Devotions

Ps 34:18: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” [NIV]

Psalm 34 is a song of David, written when David was not in the best of circumstances. He had fled King Saul who was trying to kill him, and ended up in Gath, a small town on the Philistine border. When the king in Gath learned who he was, he wanted David gone. Fearing harm, David pretended to be insane until they drove him away, finally ending up living in caves.

Yet despite the circumstances, Psalm 34 is an extremely positive song, beginning, “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

I have been thinking lately about how deep emotional wounds can go.  They are often much harder to heal than physical wounds.  Physical wounds, if the body is healthy, simply heal themselves.  Emotional wounds need a lot of intentional work.

We must forgive, often repeatedly.  We must want to be healed – not always an easy choice.  We must work through the rejection, pain, and all the emotions that attach to our hearts … and while we are doing this, the enemy of our soul is whispering why we should not!

David understood that we are all brokenhearted, and because we are God draws close to us.  David understood that there is salvation for those who are crushed in spirit by life’s unfairness.  We can, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds, be healed of the sorrows and pains inflicted upon us.  God’s promise is that we can be made whole.

I was raised in a dysfunctional family. My mother suffered emotional and mental problems. I admit that it has taken a lifetime (so far) to overcome some of my own dysfunction. I also admit that I am “slightly” OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). One of the symptoms of that disorder is “counting.”

I count steps, cars in a train while waiting at a crossing, panes in a window, etc. Before my hands became arthritic, I used to love to crochet and knit because it often required counting stitches. I find counting relaxes me.

I know that probably sounds weird. I seldom even think about counting anymore, I just do it. Then this morning I woke up singing that old song “Count Your Blessings.”

“Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God hath done.”

Psalm 103:2 says it this way: “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” [NLT]

I never want to “forget the good things” God has done (and continues to do) for me. I want to spend my life counting them and praising the LORD for them.

One of the things old people are often cautioned about is falling. We are reminded to be aware of obstacles that might cause us to stumble and fall.

On this trip to Arizona for our grandson’s college graduation, Bob fell twice. He fell while going up the steps to a restaurant and he fell again in our hotel room. He only got a couple small bruises, but still it was stressful.

In the natural, as we ‘mature,’ we are just more prone to falling. In the spiritual, however, our LORD makes a promise that as we mature, as we “delight in Him,” He protects us from falling.

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” [Psalm 37:23-24 NIV]

I will admit that even after five decades of delighting in Him, there are times when I stumble. My old nature kicks up, my emotions kick in, and my steps get a bit shaky. But while I admit to stumbling, I also rejoice that the Holy Spirit never lets me fall. In fact, the Holy Spirit always warns me that I am on shaky ground and need to repent – it is just that I often fail to heed His warning.

Thank you, LORD, that even when I stumble, you still “uphold [me] with [Your] hand.” Amen!

Part of Paul’s final instructions in his first letter to the Corinthian church contains a short list of commands.

 ^“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” [1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT]

As Christians in our modern world, we would do well to also heed those commands. We need to always be “on guard,” we need to “stand firm in our faith,“ and we need to be “courageous” and “strong.”

If we fail to heed those four instructions, we will struggle. But … if we do those things apart from that fifth and last command (“do everything with love”), we will damage our testimony.

Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” [John 13:35 NLT]

The one thing that should firmly set us apart should be our love. It should speak the loudest and remain constant and unconditional. Only then will it influence everything we do and everyone we meet the way God intended.

Oh LORD, our Savior, help us to abide in Your love and to let Your love abide in us! May we “prove to the world” that we are Yours. Amen

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

Traveling used to be a lot easier. Throw some clothes and makeup items in a suitcase, maybe a few snacks if traveling by car, and off we’d go.

Now traveling involves a lot of preparation. Just gathering up charging cords for two phones, a fitness watch, hearing aids, my kindle and a power strip takes time. Add in making sure we have all our prescriptions and OTC meds and the packing becomes even more important.

Also traveling in a body that does not respond well to change left me exhausted and achy. Coming home to a damaged car and a lost credit card added stress. I admit that I am still struggling physically. I am still tired, and my muscles are responding with a noisy reluctance.

