Daily Devotional - 9/26/15 (1/26/10)

Prayer Focus - Wants

Day 1
Pray for:
One thing you want to understand about God


Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.




Psalms 86


"Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to You.  You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.

The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life - men without regard for You. But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your maidservant. Give me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me." ( vs. 1-2, 14-17)


Sometimes we feel like we are being attacked on all fronts. We feel poor and needy and overwhelmed.  I often find myself saying that my life is just too much for me, and I know there are so many people out there that have more difficulties than I do. But life can be overwhelming regardless.  This is when it is good to remember who God is and meditate on His characteristics.  God is good, always good and faithful, always faithful.  He is slow to anger.  He is strong.  We also need to remember that He has given us a specific race to run that is already marked out for us. Everything is all in God's hands and He does know what He is doing.

 God is also compassionate. He is not being mean to us when we face challenges. He is training us. I give my students a lot of work and push them because I want them to be excellent. I make them follow my directions so that they can become thorough and learn to complete projects. If I made things too easy for them, it would be as if I thought they were not intelligent enough or capable enough to do more. Difficulty is often a sign of the belief that one is able. God feels that we are able to handle whatever He has given to us. He knows exactly what we can take and He is faithful. He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (I Corinthians 10:13).   He is training and disciplining us for our eternal benefit and also for His glory here on Earth.  As we grow in our faith throughout our lives and through our struggles, we are being transformed and this points others to God as well. 

God will also often push us to our limits because He wants us to rely on Him. As I go about my incredibly busy schedule, sometimes I look back and wonder how I got everything I did, done that day. I know it was only because of God because it seems too much for one person to accomplish. I laugh and think that I am walking on water. I do not know how long I can keep it up but I will focus on one day at a time and on the One who is able. He will grant me strength and He will save me. Each sunrise I see as I drive to work in the morning is His sign of goodness to me that I have another day. I am so grateful to be alive.




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


Continue to grant us Your strength. We are nothing without You. We appreciate all the signs of goodness that You bring us. The sunrises and sunsets remind us that we have another day. The ocean and mountains loom large and unfathomable. They are solid representations of the unchanging nature of You. We get so caught up in the now and forget to see You. When we look at You, everything else seems to fall away. Thank You for believing in us and for pushing us to be our best. We want to please You. We put our days in Your hands and we wait for Your salvation.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. What is my view of God? What influences how I feel about Him? Why? How can I develop a more accurate vision of who He is?

2. Do I seek God's mercy and strength or am I trying to do it all on my own? What holds me back from relying on God? Why? When do I find I can easily trust God and when do I struggle with letting go?

3. What signs of God's goodness have I received? Do I miss some of God's signs? Why? How can I change my view of life so that I see the good more than the bad?

4. How do I feel about my struggles? Do I see them as an opportunity for growth and as training or do I blame God? Why? How can I improve my perspective?

5.  Do I ever feel that God is not taking care of me or does not have control over the events of my life. How will trusting that nothing is outside of God's will affect how I react to difficulties?