent faith in God, life and my fellowman. Second, I believe in and practice the power of prayer in every area of my life—personal and business. And third, I try to cooperate with the leadership of the Holy Spirit in everything I do. If a person does that, then I believe he can live successfully and live life to its fullest.”
Day 2, Learn to lean on the Lord, He will bring about best outcomes for you.
The youngest child of an abusive mother, she was place for adoption before she was ten years old and was adopted by an loving older professional couple. She married young and quickly became the mother of four children, but her husband was not ready to settle down and the marriage ended in divorce. She gathered up what inner strength she had left, found a better job and sat about making a life for her and the children. A few years later, she met and married a wonderful man and life was good again. Then a series of circumstances overwhelmed him and he began drinking heavily and became physically abusive, which ended that marriage. Through the years she had moved up the ranks at her employer to a good position. One day she was called in to the manager’s office and terminated because “corporate feels we have to cut costs”. With only nontransferable skills she was forced to return to school to upgrade her skills. She confided to her adoptive mother that she was afraid she that since she had been out of school for so long she wouldn’t be able to master the new material. Her adoptive mother looked her in the eye and said “Lean on the Lord and do your best—then you’ll be able to do it!” Taking this sage advice, she turned her fears over to God and never scored lower than 85% on any test, and recorded 100% on the main test. Today, she is settled in a good career, bright prospects for the future—and about to marry again—this time to her high school sweetheart.
Day 3, Be open to those times when we can become instruments of God’s help to other people. While we can’t always “witness” in the way conservatives define it, but we can offer hope and encouragement by sharing how faith has helped get us through difficult times. Recently, I had a gentleman in my office to discuss his career. During our discussion he had mentioned his church a couple of times. Sensing that he was fearful of the career uncertainty that lay before him, I ask for and received his permission to tell him how his faith could help in the coming days. A few days later he wrote the following in an email: “Bob no matter how my situation turns out, and we both know it will work out, I will not soon forget our conversation. I truly do feel that one of those "God Things" happened last Friday in your office. Stop and think, we didn't have any knowledge of each other until that meeting. Yet in a very short time, in our own ways, we had a connection with God.”
Day 4, Never be afraid to pray for the seemingly impossible!
“I need a prayer partner” the woman said, “We need to sell our house, and we need to sell it in 30 days!” That’s a tall order, but she and her prayer partners began praying. Ten days past but no one had even looked at the house. Fifteen, then twenty days went by. But they kept praying for what even the most optimistic real estate agent would call a miracle. On day twenty-five a couple said they’d take the house, but on day twenty-seven they changed their mind! But the valiant prayer group kept praying and on day twenty-nine a buyer appeared, offered to pay cash and the deal was completed on the thirtieth day.
Day 5, Follow God’s guidance, He has already opened the way and has a blessing for you!
My late uncle, The Reverend Robert L. King (Big Bob King, to those who knew him) said that early one morning he got an inner stirring to go visit a particularly difficult individual who lived in the community for whom the members of his church had been praying for several months, but to no avail. To say that this individual was anti-church was an under statement, in fact he had threatened to kill my uncle if he ever invited him to church again! Uncle Bob, aware of this fact tried to quell the impression that he needed to visit the man, but the feeling only intensified. After putting it off as long as he could, he got in his car and drove out to the man’s tobacco farm. As he approached the antebellum house, he saw the man working with some of his farm hands at the curing shed. Filled with trepidation, he turned the car down the dusty lane toward the shed. As he started to get out of the car, he noticed that the man was holding a large knife—and decided to get back into the car “for a lengthy time of prayer to be sure this was God’s leadership and not just ‘gas’!” He bowed his head and began to pray. Suddenly, he heard something slam against the windshield of the car. Startled, he looked up and saw the farmer leaning on the windshield peering at him, the menacing knife in hand. With visions of the knife slicing through his neck, he slowly opened the car door. The man rushed around, grabbed him in a bear hug and said, “Preacher, I’m glad to see you! This morning, out in the field I gave my life to the Lord and was planning to call you to see about getting baptized this Sunday!”
Day 6, Keep hope alive through faith
I once asked a person who had endured more than her share of sorrow, hardship and disappointments how she was able to maintain her courage and composure during the dark days of her life. “I realized very quickly that I could get up everyday and decide things were either hopeless or hopeful. Since I am a child of God and believed that he would see me through, I knew that no matter how bad it got, the darkness would pass and things would be better. Therefore, I choose to face whatever came along with hope, because with God, there are no hopeless situations.”
Day 7, Entrust your situation to God and be amazed!
The doctors told her that by the time her breast cancer was discovered, it had advanced to a critical point and that there was only a 30% chance it hadn’t spread. More testing confirmed this bleak diagnosis and surgery was scheduled for the following Monday. After the initial “Why me Lord?” shock had worn off, she and her husband sought out the prayers of friends from church. She was supposed to check into the hospital on Sunday afternoon, but insisted on attending church that morning. As the minister began the pastoral prayer she felt a burning sensation in the diseased breast. The burning sensation became worse during the sermon. As the choir stood to sing the closing hymn, the burning suddenly stopped. About an hour after checking into the hospital the technicians took her down to X-ray. That evening, her surgeon came in with a puzzled look on his face. “The tumor is only half the size that it was.” The decision was made to go ahead with the surgery. As soon as the doctor left the room, the burning sensation began again and continued until midnight. For some reason, the surgeon decided he wanted more X-rays before operating and they were made early the next morning. After he and his team had studied them, he rushed into the room and said he didn’t know what was happening, but he needed more test before operating. Instead of surgery that Monday, she endured what seemed to be an endless battery of tests. Tuesday morning, she was informed that she could go home because there was no tumor and the blood tests were normal—there was no trace of cancer anywhere in her body.
God Bless You In Every Way, Everyday, All The Way!
Robert Hidde
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