Daily Devotional - 10/10

Prayer Focus - Family

Day 3
Pray for:
One family member that you feel close to
One family member that you are not close to
One family member that lives far away from you

Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs

Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 40

"I waited patiently for the Lord: He turned to me and heard my cry... He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand...He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." (vs. 1, 2b, & 3a)

I am waiting patiently for God. I am putting one foot in front of the other. I am walking and waiting. I worked hard today trying to straighten my house and here it is 11:22pm. I struggled with feeling overwhelmed at about 9:00pm as I tried to get my children in bed since I knew that my night was just beginning. Today I was able to accomplish quite a bit and I know that that was because I was not worrying about what I needed to accomplish. I just kept going. When I began to think about grading papers which I have to do tomorrow, I began to get frustrated and upset.

I will not be able to do it all and at times I feel like sitting down and crying but God knows. He heard my cry, even when I was able to keep myself under control tonight. He is lifting me out of the pit I am in and putting me in a safe place. I was able to get my children to bed. I was able to get Joelle's asthma under control. I got most of my housework done. I played a game of Farkle to unwind. That is amazing. Tomorrow will start another overwhelming day, but He will be there as well. He will continue to place my feet on a solid rock so that I may stand and He will keep me walking on water if I keep focused on Him. I love the quote used in Messies Anonymous, a site I have found very beneficial in my fight against my messie nature, which says, "Never underestimate the inevitability of gradualness." I can do gradualness. I can do one step at a time. And God is there. He gives us a new song, a song of praise. I have a new song. I will keep singing.


"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust who does not look to the proud, to those who look to false gods. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You have planned for us no one can recount to You;" (vs. 4-5a)


Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. One online dictionary defines blessed as enjoying the bliss of heaven. I like that definition. If I can hang onto my trust in God and I do not give in to worry or running after other gods such as money or security, then I can enjoy the bliss of heaven down here. I can go about happy in the midst of chaos and trouble because I can see it as all in God's hands and all in His plans. I have started to look at life this way. Although I am far from perfecting my focus, it is getting better. Today whenever something unexpected or unfortunate happened, I asked God what do I need to see in this, or I tried to see the bigger picture so that I could understand where God was going with all of it. It has been good for me to focus this way and it has been good for me to remember that God does have plans for me. In fact, God has so many plans for me and for each one of us that we wouldn't be able to even recount them. How amazing is that. Plus, He makes His plans for us because He loves us. He dreams of giving us the best life and the best eternity. Surely we can trust Him.

"I desire to do your will, O my God; Your law is in my heart." (vs. 8)

When I consider all of His goodness, blessings, and care, I am desirous to do His will. It is natural because I want to please Him. Therefore, I must speak up. I cannot hide all of this goodness. I need to share Him with others. Although trouble surrounds me, the Lord is bigger then my trouble and He will have mercy on me.

"Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me." (vs. 13)


Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

We have made it through another day. We cry out to You as we are waiting and struggling. It often feels like we are slip sliding away. But we are not. Keep our focus on You and keep us climbing up the hill, one step at a time. Help us to keep our eyes on You so that we can get out of the boat and walk on water. You told Peter to come. You did not think he was foolish to ask to walk on water. You just said come. We desire to walk on water. We need help keeping our eyes on You and not on the waves and the water. Keep us in your care and Help us to see that You are in control. Bless us as we put our trust in You. We want to experience the bliss of heaven down here. We need this to stay refreshed. We are grateful for all of the plans You have for us and we pray to walk in them. Be pleased to save us Lord because we need saving. We are poor and needy, and You are our help and deliverer. We wait in eager expectation. We wait patiently. Most of all, we just wait.

In Jesus name,
Amen


QFT

1. Am I waiting patiently for God? How do I know?

2. Am I trusting in God? How do I know? What fruits is this producing?

3. How can I keep my focus on God when there are storms raging around me?

4. What is my new song? Am I really living and thinking differently? Do I have any ideas what some of God's plans for my life might be? How could I find out?