Daily Meditations
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
It is so easy to forget to give attention to our God. Church is not the only place to worship God. We should be thanking God and giving praise through every moment. We must stop and be silent long enough to hear God’s voice. We are so good at putting everything else first. Praise, thank, and listen to God at all time.s
Work is not always required….there is such a thing as sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected. George Macdonald
We have to take time to be still. Too often busy-ness keeps us moving all the time. Only in stillness can we hear the things God wants to whisper to us. Take the time for stillness and quiet so you can hear God.
Today I have some worries that I need to let go. It is so easy to get wrapped up in worry and it does no good at all. Jesus reminds us that there is no reason to worry. God is in charge.
a very present[a] help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
God is present. He is always with us. We can take refuge in Him. We have nothing to fear no matter what happens. Don’t be afraid but depend on God.
Psalm 42: 1-2
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,..
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
Someone has said that we have a God-sized hole in us…that we cannot rest until it is filled. It’s as if, at some time, God was part of us and now is not. We are always searching for something. ….longing for something that we can’t quite grasp. I think it’s what makes us so restless and unsettled. We always seem to want more….more stuff, more money, more peace. We are never satisfied.
It’s because we are looking for the wrong thing. No other piece can fit the hole where God belongs. As long as the hole is empty we are unsatisfied.
Seek God. Look where god can be found….in the Bible, in the stories of Christ, in prayer, in church, in other people.
Prayer: O God, the blank spot within me can only be filled with you. I have a longing that nothing else can assuage. Come Holy Spirit and fill my soul with the living God. AMEN
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
Sometimes trusting God is not easy. Sometimes things seem so bad that we think that God has deserted us. Sometimes we just want to fix things ourselves.
All of these are times when we have to pray fervently, listen and wait for God. God is with us through everything. He never leaves us. We are the ones who leave. Turn back to God.
Don’t assume you have to be extraordinary to be used by God. You don’t have to have exceptional gifts, talents, abilities, or connections. God specializes in using ordinary people whose limitations and weaknesses make them ideal showcases for His greatness and glory. –Nancy Leigh DeMoss
All through the Bible God uses the most unlikely people. Most of them complained that they couldn’t do what was asked. God just doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He will use us in ways we never thought possible.
Loving God, you know our abilities and our weaknesses. Help us to answer yes when you call on us. AMEN
““To fear the Lord is the beginning of freedom.” ~ Ecclesiastes 1:14a
It is a very strange fact that in giving ourselves freely to God we become free. It is in “fearing” God that we gain our very souls. To “fear” him is acknowledge that he is God and he is in control. Yet his way of control is to give us freedom of choice. We can choose him or not. We can love him or not. We can “fear” him or not. It is up to each of us.
Prayer: Intriguing God, your way to control is to turn loose. Help us to use our freedom for your kingdom. Amen
Hear God in Other Voices 