Psalm 23:2

From my e-devotion:
 

"He leads me beside peaceful streams."

Psalm 23:2

"Picture yourself sitting beside a peaceful stream. What do you see? The world around you is reflected in a way that looks different from your own view as you sit there. It's as if the water were a camera, capturing a view of the world around you. Allow Jesus to be your Good Shepherd. He will show you a picture of the world the way he wants you to see it."

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

In His Love, Cathy

Refocus: Psalm 77

And I said, "This is my fate;
     the Most High has turned his hand against me."
But then I recall all you have done, Oh Lord;
     I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
They are constantly in my thoughts.
     I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
                                                     Psalm 77:10-11
                                           

Have you ever been in such a hopeless situation that you felt that not even God could help?   Have you ever cried out to God in desperation yet felt your pleas went unheard or doubted God's ability to answer them - or worse- that God did not care?

In Psalm 77, we see Asaph in extreme distress making his own desperate plea to God.  And like us,  at first he did not feel God's comforting presence.  He could not be comforted because he doubted in God's care for him and ability to answer his requests. His focus was on himself and his troubles.  He was in such strife that he could not see beyond his own pain. 

But as Asaph continued to pray, we see a shift in focus. Asaph began to recall all of God's wonderful deeds from the past.  And once he started, he could not stop!  His confidence in God's love for him and God's ability to answer prayer were reaffirmed! All doubt was gone!  His desperate pleas were turned into songs of praise!

Our own despair can only be relieved by refocusing on God's holiness and love for us.  When we are distressed, we can respond by remembering all the wonderful deeds God has done, thanking Him for each and every one.  And as we pray, God will heal our broken spirits and shift our focus to Him!  He will turn our desperate pleas into songs of praise! 

Thank God today for all that He has done for you!   Be blessed my friends!
Cathy

A Verse to Pray: Psalm 51:10

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
      and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
                                                Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

I pray this verse each morning.  It has been a staple in my spiritual armor and a crucial verse in my daily walk.

Why is this verse so important to me?  Because I'm human.  Because left to my own devices, I do stupid stuff.  I sin even though I try not to.  I mess up.  I let things get to me.  I am selfish. I struggle.  I can react out of my human nature instead of God's nature within me.  I shove God to the side and I take control - at least I think I do.  I let myself get burned out and burned up. I hurt others - whether intentionally or unintentionally.  And when I live out of my own nature instead of the nature of the Holy Spirit, my heart becomes polluted and my spirit is compromised.

Each day, I come before God, seeking His forgiveness and mercy. No matter how hard I try or how good my intentions are, without God, I am unable to make internal, purifying changes.  God is the only one who can change me from within - creating in me a clean and pure heart and a renewed spirit strong enough to live for Him.  I pray Psalm 51:10 asking God to fill me with new thoughts and desires that align my heart to His.  I recognize my own shortcomings and weaknesses - and my desperate need for Him.  I pray this verse because what is within me will be evidenced by what comes out of me.   "...For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.  A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.  And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgement day..."  Matthew 12:34-35 (NLT) 

Because Jesus Christ shed His Blood for our sins, we can turn to Him for forgiveness and mercy!  We can ask Him to clean up our messy hearts, and renew our tired and weakened spirits!   I pray that you would yield your heart to Him today!

Create in me a pure heart, O Lord, and renew a steadfast spirit within me!

In His Love, Cathy

Reflection on Today's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:31

"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength
     They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
     They will walk and not grow faint."
                                     Isaiah 40:31

God loves us.  God wants the best for us.  It's kind of hard to believe this when it seems life keeps knocking you down.  But God promises that those who trust in Him will find the strength to overcome life's difficulties. 

I could not have survived through some really tough times  - some deeply traumatizing and hopeless experiences - without God's sustaining strength.  He has never once left my side.  Even at times when I did not feel His presence, He was there right beside me.  He opened doors that were boarded tightly shut.  He gave me hope when there was none in sight.  He gave me a strength that I never dreamed existed within me.   

