Tag Archives: Fear

Dec29

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 23. “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.  And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain'” (Verses 3-4). To rule, to serve, to do what God calls us to do (no matter what that is). We must first be just, showing no partiality. Our yes, must be yes. Our no, must be no. Secondly we must do all in the fear, and name of God. Being a “right” representative of His will and purpose. Lastly we must shine clearly and brightly so others can see and follow. Above we must all walk in the humility of God’s love.

Dec28

DAY 362 (2014)

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Let God direct our path...expect miracles EVERY day.

Let God direct our path…expect miracles EVERY day.

I have forgotten A LOT. I have let the troubles of this world, of this life drown out what I KNOW to be true. What I KNOW to be right. Which is: “As Your love in  wave after wave crashes over me. You are for me, you are not against me. Champion of heaven You have made a way for ALL to enter IN.” This song reminded me today of several truths that I had forgotten, maybe forgotten is wrong… more like pushed aside, sitting in the farthest realms of my mind, instead of front and center. I had forgotten that God’s love flows over me like the waves of the sea, in countless ways and in abundance. I had forgotten that He is FOR me. He is NOT against me. I had forgotten that He is the CHAMPION of heaven, and that He has made a way for ALL to enter IN. Life is crushing, in that it makes us many times push aside what we know to be true to be right, leaving us grappling to hold on to things that will ultimately cause us to sink. In our forgetfulness we shake our fists at God and ponder why He left us. When in truth is He is still were WE left Him. His love still willing to wash over us in waves of abundance. He is still for us, even when we wonder, even when we fall short… He is NEVER against us. He is ALWAYS for us. He is still the CHAMPION sent from heaven. He still has the door open for us to ENTER IN.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

The Lesson: Don’t forget to remember… GOD IS FOR US.

Dec28

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 22. “He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me” (Verses 17-20). Praise. It is what gets us through the hard times, and helps us not to be over taken by the floods and fires of life. Praise sets our hearts in the right place and gives us the right perspective. David has gone through a lot over the past several chapters. But today he is ALL about praise. He took time out to thank God for all He had done so far. He understood that the reason he had made it at all was because God had gone before him. Did life get rosy and pretty all of a sudden? No. Did David have less enemies, and more friends? No. Did he sin less, was he more holy? No. Life had not really changed around him, but his praise and joy came because he knew where his STRENGTH came from. He was secure in God’s love for him. He remembered to give PRAISE. 

Dec26

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 21. “Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.  So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants” (Verses 20-22). Life is sometimes filled with giants. Things that seem too big or too tall for us to overcome. Read this chapter. This story contains giants. Why is that important? They were all subdued. They all fell, not one of them overpowered or overcame God’s children. With God we can overcome our giants.

Dec22

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 19. “And David said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?’  Therefore the king said to Shimei, ‘You shall not die.’ And the king swore to him” (Verses 22-23). What to do with the people that betray and hurt you? If we follow David’s example here… We forgive. Grace and mercy the two characteristics of God that allow us pardon from our sins. It is because of His infinite grace and mercy that we are not consumed. David a mere human, was so in love with God, so grateful for God’s grace in his life that he extended it to those around him (who did NOT deserve it). The lesson: Go and do the same. Grace and mercy aren’t meant to be given to those who are nice to us, we’ll do that naturally. Instead they are meant to be extended to those who hurt us and cause us pain. It is how we reflect Christ to them. 

Dec18

DAY 352 (2014)

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So true!

So true!

So it’s been a while since I have written a “DAY” post. There are many reasons for this: Life, worry, fear, laziness. Right about know you’re thinking those are perfect reason to write a post that reminds me that God loves me and has a plan and a purpose for me. It is in the moments that life is the hardest that we realize our need for God’s grace and love. Today as I spent time in devotion God showed me that not only are those times a time of realizing Him, but it is also a classroom. It is the place we learn about about ourselves, our limits, and our desperation. Today I ran into an issue that I was not expecting… I dislike those moments, because I make a  plan and I walk towards it, and then… BAM, out of nowhere something happens that I was neither planning for nor prepared for. Those moments, stink… can’t lie. Normally the plan of attack is to by-pass God (cause we’re am smart like that) and go straight to desperation. It is almost as if we think, “what bad decision can I make to fix this“. Today I have to be honest, the first option was desperation, but God in his ultimate wisdom slammed the door shut. This caused me to take a step back, pray, and ask Him to show me “the option that wouldn’t make the situation worse”. Then He did. What makes me sad is that it wasn’t my first option. My first thought wasn’t God what do you want me to do? Today I am disappointed to announce that my first thought was NOT take it to God. However, He loves me enough to get me to where I need to be. He led me to a solution that would fix the issue, but not make it worse. In fact it made it better in some ways, because it taught me a lot about someone I love (to that person.. THANK YOU). Life throws us curve balls, sometimes it feels like they’re all that’s being thrown. However, don’t despise the curve balls, take it to God. He’ll teach us how to catch them.

“But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears” (Psalm 18:6).

The lesson: God first (yup it’s that simple) 🙂

 

 

Dec2

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 6. “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before time” (Verse 10). God will give us rest and security. The children of Israel had been in a topsy-turvy for a while now. Their king had turned from God and instead of taking care of the people God gave him, he choose instead to pursue David. God has taken Saul out of the picture and given David and Israel rest from their enemies. But not just that He promised them peace. Life is filled with noise and our peace can be taken at any moment, but if we let God lead and guide He will supply peace that passing ALL understanding. REAL peace comes from following God. Period.

Nov25

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 4. “ But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, ‘As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity,  when someone told me, saying, Look, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?’ So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron” (Verses 9-12). We have a responsibility to do right, even when wrong works in our favor. David is truly “a man after God’s own heart”, he always chose what he knew to be right. Today as we go through the day, we will be giving opportunity to choose right and wrong. Wrong will always seem easier. Right, will always require us to let go of something, but in the end will bring us greater reward. 

Nov23

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 2. “Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, ‘The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.’ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, ‘You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him.  And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them'” (Verses 4-7). There is something about David’s heart. something about the way it works, that is a picture of God’s heart. Faithful till the end. To Saul (despite the elder’s determination to kill him), David’s heart remained true and constant. In running and hiding, in making himself look like a madman, and in shacking up with the enemy… during all those times David’s heart remained true and constant to the call and direction of God. My life has nothing on David, my struggles will never even come close, but my heart does not have that consistency. I am praying for it though, everyday. Praying that I look to God in the good and the bad times. Praying that I understand the fight is for but a moment and I already have the victory in Him. Life is a lesson and David an great example of how the student should be. Always finding our consistency in God’s able arms, the greatest of all teachers.  

Nov18

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Samuel 31. ” Then Saul said to his armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.’ But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that same day” (Verses 4-6). Remember the words of Samuel from the beyond (read Chapter 29)? Saul and his sons are dead, just like Samuel said. However, that is not the point for today. So what is? God. He always does what He says He will do. He told Saul that he and his sons will be cut off, that the line of Saul would no longer sit on the throne. Had Saul simply accepted God’s will this whole story would have turned out differently (yes that is my personal belief). Saul’s sin and desire to win over God led to his death and the death of  his sons. We can’t beat God. But then again why would we want to beat the One who has our best interest in mind at all times? God’s judgments are always right, and yes at times they can be painful (because they show us our inadequacies), but if we obey they will always leads to our good.