In Over My Head
What can I say, Father, yesterday was surely not one of my best days. But I am truly grateful for Your love. May my fortitude be strengthened as I carry on in following You. I find that strength only in You. And I cling to the fact that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6
Okay, I was going to move on to the next verse in James 4 but, Lord, You are leading me to share. That is not an easy thing to do but obedience is a major factor in our relationship…so here goes!
Yesterday I ______________. I don’t need to fill in the blank because every one of us can fill in the blank with something with which we struggle spiritually. We all have things we fight against, things that we can stand strong against day after day… as long as we walk close to You, Lord. Without You, we are done for. We cannot stand.
But there are times (and I am so grateful for Your strength in my life that those times are few and far between)… there are times when we sneak in little self-indulgence – just a glimpse, just sticking a toe into the very utmost edge of the lake. We’re not jumping; we’re not even just wading in a little – just the toe. Usually, we come to our spiritual senses and we ask forgiveness for the “toe” incident after we have scampered far, far away from the water’s edge. But on occasion, the lapping of the water on the shore lures us far too quickly to stick our toe in once again.
Your words of caution can be heard but we allow the lapping of the water to drown our Your words. The toe becomes an ankle, the ankle becomes a knee and then we’re in over our heads…ugh!
But here’s the part I want to stress. We all get in over our own heads. We painfully realize our sin (for that’s what it is!) but we can’t let it erase all the progress we’ve made up to that point!
Lord, you never leave us nor forsake us. Your hand is extended even as we are looking up to the surface. You want us to grasp Your hand. You want to pull us out. You want us to be overcomers. You don’t want us to fail. Your heart’s desire is to see us thrive!
Lord, help me to listen. Help me to obey. Help me to stay close to Your side. And help me to keep my toes from the water.
Sept 29th, Thurs, 7:00 am
Morning Fog
Father, I am so grateful that You understand me. That even when I can’t seem to settle down to write that you are patient with me. Quite often, it crosses my mind, that it is a wonder that you put up with my shenanigans…but You love me…and I do love You, too. Thank You for being with me. Thank You for holding me tight and never giving up on me.
James 4:13-16 (<<click here)
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times… “Lord willing.” My grandmother repeated it often and in recent years I’ve taken up saying it, too. When leaving church after service or Bible study, I will say, “See you next time, Lord willing.” For none of us knows what next second holds, much less 7 days from now. Only God knows. So as James says, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
From another angle, I cling to this truth. Our world is a mess and it seems that at any moment we will slip over into the abyss. But no matter what we think the inevitable is, Lord, You are still on the throne. What happens only happens, if You allow it. No matter who the power players are, a massive heart attack could bring things to an abrupt halt. My faith is in You, not the plans of man.
None of us has any guarantees. Our lives are “like the morning fog” we’re here for a time, and then we’re gone. May we use our time wisely, living life to its fullest as you would will it. Amen.
Sept 28th, Wed, 7:08 am
Me, Critical?
In the quiet of this morning, I join You, Father. You have been awaiting my arrival. May I take advantage and cherish very moment that we have together. May I be a hearer and a doer of Your word. Amen
James 4:11-12 (<<click here)
“If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.”
When thinking this passage through, Lord, I have to first remind myself of what the Law boils down to. When You were asked what the most important commandment was, You succinctly summarized the law down to the word “Love” – loving You with all of our heart, soul and mind and right along with it – loving each other. Matthew 22:35-40
We are called to, first of all, love You and out of that love we are to love others. There are no exceptions. There is no time off. Love God, love others – period. It’s not complicated but it’s not easy either!
Lord, as I examine my life, there is not a single day that goes by when I am not critical or judgmental of someone – the person who doesn’t know how to drive, the one who doesn’t hold the same political perspective as I do, the individual who doesn’t do things at work the way I think they should be done, the server who doesn’t keep my drink filled to my satisfaction in a restaurant, the loved one who doesn’t meet my level of expectations, the audacity someone would have to not live out their relationship with You the way I think they should. Boy, that list was way too easy to write out! And worse, I could go on!!
First of all, I’m sorry – forgive me…
Secondly, this is too ingrained in my brain to take on and eradicate on my own. I need You and Your power. Your love in me is the only way I can overcome the lifestyle of criticism and judgmentalism. I’ve heard Your word, help me to be a doer.
Sept 27th, Tues, 6:37 am
My Word…Produces Fruit
Father, two days off from coming together first thing was not beneficial. This time affords me an anchor for my day. Its sets my mindset. It helps me keep my focus on You. This day I give myself over to You. Use this day as You will. Use me as You will.
I feel that You are wanting me to process some things that took place over this past weekend, Lord. I did something that I have done only once before since launching my blog over a year ago – I paid a small fee to promote my blog on Facebook. It then pops up on people’s Facebook pages, sort of like an advertisement. Normally I can have upwards of 200 people looking at my posts but since Friday morning (Sept 23rd) 1,550 people had the option to look at my “For Such a Worm as I” post. So in 3 days, of that number 91 people clicked on the post and 65 responded in some way.
Now I have my faithful readers but both times I’ve promoted my posts I have had a very interesting cross section of society. There’s no way that I can know the spiritual impact they have had on people Some may have responded to it out of habit but I pray that some were impacted by it – that it cracked the heavens just a by giving them a glimpse of God and maybe, just maybe, it might be the beginning of their journey in finding Him.
It’s a little surprising to see that in reality there were few that looked at it that had any “Christian” slant to their online persona – maybe 2 or 3 beyond those who routinely do so. As I look at those who responded very few would probably ever darken the door of the church. So, Lord, I would pray especially for those people this morning – people from N.Y. to LA, from Florida to Michigan. I don’t know them but You do. I pray that they would have seen enough of You that You stick in their hearts. That the small seed planted would not be snatched up or wither but that it would be the beginning of something life changing for them.
The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11
Sept 26th, Mon, 5:40 am
Beautiful Day!
It is still dark out, Father but it is a beautiful day. Why shouldn’t if be so? I awoke this morning. You have blessed me beyond measure! It may be modest, but I have a beautiful home. She has yet to rise and will need to wash her hair and brush her teeth, but I am so blessed to have Your daughter as my bride and her beauty far exceeds the standards of this world! In the next couple of hours, I will once again walk through the doors of Kohl’s. I have been blessed with a job that meets my financial needs and has always been supportive when ministry calls – when I’ve had need to join families struggling in the ER and left work to do so, or when I’ve had to call off to officiate at many funerals over the years.
Lord, this is just the tip of the iceberg! It’s a beautiful day for You are by my side. Through every instance of life, smooth or rough, through joy or through tears, You are there.
Yes, You are with me, but on an even more celebratory note, I am with You because of Your sacrifice, Your grace, Your mercy. Because You loved me I can be with You. Your life’s blood covers my many sins so that I can come before You. Thank You, Lord! Praise Your Holy Name!
Use me this day, Lord, to radiate Your beauty to all who would cross my path. May I be a living, breathing reminder of what You can do for anyone. Thank You for the privilege of being Your servant. Amen!
Sept 23rd, Fri, 6:41 am