Surrender To His Lead

We are privileged to have guest devotion blog writers during the summer. Enjoy hearing from Leslie Schonfeld today!

His Word: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.  Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT)

Observation & Obedience: Such a familiar verse. There is no end to God’s love. In him is an eternal source of mercy. Love and mercy are tied together with faithfulness. We can count on this as fact. Yet, most of us take it for granted. We don’t recognize it in our day to day lives. 

This became real to me when I miscarried in 2002. Each morning I awoke refreshed and then devastated as I remembered my loss. Bewildered by these events, I often thought I can’t believe this has happened to me. It was as if I couldn’t catch my balance. Everything felt off. 

Quiet time with the Lord helped. In some moments, the Holy Spirit’s comfort was palatable. Yet the pain and uncertainty persisted. This is when Jesus acted through people; friends who came and shared little acts of kindness. They played with my kids, brought over meals, and did housework. Most importantly they listened as I processed through my circumstance. Even when I was angry and self-focused, they did not judge. They were tangible evidence of God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness. 

This is how I want to live my life. Like my friends who cared for me when I was in pain. Our imperfection does not allow us to be endless in our love for others but we can be a conduit for Jesus to move. Surrendered to His lead, we will see the needs of others and move.  

Not only can we proclaim God’s love we can emit God’s love. We tap into his limitless resource which fills us. It fills us until we overflow. Jesus said in John 7:38 NLT “Anyone who believes come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” Fill us up with your living water, Lord. I want to be so full that I splash all over the people I meet. How about you?

Prayer: “Thank you Lord that you have an unending supply of love, mercy, and faithfulness. You show us the perfect way to share these gifts. Thank you for pouring them out on us through your living water. We surrender Lord, to your lead and ask that you show us when to tap into you and pour out on others. Thanks for leading us Jesus. Amen.”

Encouragement: “God of mercy, sweet love of mine, I have surrendered to your design. May this offering stretch across the skies and these hallelujahs be multiplied.”   Need To Breathe, Multiplied

Written by Leslie Schonfeld

Is This Real Life?

We are privileged to have guest devotion blog writers during the summer. Enjoy hearing from Emily Gehman today!

You’ve seen the video David After Dentist, right? It “went viral” a few years ago when a dad took a video of his son in the back seat of the car after having some teeth pulled at the dentist.

Still groggy from the anesthetic, David, who can’t be more than six or seven, just doesn’t understand.

“I feel funny.”
“Why is this happening to me?!” “Is this going to be forever?!”

Dazed, and most certainly confused, David questions his entire existence. He’s not sure about anything. “Is this real life?” he asks his dad, who assures him that yes, this is real life, and no, this is not going to be forever.

If you’ve ever been to the dentist for any work other than a cleaning, you might sympathize with David. You come out awake, but not so sure about anything else. You stagger in a half-dream state where you think this is really happening, but you’re not sure. And all you want to do is find somewhere you can sleep…but hopefully not on the couch in the waiting room.

Is This Real Life?

Sometimes, though, those questions are uttered from my mouth after worse things than going to the dentist. And they’re usually directed toward God.

“Why is this happening to me?! Is this going to be forever?! Is this real life?!”

Sometimes I wonder why the current trial is happening to me. I’m a good person. I go to church, I read my Bible, I pray. I’m not a partier. I don’t get smashed on the weekends and I don’t follow men home from the bar. I do what is right. I am godly. I have been following Jesus for a long time. So why is this happening to me? Is this even real life?

Sometimes I wonder if God is even listening. Or if he’s just the dad behind the camera laughing. Another David wondered the same thing.

“Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—

you are my God.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you I cry all the day.”

David—the shepherd-turned-king psalmist, not the kid in the backseat—basically says, “Why is this happening to me? I feel funny. Is this going to be forever?”

Why Me?

King David appeals to the Lord with a strong argument—his own godliness. “But God, I trust in you! I am godly! I don’t follow anyone but you! Save me!”

But, it seems, to no avail. Despite his godliness and his total trust in God, he still has the “day of trouble.” He is not exempt from the woes of this world, though his godliness is clear for all to see. Karma is not a thing for David.
How often, though, in my own pride and pious godliness, have I, like King David, wondered “Why is this happening to me?” And like Kid David, complain about my is-this-real-life circumstances? “I feel funny. Is this going to be forever?”

But then I read Psalm 86 and I am reminded of my need for God’s goodness, kindness, and forgiveness. I am reminded that I need Him to teach me His ways, so I will walk in His truth.

“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.”

That lesson in truth comes just at the right time: when I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I feel funny and I’m not sure if this is actually real life. Just when I think I’m a goner, when I’m really convinced this isn’t ever going to end, I’m reminded ever so gently of the truth of who God is.

