Oct 16 Trust God’s plan

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

These wonderful words of life and promise and hope that so many believers have claimed as personal encouragement were given first to a specific group of Your people who had rejected You.  They endured hardship by being forcibly removed from their homes and land.  They had been seized by a military force and taken to a foreign country to live as captives.

I cannot even imagine the trauma of being relocated like that.  I would imagine escape back home would have been considered.  Or revolt.  Some attempt to regain freedom.

But even if escape were possible, home was a thousand miles away!  And now comes this letter from Jeremiah to say “Accept captivity!  Settle down!  Live in the new land.  Pray for your new home!  For seventy years!”

That must have seemed just the opposite of what they wanted to do.  And the harsh word that this was Your doing must have been confusing and hurtful.  But then, in the same breath, comes Your promise to them. “When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to bring you back to this place.” And the reassurance that Your plan was to give them hope and a future.

Father, I have been in some hard places and I sometimes wonder if it’s really where You want me to be.  I trust the plans You have for me.  Even if it means I have to wait on Your timing.

Father, open my eyes to the truth of where I am right now. If I have gotten myself off Your path, show me how to return to it. 

If I am where You want me to be, help me hear your voice of encouragement.  And feel Your presence here with me. 

And if waiting is involved, help me wait patiently, prayerfully, praise-fully, and productively.  But please don’t let it take seventy years!

Show me Your plans as I need to see them.  My hope and my future are in You.  Amen

Jeremiah 29:1-14

Oct 16 Trust God’s plan

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

These wonderful words of life and promise and hope that so many believers have claimed as personal encouragement were given first to a specific group of Your people who had rejected You and endured such hardship that they had been forcibly removed from their homes and land.  They had been seized by a military force and taken to a foreign country to live as captives.

I cannot even imagine the trauma of being relocated like that.  I would imagine escape back home would have been considered.  Or revolt.  Some attempt to regain freedom.

But even if escape were possible, home was a thousand miles away!  And now comes this letter from Jeremiah to say “Accept captivity!  Settle down!  Live in the new land.  Pray for your new home!  For seventy years!”

That must have seemed just the opposite of what they wanted to do.  And the harsh word, that this was Your doing must have been confusing and hurtful.  But then, in the same breath, comes Your promise to them. “When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to bring you back to this place.”  And the reassurance that Your plan was to give them hope and a future.

Father, I have been in some hard places and I sometimes wonder if it’s where You really want me to be. I trust the plans You have for me.  Even if it means I have to wait on Your timing.

Father, open my eyes to the truth of where I am right now.  If I have gotten myself off Your path, show me how to return to it.

If I am where You want me to be, help me hear your voice of encouragement.  And feel Your presence here with me.

And if waiting is involved, help me wait patiently, prayerfully, praise-fully, and productively.  But please don’t let it take seventy years! Show me Your plans as I need to see them.  My hope and my future are in You.  Amen

Jeremiah 29:1-14

 

Oct 16 Trust God’s plan

 

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

 

 

These wonderful words of life and promise and hope that so many believers have claimed as personal encouragement were given first to a specific group of Your people who had rejected You.  They endured hardship by being forcibly removed from their homes and land.  They had been seized by a military force and taken to a foreign country to live as captives.

I cannot even imagine the trauma of being relocated like that.  I would imagine escape back home would have been considered.  Or revolt.  Some attempt to regain freedom.

But even if escape were possible, home was a thousand miles away!  And now comes this letter from Jeremiah to say “Accept captivity!  Settle down!  Live in the new land.  Pray for your new home!  For seventy years!”

That must have seemed just the opposite of what they wanted to do.  And the harsh word that this was Your doing must have been confusing and hurtful.  But then, in the same breath, comes Your promise to them. “When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to bring you back to this place.”

Father, I know I sometimes wonder if where I am is really the place You want me to be.  I trust the plans You have for me.  Even if it means I have to wait on Your timing.  But please don’t let it take seventy years, Lord!

The Israelites must have looked at their circumstances and doubted whether it could really be Your will.  Father, sometimes things don’t look too good to me either.  And I wonder how You will work things out for my good.  But I totally trust that You will.   I completely rely on Your faithfulness.

Father, open my eyes to the truth of where I am right now.

If I have gotten myself off Your path, show me how to return to it.  If I am where You want me to be, help me hear your voice of encouragement.  Help me feel Your presence here with me.  And if waiting is involved, help me wait patiently, prayerfully, praise-fully, and productively.

