Daily Devotional - 8/18/10 (9/18/09)

Focus Letter - Q (I skipped this letter... Oops)



Pray for:
Five things we are grateful for that begin with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic that begins with the focus letter



Dear Lord - Please speak to my soul and help me to hear and obey. You are good, always good.



Psalms 18



"I love You, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and am saved from my enemies." (vs. 1-3)

I love God. I am not ashamed to say that. I am amazed at how He maintains me through everything. He is truly my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. I called to the Lord and He is saving me from my enemies - my lack of money, my daughter's illness, my husband's illness, my clutter, my worrying. He is working miracles.




"The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me...In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.  From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears." (vs. 4 & 6)

Yet, I have felt just like the psalmist, "the cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me."  I have been so overwhelmed, that I could not even function. All I could do was go to sleep. My foes were too strong for me! My foes are too strong for me. I cannot defeat them by myself. I have tried for many years with some of them.

In the midst of all my trouble, I finally cried out to God. Sometimes that is what it takes for us turn to Him completely. We have to be stripped of everything. I advise we do not make Him do this. It hurts. But however we get there, we need to cry out to God like a little child crying out to his or her father. And God will come in a mighty display. He does things in a big way sometimes. (see vs. 7-15) God rescues us from our powerful enemies that are confronting us and making our life miserable. The Lord grabs us and pulls us out of those bad situations and sets us in a spacious place. There is a place of rest, a time for recuperation after the struggles.



"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.  He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.  They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.  He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me." (vs. 16-19)

He does this because He delights in us. God enjoys and delights in me. I love that thought. I am special to God. He knows me and everything about me and He still loves me. He even likes me. He wants to be with me. He wants to know my thoughts. He is that perfect father that none of our earthly fathers could be. They tried the best they could, but God is perfect and I belong to Him.



"The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight...You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall." (vs. 24 & 28-29)
It is good to know that what I do in my life is not in vain. I am not in vain and my efforts are not in vain. God does not forget our hard work (Heb 6: 10). He knows everything I do and have done. He knows my heart; sometimes I don't even know that but He does. He knows our deeds, whether they are good or bad, and He rewards us accordingly. Our works do not save us but they are evidence to a faith that is deep and alive. If I truly believe in something I act on it.

And besides rewarding us, He keeps our lamps burning - He keeps us going. With God's help, we can advance against a troop. We can scale walls. We can do remarkable things with God. It is God who arms us with strength and makes our way perfect. God even stoops down to make us great. God truly cares. No one stoops down, takes all that effort, to do something that is not important to them. It is too much trouble. We are not too much trouble to God. He is willing and able. I praise Him that He is on my side.


God does turns my darkness into light. I can see where I am going because I can see God. God will never leave me or forsake me. I love God. I am not ashamed.



Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord,

You are so amazing.  We read about Your power and Your concern for us and we are overwhelmed.  Thank You for hearing us when we call.  We are defeated so easily by ourselves and yet You provide us with the opportunity for victory.  Help us to grab hold of it and win.  We love You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Am I crying out to God about my problems, my enemies? Why or why not? How is my prayer life?

2. Do I feel that God delights in me? Is there anything in my life that I believe is not delightful to God? How can I change that?

3. Am I attempting to serve God? How am I serving God? Do I need help to do these things or to start something new?

4. What are some ways that God has given me strength or trained me in the past? How is He strengthening and training me now?

5.  Is my love for God evident in the way I live my life?  Why or why not?  Am I ashamed in anyway of God or my relationship with Him?  Why or why not?  What would others say about the priorities and loves of my life?