“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Mercy. The just desserts I don’t get, but deserve.
Grace. Freedom I don’t deserve but get anyway.
Patience. When I’m whining in the backseat.
Steadfast love. Unconditional, never-let-me-go love when I have love for no one but myself. Faithfulness. God’s constant presence and steady character when I think this won’t ever end.

He’s not just the dad behind the camera laughing at his groggy kid in the backseat. No, He’s the merciful and gracious father, comforting his children in the midst of confusion, fear, and restlessness. His patient arms engulf us in unmatched steadfast love, and He faithfully holds us when we are sure this is going to last forever.

“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Written by: Emily Gehman

Singing My Way Out Of The Pit

We are privileged to have guest devotion blog writers during the summer. Enjoy hearing from Deb Potts today!

His Word: I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.                  Psalm 57:9-11

Observation & Obedience: Aren’t those words from Psalm 57 wonderful? Can’t you just picture David playing his harp and singing a melodious tune praising God? When I read these words I get a word picture in my mind. There’s a beautiful forest, a deep blue, cloudless sky, birds are singing in the trees and the aroma of budding flowers scents the air. 

But, wait a minute. If we take a look at the beginning of this Psalm, we get an entirely different picture. “I take refuge…disaster…I cry out…hotly pursue me…in the midst of lions…I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts…bowed down in distress…a pit in my path.” 

Not exactly a tiptoe through the tulips moment. I love God’s honesty. He doesn’t just fill His word with platitudes and pleasantries. He lets His writers get real. Can I get real with you today?

I’ve had plenty of pits in my path of life. Maybe you have too. There have been pillows soggy with sorrow, worry gnawing at my insides, brooding that stuck like glue, and shock that paralyzed. David experienced some pretty awful things as well. 

So how can he possibly transform those pits into praise?

David starts his ascent out of the pit when he makes up his mind to wake up and take notice of what he’s been doing. “Awake my soul!” In verse 8, he begins the transformation from dark night to glorious day. He decides to stop his song of lament about his troubles. He commits to focusing on all that is good and right and wonderful and praiseworthy about his God. 

“I will sing of you among the peoples.” Singing is our way of making any story melodious. 

When I think of melodious stories, I think of birds. One of my favorite sounds is birdsong. Birds outside my window start telling their song-stories before the sun rises each morning. When I wake up to the sound of birdsong it just makes me smile. 

Our songs not only lift us up, they make God smile too. David’s situation didn’t change, the ravenous beasts were still there. What changed was David’s focus. No matter what difficulty we’re going through, we can always find something to sing about when we focus on God. 

Here are some things I do when I need to change the direction of my thoughts. If you have a smart phone and earbuds, you can even do these things in the echoing quiet of the night.

• Listen to an audio bible recording of your favorite scriptures. I love the Psalms for comfort.

• Sing out loud to your favorite praise and worship music. If everyone else is sleeping, sing in your heart.

• Listen to a nature sounds app. I love to fall asleep to the sound of a river or crickets or birdsong when I’m alone. 

Are you wandering in the night of your soul? Turn on the Light, perk up your ears for the Melody, and sing for all you’re worth!

Prayer: “Abba, I so often let my mind get wrapped around the wrinkles of my life. They seem so overwhelming sometimes! When I do that, will you help me to wake up and pay attention to You instead? Will you put a new song in my heart when the brooding begins? Will you help me remember there’s plenty to praise if I will just waken to Your love that surpasses all understanding? Thank You. Thank. You.  Amen.”

Encouragement: Be like a bird that, halting in its flight, rests on a limb too slight. And feeling it give way beneath him sings, knowing he has wings.  L.B.Cowman, Streams in the Desert

Written by: Deb Potts

His Steadfast Love

We are privileged to have guest devotion blog writers during the summer. Enjoy hearing from Judy Eick today!

His Word:  Prove me O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.  For your steadfast love is before my eyes and I walk in your faithfulness.   Psalm 26:2-3  

Observation & Obedience: “I have proof.” We may have spoken those words as a child, to reinforce our point. Today I am speaking them as an adult because I have witnessed God’s steadfast love ‘with my own eyes’ (another childhood refrain) since my early childhood. 

June 11, is the day my mother was born and today I would like to share how God’s steadfast love sustained her hope and has strengthened me. 

These were a couple of her favorite verses:  I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1& 2). 

Edith, my mother grew up on a flat land farm. Several years later on June 11, she married my father who declared with pride that he farmed ‘three sides of his land’. Our farm had hills!

At the age of twenty-four, Rheumatoid Arthritis attacked my mother’s body and a pain-filled silence entered into our family.

As she struggled to accomplish the everyday tasks of a farmer’s wife and meet the needs for our family of five, she embraced the verses of this Psalm, trusting that God who made heaven and earth would help her. To her, the hills were directing her eyes to the creator. We witnessed her HOPE.

My mother organized her time between rest and labor, offering her best – the best she could. Not the day of labor a healthy woman could offer, she offered her offering, grateful for the things she could do. I grew up thankful for a body that functioned without pain. 

