Today and Everyday- Psalm 37

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Today’s devotion took me to a familiar Psalm, one I have written notes and dates around in the margins of my Bible. Today God spoke a fresh Word to me from the ones I’ve read and marked so many times. This Psalm is full of verbs, so of course the English teacher in me has marked them with an underline. These are words to BE and DO.

It was easy for the first verb to get my attention- FRET NOT!

This is a timely reminder because today’s schedule is not what I originally planned. I’m helping a senior with a doctor’s appointment. The time has changed a couple of times. It’s an interruption that will leave me tired and wanting to choose a nap over productivity.

This instruction is simple- FRET NOT over what I’m facing today, but I’m sure you’d agree, this is not always the easiest thing to do. Thankfully the Psalmist continues with another list of verbs instructing me in what to do instead.

TRUST in the LORD . . . DO GOOD

DWELL IN THE LAND . . . BEFRIEND FAITHFULNESS

DELIGHT IN THE LORD

COMMIT YOUR WAY TO HIM . . .TRUST IN HIM

BE STILL AND WAIT FOR HIM . . .

FRET NOT!

I found myself writing a prayer for the day ahead as God used his wisdom to instruct me and shift my perspective-

Help me, Oh Lord, to live as the Psalmist- not fretting and full of worry and angst but trusting in you and doing the good work of your Kingdom that you require. Today it’s helping with a doctor’s appointment. This is how I dwell in the land and do good today. Grow me up to see this as a way of delighting in You. I want it to be my pleasure to do this kingdom work. I want to be committed to your way- trusting you to act and work and order all of the things that need to be accomplished. Help me to be still in your presence- at peace instead of restless and agitated about what‘s ahead.

God is challenging me today to shift my perspective. To see the tasks of the day as the good work of his kingdom- to complete them as unto Him. To surrender them to Him and FRET NOT because of them. As I continue through the Psalm, there are more verbs that God ascribes to Himself.

HE WILL GIVE . . . HE WILL BRING FORTH

THE LORD KNOWS . . . ESTABLISHES . . . UPHOLDS

THE LORD LOVES . . . AND WILL NOT FORSAKE

HE PRESERVES . . . EXALTS

HE HELPS AND DELIVERS

HE IS A STRONGHOLD FOR THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM

Today’s challenge meets me where I live-

Will I surrender the things that I’m fretting over today to the LORD and trust that He is working it out as I delight in Him and the good work of his kingdom?

A New Pattern

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I shared in a post last week that I’m going back through the memory verses from the study Fight Back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg. This has led me to meditate on and consider the short version of Nehemiah 8:10, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Do not be grieved can be reworded- do not feed on what distresses you.

I’ve been convicted that when I fall into a pattern of complaining and grumbling over circumstances that are hard or cause me trouble, I am in fact feeding the things that cause me stress. This quenches the strength that comes from rejoicing in the LORD.

James 1: 22 challenges believers to be doers of the word, and not hearers only, so today, I’m sharing two PICs that I’m keeping before me in mind and prayer as I seek to be a doer in this- to replace the old pattern with a new one.

Instead of doubt- PRAISE!

Instead of complaint- THANKSGIVING!

Living in a world where negativity and division are the norm, it’s easy to feed our stress. Will you join me today with a new pattern of praise? Will you shine as a light in this dark world?

A previous post, Without Complaint, may be helpful as well.

Less is More

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Less of my words; more of His to pray-

This is the path that leads to a deep and abundant relationship with God!

I’m jumping back in today feeling God prompting me to find a way to share more PICs– hoping they will lead you to a deeper relationship with God through prayer.

I’m walking through a season with God that is requiring perseverance; there are a lot of days when I feel like I’m running out of steam.

God is reminding me that staying in the Word and praying the Word is the key to staying the course. The good news today is that even in the desert, there is God’s provision of JOY! He promises us that as we stay the course on His path, He is present, and in Him, JOY is abundant.

A New Year . . . Again!

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I’m reposting a devotional from 2019 because it is speaking loudly to me in this second week of 2021. As I wrote last week in The Gift of Love–

“The troubles of 2020 have not disappeared with the calendar change,” and I’ll add to that- “they have picked up speed and appear to be setting up permanent residence.”

It’s my prayer that these words will encourage me to Begin Again with a ‘Hallelujah Perspective’–

As I flipped through my Instagram feed on New Year’s Eve, this Peanuts cartoon got my attention. The caption reads, “My favorite memory from 2018 was . . .”

My husband and I were on an unexpected, cross-country, road trip, so I thought this might just be an interesting conversation starter. Sure enough, it prompted an almost immediate response from him as he quickly identified several highlights and answered prayers that were a part of his 2018. The surprise came to me when it was my time to answer. As I flipped through the year in my mind, there was no stand-out highlight that I could identify.

In my mind, 2018 had been a hard year– one of taking a step, then the next one, and then one more after that. I felt tired from the daily grind that includes caring for a senior parent drifting farther away each day into the depths of dementia. While a long season of joblessness came to end for my husband, it had come in an unexpected package that left me still wondering what God was doing. Even though it had been a busy and fruitful year of ministry leading a morning women’s Bible study, I had ended the year feeling overwhelmed and tired, more ready for a break than I could ever remember.

There were certainly answered prayers and refreshing times sprinkled through the year, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of one thing that I would really classify as memorable. It had been a year of more ordinary than extraordinary, more difficult than ease, more head down moving forward than I would have preferred. Realizing that much of the stuff of 2018 would continue walking with me into the new year ahead, a sense of dread and anger swept over me.

How would I begin 2019 with many things still unresolved?

Continue reading “A New Year . . . Again!” →

ThanksLiving

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2020 has been a hard and challenging year. If you’re like me, you may need an intentional reset in your mind and heart in order to know and believe that even the trouble of this year is not enough to negate the goodness and abundance of God.

I’m bringing back a PIC to refocus my mind and perspective on God’s truth-

This is good news- God’s bounty is not defined or confined by the circumstances of any given year!

I’m employing some simple strategies that I found in this beautiful passage from Psalm 92 as a guide for keeping a grateful heart and cultivating a spirit of joy-

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
Psalm 92:1-4 (ESV)

I’m calling it Instructions for ThanksLiving–

1- Spend time daily speaking praise to God; thank Him for His presence and be glad for his work (Psalm 113:2-3, Psalm 50:14-15, Psalm 91:14-16, Isaiah 46:4).
2- Begin and end the day in His presence- pray, pray, pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesians 6:18).
3- Sing out loud a song of joy. (The old Thanksgiving hymns have made my heart glad, so I’m giving you a video link to help you get started- Let All Things Now Living.)

I pray you will find the practice of ThanksLiving is the best way to reset your perspective so that you believe and see the Bounty of the Lord in the land of the living as Psalm 27:13 promises-

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of living!

Happy ThanksLiving- I’m especially grateful for your presence here at Daily PICs- thanks for reading and praying along with me!
Jean