Category Archives: Difficulties

I Will Give You Rest

In this passage in Jeremiah, you are given God’s assurance that He loves you and He will do all the heavy lifting. Trust in Him.

Finances, family drama, drugs, alcohol, bullying, sex, jealousy, abuse, illness, physical challenges, mental challenges. All the things which burden you, don’t burden Him. Fixing these might take some time while He gets all the players and pieces lined up. It might involve earthly helpers like doctors or lawyers or accountants or friends. If we wait for His perfect timing, He will work all things to our good. Why? Because He created us. He loves us. He wants you to rely on Him for everything. He wants you to come to Him about everything.

What you eat, what you wear, where you go, who you trust. All these things are provided by the God who made you. He wants you to lean on Him, even in the small stuff. He doesn’t think of you as a pest. He thinks of you as His child. Yes, YOU are a child of God! Isn’t that amazing?!

Going to the Resurrection

Through the Cross to the Resurrection

“God Is Not a Slot Machine”

“God Is Not a Slot Machine”

Bible Passage

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Proverbs 4:6

Devotion

“While it’s true the Bible says you get the desires of your heart through prayer and supplication, that does not mean you get what you want. If you read the entire chapter, Proverbs 4, it says you first have to align your heart with God. Once we do that, it changes the desires of your heart. When you’re aligned with God, your heart desires what God desires for you. God teaches us that He will “While it’s true the Bible says you get the desires of your heart through prayer and supplication, that does not mean you get what you want. If you read the entire passage (Proverbs 4), it says you first have to align your heart with God. Once we do that, it changes the desires of your heart. When you’re aligned with God, your heart desires what God desires for you. God’s Word tells you that He will ” supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Proverbs 4:19)

This is a hard concept to understand. You may have heard God referred to as a Sculptor. He forms you from clay, just as He formed Adam. When you pray for God to direct your path, you are inviting Him to teach you the things He wants you to know, and to do the things He wants you to do. It’s an invitation for God to change your heart. What you want becomes less important. At the same time, what God wants for you becomes all-important.

Yes, sometimes it hurts. There will be times when you fall to the ground in despair. There will also be times when you are so happy you openly weep tears of overflowing joy. As you grow and mature spiritually, the times of deep despair lessen. It’s not because your challenges vanish. It’s because you are more confident that God is with you and will see you through whatever it is.

Prayer Focus

Those struggling in their faith.

Prayer

Dearest Father, Maker of all things, Sculptor of my life, thank you for always being there with me in all things life throws at me. Strengthen me. Mold me. Help me to be more like Your Son, Jesus. Give me what I need to be what You made me to be, so I may bring You glory. Make me into a loving child who makes You happy. In the name of Jesus Christ, my God and Savior. Amen.

Final Thoughts

If I ask, God will bring my heart into alignment with Him.

Worry Cancels Prayer

Worry Cancels Prayer

Bible Passage

31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:31-33 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE) New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Devotion

I grabbed these wonderful words of wisdom from Joyce Meyer’s repeat broadcast this morning.

If I’m gonna pray about something and worry about it, too, then my worry cancels out my prayer. The act of prayer says, “God I trust You,” and worry says, “God I don’t trust You.” Worry chokes the Word and keeps it from being fruitful, according to Matthew 13. “Some seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” [verse 7]

Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life – Worry and Anxiety (4 Aug 2021)

Worry is one of the hardest things to give up. As part of growing up we learn to take control of our circumstances. We learn about responsibility. We learn about consequences.

Many of us learn, at some level, about prayer. We learn thankfulness. We learn to pray for others. We learn to pray for outcomes. We learn to pray before meals. We learn to pray at bedtime.

Some of us learn how to pray in conversation with God. We learn to talk to Him like a friend standing beside us, going through our day and continually discussing it with Him.

Very few people learn how to handle the part after the ‘Amen.’ Prayer means we are giving our worries to Jesus. He already knows what’s on your heart. He’s waiting for you to hand him the reins, LET GO, and let Him take care of those things.

One of the hardest things to learn is to hand our worries and fears to God and let it go. Once we learn to let go, we give God permission to fix it. Until then, because He created us to have free will, He is waiting for your permission. He wants to heal you, fix you, take care of you, and prosper you. Give Him permission to do what He does best. Show Him how much you love and trust Him. When you do, He will show you how much He loves and trusts you!

Prayer Focus

Letting go of fear, doubt, and worry

Prayer

Almighty God, He who bears our burdens for us, help us to rely on You more and to give You our heavy hearts, tortured minds, and burdened souls. Help us to keep our focus where it belongs, on You. Thank You for loving us so much! Amen.

Final Thought

Freedom lies in the path of the Lord. Give Him all your doubts, worries, and fears. He will make your path straight, your burdens light, your mind free, and your heart full of joy!

Ash Wednesday 2024

Ash Wednesday 2024

The Upper Room has been a staple publication in our house as long as I can remember. Today’s devotion was so wonderful and appropriate, I felt compelled to share it with the world in it’s entirety. I hope you get as much from it as I did. We all need to work on forgiveness. After all, The Lord’s Prayer does not say that God forgives us so we should forgive others. The Lord’s Prayer says God forgives us in proportion to how we forgive others. Present tense. Not past tense. Not future tense. Right now! Please join me as I review everyone I haven’t yet forgiven. I’m sure I missed someone. Lord, please help me to do a better job of forgiving. Amen.

Vol 90 No 1. Copyright 2024 by The Upper Room. All rights reservedf.

Bad-Mouthing Jesus

Bad-Mouthing Jesus

In Acts 9, Jesus appeared to Paul as a bright light from heaven. Jesus identified himself as “Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” [Acts 9:5] As Reverend Kenneth Copeland pointed out, Jesus didn’t say Paul was persecuting His people; he told Paul he was persecuting Jesus himself.

When we criticize our fellow Christians, we must be very careful. It is not for us to know what their mission is. We don’t know their personal battles. Leave harsh words for those who belong to this world. Criticism must be given in love, not “good intentions.” We are to correct our brothers and sisters when they step off the path, but only when and how the Holy Spirit tells us.

When we whisper behind their back, we are helping the enemy. STOP IT! Gossip comes from Satan’s toolbox.

When we are called to correct a fellow Christian, we are to pray for guidance. Let God work through you to lead the stray sheep back to the path of righteousness. God knows the right things to say and do. Give Him the lead on this, as in all things.

God Is Always With You

God Is Always With You

My all time favorite poem is “Footprints in the Sand.” If you’re not familiar with it, I hope you look it up. It’s one of the most popular poems out there! It reminds us that God is always with us, especially in the hard times.

This poem has helped me through a LOT of hard times. My husband even gave me a beautiful poster of the beach which had this poem on it. I still cherish it, not only because it was a very thoughtful gift from my life partner (who I miss dearly), but it was also a gift from the God who loves me. They both knew I need a gentle reminder that I am loved by the God who created me, the ocean, the stars, and everything!

The author is probably one of about a dozen people who hotly contest that honor for themselves, presumably because great piles of money they would make from it. I do know that all the people who claim the rights to that poem KNOW whether or not they actually did. Perhaps only God and the actual person will ever know who penned this poem. What a sad statement about the world we live in, where greed and jealousy even taints this beautiful poem.

Thank You, God, for giving this poem to the world. No matter the person who put words to paper, You actually wrote it. To God be the glory! Amen.