Psalm 26:2: Prove me, O Lord, try me; test my heart and mind.

Because her Arthritis arrived three years before I did, I observed pain and suffering from an early age. Pain can pull the air out of a room and leaves no life untouched. From her, I learned you are not what happens to you. 

You are a child of the living God and you are so much more than your circumstances. Participate in life. Participate in living. Lift your eyes to the hills, remembering whose child you are and to whom you belong. I have been a registered nurse for forty years and God has tested my heart and mind. I have seen suffering and I have seen God’s steadfast love.  

Prayer:  “Dear Father, Thank you for teaching me I can trust your steadfast love. Help me walk in your faithfulness. When pain enters my life, as it will, help me to know you are with me. Help me to remember the times I have witnessed your faithfulness and to trust the future to you. Release me from my need to understand the present and know the future. Help me to trust you in every aspect of my life, now and for eternity. Amen.”

Encouragement: Encourage others along the way and as Francis of Assisi is quoted, “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” As you journey, praise God with songs, making worship and prayer a way of life. Let others see the hope that lies within you. Accomplish what you can, the best that you can, and God will deliver the MESSAGE.

Written by: Judy Eick

Proclaim His Greatness

We are privileged to have guest devotion blog writers during the summer. Enjoy hearing from Marion Smith today!

His Word: For I will proclaim the name of Adonai.  Come, declare the greatness of our God!  The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just. A trustworthy God who does no wrong, He is righteous and straight.     Deuteronomy 32:3-4 (CJB)

Observation & Obedience: How many of you remember the song, “El Shaddai,” penned by Amy Grant?  The lyrics evoke praise and worship that truly makes the heart soar. 

“El Shaddai, el shaddai, El-elyon na adonia; Age to age you’re still the same; By the power of the name El shaddai, el shaddai, Erkamka na adonai; I will praise and lift you high.”

The powerful descriptions of God help us to understand who He is and why we cannot help but praise and proclaim the name of God.

One of my favorite ways to study the bible is to read different versions.  What one version may say, another may put a completely different spin on the words.  In Deuteronomy 32:3, the Complete Jewish Bible translates scripture as, For I will proclaim the name of Adonai. Come, declare the greatness of our God!” 

The Message Bible paraphrases the verse as, For it’s God’s Name I’m preaching; respond to the greatness of our God! 

The Good News Translations says, I will praise the name of the Lord, and his people will tell of his greatness.

Yet, if you read the Wycliffe version, it states, For I shall inwardly call the name of the Lord; give ye glory to our God.

What kind of proclaimer are you?  Are you a mountaintop type of person that loves to evangelize by publicly professing your praise?  Or are you a mild type of person that loves to show others your praise by the quiet way you live? Whichever way you choose, God loves our praise, by our words and by the way we live.  

As proclaimers of Christ, what is the message we are to give others?  Regardless of the translation, Deuteronomy 32:4 tells us that the Lord is our Rock, our mighty Defender, perfect and just in all His ways, faithful and true, fair and just – simply put – a trustworthy God who does no wrong.  

He is a God you can depend upon, no exceptions, a straight-arrow God.  Whether life is going good or whether it’s turned upside down, praise the One who is worthy to be praised.  In other words…Proclaim His greatness!  

Prayer: “Precious Father, I praise You for who You are.  I want to thank you for all You’ve done, for creating this wonderful world that I’m in.  My arms are outstretched, Lord, a song is on my lips as I worship you all day long, morning, noon and night.  You are forever in my thoughts.  Great is Your faithfulness, God.  You are my Rock and my Defender, my Fortress and my Source of strength.  Thank you for sending Your son, Jesus, to die on the cross, for loving me in order to make a way for me to spend eternity with You.  I thank you also for sending the Holy Spirit and for the wisdom He gives.  You are amazing.  I praise and worship and give You glory.  Amen.”   

Encouragement:  Worship is like breathing: you’re created to do it all the time. It’s a lifestyle.   Joseph L. Garlington

Written by: Marion Smith

A Great Way To Start Your Day

As we turn the calendar to the first month of our long awaited summer season, we are reminded of the privilege that is ours to proclaim God’s love, His steadfast, gracious, unfailing love each morning and His faithfulness every night. Let His praise be on our lips and the testimony of His faithfulness be our witness as we continue to be a beacon of light, hope and encouragement to a lost and hurting world. 

Tonia and I have had some physical/health challenges over the past couple of months and we appreciate your continued support and prayers as we seek and trust in God’s perfect plan and purpose for each day. 

This summer we have the privilege and blessing of hearing from guest bloggers who will be sharing encouragement through God’s Word and our devotionals. Our guest bloggers are friends of Tonia who are members of the Michigan Christian Women Speakers group she helped organize. Please be encouraged to share His Love and how He has been faithful to you as these women are so willing to do for us. 

Thank You and God Bless,

Sharon and Tonia