Trusting God in the midst of pain, suffering, hopelessness, and loss is extremely difficult for us to do.  Naturally, our own pain and suffering can cloud our hearts.  We can get lost in our own emotions.  And though healthy emotional responses are a way to cope with difficulties, unchecked emotions can take us down a dark path.  We must remember that we do not have to face difficulties alone. ...Those who trust in the Lord will find NEW STRENGTH!

And those things that were meant to cause harm and hurt, have actually brought about good.  I now have a ever increasing joy that comes from a deepening trust in Christ.  In Him I have the strength to do all things.  So if you are facing difficulties, there is hope!  Look to God.  He will give you new strength! 

Peace and blessings.

Cathy

God's Perfect Timing

Read on a friend's facebook status today...

"The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent." (Exodus 14:14 NASB)

I needed to hear this so badly.  God always places just the right encouragement exactly when we need it the most.  Today has been one of those days.  Grateful for a God who loves us so very much that He shows us that love in even the daily details of our lives.  If only we could all offer that same love, grace, and concern to others. (And I am preaching to myself here, too!)

What a day!  What a year!!!!  But God is still good!

In His Love, Cathy

Shortcuts

"My child, listen to me and do as I say,
and you will have a long, good life.
I will teach you wisdom's ways
and lead you in straight paths.
When you walk, you won't be held back;
when you run, you won't stumble.
Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go.
Guard them, for they are the key to life."

Proverbs 4:10–13

There are no shortcuts in life. 

As a high school math teacher, I teach advanced concepts that build upon each other.  The courses I teach prepare my students for the next advanced math courses they will take .  As I teach mathematical concepts, I sometimes find that students are lacking in rudimentary math skills.  For example, many of these advanced math students struggle when working with fractions. They cannot remember the rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and even dividing fractions.  Why is this important?  First of all, because fractions are a part of our daily lives.  And secondly,  if they are unable to work with basic numerical fractions, then they will certainly struggle when it comes to working with rational expressions and equations (i.e. fractions that have numbers and VARIABLES in them)! 

My students often search for shortcuts to the problems we work.  Always looking for the easiest way out of the problems.  Sometimes in doing so, they miss out on important concepts that are learned in working through the problem.  And later on, when those key concepts they missed out on are applied to a more advanced topic, they end up confused and lost...and often missing the problem on a test. 

While it is good to be as efficient as possible, sometimes the shortcuts in math are to the disadvantage of the student later on in their mathematical career.  Instead of learning the concept correctly so that they can apply it correctly, they reach for a calculator or some other quick and easy method. In doing so, students don't learn the 'why' of what they are doing.  They are cheating themselves of mathematical wisdom that will help them later on in future math courses.  These shortcuts only satisfy the pressure of the moment to get the grade and pass the test.  These shortcuts do not stand the test of time.  And they can sometimes lead to students having to struggle more in later classes to understand topics that have built upon that knowlege.

However, those students who take the time to actually work through the problems - those who have the tenacity and the patience to struggle through learning the hard concepts instead of looking to a calculator or a shortcut, often have the most mathematical success in the long run. 

But yet how often do I myself look for the shortcuts in life.  And, thinking I've found one, followed it only to end up in a worse state that the one in which I began.  How often do we in our own lives shortcut what God has planned, only to find we've 'missed the turn' and ended up lost and heading in the wrong direction.  How often have we stubbornly thought our way was better, ignoring God's wisdom, thinking we had found the quick and easy way out.  Had we only stayed the course, listened to godly wisdom, we would have ended up in a better position.  Even if the shortcut causes no harm, it may cheat us out of a lesson or experience that we or others could have benefited from.

Godly wisdom is a treasure, not only to us, but to those in our lives as well. We do everyone a favor when we follow God's wisdom. Shortcuts do not always lead us down the better road.  But if we follow godly wisdom, though we may stumble, we will not fall.

Seek Him today.  Read His Word.  Pray.  And commit yourself to following Christ each and every day.  His Holy Spirit will guide you with godly wisdom.

Peace and love!
Cathy