BUT – oh the joy at being at our grandson’s college graduation. Joy and more Joy! We laughed, hugged, rejoiced and loved. Every time I think about how tired and achy I am, I remember the Joy! I would do it all over again next week, just to have that Joy again.

Thank you, LORD! I am so grateful to be tired and achy and FULL OF JOY!

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

As we returned from our trip to attend our grandson’s college graduation, I was reminded of the displays of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit throughout our trip. One particular fruit was definitely needed – patience.

Bob is 85, I’m 78. Traveling with “old people,” requires a great deal of patience. Just getting us in and out of the car as we drove down demanded a great deal of patience for our daughter and son-in-law. Bob fell going up the steps into a restaurant the second day of the trip – more patience (and some gentleness and kindness mingled in).

Our California son and daughter-in-law, parents of the graduate, arranged for a golf cart to transport us from the parking lot to the football field for the graduation ceremony.

Our Idaho son and daughter-in-law kept checking with us to make sure we had everything we needed for our transport to and from airport and our transport assistance within the airports.

Everyone pitched in to make sure our trip was all it could be. I was chuckling this morning as I wrote this – apparently as I am aging, I am becoming an “OPPORTUNITY” for others to learn patience!

At the ages of 78 and 85 going on a five-day trip to Arizona for our grandson’s graduation that involved two days in a car with a return on a plane, check-in’s, baggage, hotels, eating out every meal for five days, Lyft’s and taxies can create anxiety.

Picking up our car that had been parked in front of our daughter’s house (we rode with her to the graduation), driving home, and then pulling into our garage should have produced peace. It didn’t.

I immediately noticed that our front license plate was mangled, then saw all the fluids leaking out under the engine. That led to finding damage on the driver’s side fender and bumper. I realized someone had backed into our car while it was parked – and it was God’s grace that allowed us to get from our daughter’s house to home (27 miles) without the engine overheating.

Monday morning, I was faced with so much – figuring out car insurance claims, reporting a lost credit card, mountains of laundry, etc. My stress level was on overload. Then I opened my verse of the day …

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 4:6-7 NLT]

God is SO GOOD! He let me know before I even began how to handle Every Single Thing I had to do that day. And as the day progressed everything went smoothly. Every Single Thing! Thank you LORD!

I was reading Psalm 97 today.  It begins … “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice!”

What a great beginning, and I love the way the song ends: “Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.” [Ps 97:10-12 NLT]

God guards the lives of His faithful children. He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Promises of protection, assurance, security, and deliverance flow from Him. Then the psalmist really makes my heart sing in thanksgiving … “Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.” 

God gives light. God gives joy. Light. Joy. Out of the darkness and into the Light. Grief for a night, but joy in the morning.

This is only possible because THE LORD REIGNS!  Because our God is the God of All-Power, we have the assurance … the eternal assurance … that the Light of Christ in us will never be snuffed out by something or someone stronger than Him. The joy He gives us will echo through our lives not just for the few decades we abide on this earth but will echo through the Halls of Heaven for all eternity.

Rejoice Christian – Your Lord Reigns!  And that will never change!

God created us to bear the imprint of His image and likeness. Adam lost that image through sin and rebellion. God’s plan sent His Son to restore that image to His creation. By faith in Christ Jesus and through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are being transformed into God’s image. The things that the first Adam lost are being restored.

One of the most glorious of promises given to us is that one day that imprint of God will be permanent, never capable of being marred or lost again. 1 Corinthians 15:49: “Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.” [NLT]

There is a Latin theological sequence which describes the state of mankind.

–Poco non pecare – able not to sin. That was the first Adam’s state. He had a choice, he could sin or not sin.  He failed that test miserably and we all came to bear his image.

–Non poco non pecare – not able not to sin. This is the state of mankind now in this life. We are born with a sin nature, and it rules us until we come to faith in Christ Jesus.

–Non poco pecare – not able to sin. This is the state of believers when we see Christ face-to-face in glory.  We shall forever be sealed in the image and likeness of Christ Jesus, the second Adam. There will be not even a temptation or an inkling of sin.

We will forever, permanently, bear the likeness of the man from heaven.  Hallelujah!