Show me those plans as I need to see them.  My hope and my future are in You.  Amen

Jeremiah 29:1-14

 

Sept 12 A Tool for God’s Purpose

Father, when You sent Your judgment against Israel, You used the political and military powers of the day. Not knowing You, they believed it was by their own strength and power that they conquered. But it is clear that they were merely a tool in Your hand.

 

The power is not in the tool, but in the one who wields it.

Father, I pray I would be a tool in Your hand for godly purposes. Use me to accomplish Your will.

As Your tool send me where Your would to achieve Your plan. And never let me forget that Yours is the strength and the wisdom by which anything is accomplished.

Father, some are called to far away places to be tools for You in spreading Your Word and Your love. And surely there are obstacles for them to overcome and challenges to conquer. But sometimes I feel the hardest place to be Your representative is here at home, with the people I love.

I know You have a wonderful plan and purpose for their lives too. So until you call me away somewhere else, help me realize the potential here. And be willing to be a tool in Your hands in the lives of those people You have brought closest to me.

Help me live every day showing Your grace and mercy and compassion to them. When asked, help me give wise and godly advice, not just my own preferences. Let my words be instructive and gentle, and line up with Your truth, spoken in love for the benefit of the hearer.

Help me hold my tongue when I need to, when the words would not be godly wisdom, but come from some other motivation. Help me spread peace in their lives when it would be so much easier to spread my own brand of how things should be. Help me let go of my own expectations of them, freeing them up to know the fulfillment of Your plans and purposes.

Help me be patient with Your timeline for my loved ones development and maturity. Let my prayers be consistent for them to be empowered and guided by the influence of Your Word, and what You speak to them through the godly mentors and circumstances You allow into their lives.

Let me draw strength from You. Let me be guided by You. And let me rest in Your strong and skillful hands. Amen

Isaiah 10:1-19

 

Apr 23 Time Management

O Father, You have always been my God. Even before I knew who You were, I saw the beauty of Your creation. You put the mountains in place, You created the seas and all that is in them. Yet even before there was earth and sky, You were there. You are “from everlasting to everlasting”.

You tell me “a thousand years is like a day in Your sight”. Your sense of time is far different from mine. I cannot even imagine it.

So I ask You, who knows time and all things, to teach me to live each day to the fullest. Teach me how to measure out my energy for what is important.

Do not let me fall victim to the “tyranny of the urgent.” Help me put thought into setting my priorities for spending my time and my energy. Many things of value are not urgent, but are significant. If I only deal with the urgent, the important things slip by.

I desire to live intentionally; not let my life pass by without doing all I can to honor and glorify You.   But already, days slip by, weeks, seasons and even years; and I wonder where the time went.   Father, do not let one more day pass that I do not consider what You want me to accomplish. And show me how to make time for it.

Give me a revelation, a vision for the next part of my life. Show me how to get from here to there in steps I can see. Help me to know when something interrupts, whether it is a distraction or a divine opportunity.

I lay my life before You Lord. Guide me. Show me.   Thank You for the years I’ve already lived. And let me live each new one for You. Amen

 

Psalm 90:1-12

Nov 22 Teach me to apply Your Word to my life

What an amazing Psalm is the 119^th Psalm! It is the longest Psalm. It has more verses than 14 Old Testament books and 17 New Testament books. Within it is found the verse that lies in the very center of Scripture – halfway between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21.

This Psalm was constructed with twenty-two stanzas, each beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew Alephbet. And within each stanza, each of the eight verses begin with the letter of the stanza. In almost every verse, there is a word that describes Your teaching: Word, law, commands, statues, decrees, precepts. And almost each one teaches how to handle Your Word or be led and taught by it.

It is said that King David used this Psalm to teach his young son, Solomon the Alephbet. It represented all the letters, but also illustrated spiritual truth of how to live a godly life. So as I read it, Father, I also pray these verses as a guide for living according to Your Word.

“I will obey Your Word. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law…do not hide Your commands from me.” Help me see beyond the Words to the meaning You have for these Words in my life. Show me marvelous things that deepen my devotion to You.

“…Teach me Your decrees. Let me understand the teaching of Your precepts; then I will meditate on Your wonders…strengthen me according to Your Word.” Father, beyond word studies and context references, reveal deeper meanings to me through Your Holy Spirit.   Show me how to be sensitive to the timing and teaching You use to increase my awareness and discernment. Understanding Your Word brings me strength! What an awesome gift!

Father, I choose Your truth and obedience to Your laws. “I set my heart on Your laws. I hold fast to Your statutes.“ “Be gracious to me… and do not let me be put to shame.” Father, I would rather You take my life than allow me to dishonor You. I am Your servant. You are my Master.   It is only by Your mercy and Your Word that I have life. Amen

Psalm 119:17-32