Month: November 2018

You don’t answer

worrylessjourney1 Comment

Psalm 22: 1-22

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
    and by night, but find no rest.

bad things happen

This Psalm is used during lent. It is a cry for help. We also cry out to God for help and we don’t always see an answer. It is one of the difficult things that Christians deal with. Why would a God who loves us so leave us to suffer? It seems that either God is not there or not answering. I wish that I had a perfect answer to this problem. I don’t but I do trust that God loves us and wants the best for us. The best may not be what we expected.

I heard about a minister who was dying with a very painful disease. Everyone was praying for him to be spared. It did not happen. What did happen is that the pain stopped and the last days of his life were blessed to be pain free. For this he thanked and praised God.

Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not what we asked but it always is the answer of our loving God.

God of mercy, we know you hear our prayers and love us beyond measure. Help us to not expect to know all the answers. AMEN

Seek important things

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 20:7-8

7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
    but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They will collapse and fall,
    but we shall rise and stand upright.

possessions

Some take pride in houses, some in cars, some in clothes, some in jobs, some in money. There are so many things out there to lure us away from what is important. Our culture expects us to want possessions. Those things will go away. As some say “you can’t take it with you.” But God’s love can never go away.

God of our fathers, help us to ignore the lures of possessions and remember what is important. AMEN

Think

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 19:14

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

dangers-of-tongue

A lot of preachers use this verse before beginning a sermon. I imagine that most of the time they have a plan about what they will say. That is not always true of the rest of us. Too often we don’t think about what we are saying. The words just rush out and we often wish we could take them back. Our hasty words can injure others. My father used to say “put your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion.” Wise words indeed.

Patient God, help us to think before speaking so that our words can be acceptable in your sight. AMEN

God’s wisdom

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 19:7-10

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
    and drippings of the honeycomb.

God’s desires for us have always been there. Here they are in David’s words.We are so blind that we don’t see the truth. We don’t see how to live a life of love. Finally he sent us an example whose life we are to emulate. Do we get it yet?

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts. AMEN

Let our praises join in

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 19: 1-4

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God;
    and the firmament[a] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
    and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
    their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.

Word6

Everything is praising God. How wonderful if we could hear it all. The trees, the grass, the flowers are all crying out in praise. All the animals and insects. All things are praising God. Where are we in all of this? We go about our day and forget. We don’t join our praises with all the rest. We must praise and thank God!

Patient God, help us to remember to praise you at all times. Help us to join our voices with the rest of the earth. AMEN

Seek the Lord

worrylessjourney2 Comments

Psalm 16: 11

11 You show me the path of life.
    In your presence there is fullness of joy;
    in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

It is so easy to expect to find our happiness in the things of the world. The truth is our happiness is found inside us. It is in our ability to appreciate the things we have and know where our security is. By giving our life over to God we can rest in his promises. He doesn’t promise us things but his presence. He promises a full life and peace. Sometimes is it hard to see that in the midst of the turmoil of everyday life. Reach for God in your distress. In him there is joy and love.

Loving God, you have given us so much. Help us to seek you in all that we do. AMEN

Act

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 16:7-8

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

act

The Lord does give us counsel. However, we do have to listen and then act. His counsel is immaterial if we chose not to act on it. Have you ever woken in the night with someone on your mind? Someone random? I have and I finally got the idea to pray for that person. I had no idea why. As far as I knew there was no problem. Later on I would find that the person needed prayer. I am not always that good at listening but I know that I must pay attention and hear when God speaks. It is not always easy. “Be still and know that I am God.”

Intimate God, you know us well. We don’t always pay attention or follow through. Help us to be still and listen. AMEN

You are my good

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 16: 1-2

1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”[a]

god is good

I don’t understand people who have no relationship with God. Where do they turn when life is challenging? It is not the things that we accumulate that give us “the good.” It is our God who provides us with the things that bring us life. Life with God is good.

Amazing God, thank you for providing the good in our lives. AMEN

A Psalm for living

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 15

1 O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
    Who may dwell on your holy hill?

2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
    and speak the truth from their heart;
3 who do not slander with their tongue,
    and do no evil to their friends,
    nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
    but who honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
5 who do not lend money at interest,
    and do not take a bribe against the innocent.

Those who do these things shall never be moved.

saying

This is a Psalm to live by. It we follow this path we will not only show others how to live we will be fulfilled ourselves.We need little explanation to understand that this is the way Jesus calls us to live. A Psalm for living.

Loving God, help us to follow you path and live in your ways. AMEN

Promises

worrylessjourneyLeave a comment

Psalm 12:6

6 The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
    silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

Embrace-Gods-Promises

We can count on the promises that God has made. We also have to understand that there are some things he did not promise. Life will not be perfect but God did promise to be by our side through it all. His strength will be our strength. His promises are never forgotten.

Faithful God, help us to feel your strength in times of trouble. Remind us that you are faithful. AMEN