sufficiency

Wednesday, August 5, 2020 (6:03 a.m.)

Holy God,

I gotta tell You, I like the way You work!

My mind has been all over the place lately. Reviewing past slights and hurts. Grudge holding. Name calling. Feelings of inadequacy. Insufficiency. And so very much unforgiveness.

Thank You Lord that all of that is not Your best for us. We are to look to You. Knowing, trusting, believing Your Word to be true. Dependable. On which we can firmly stand.

Thoughts throughout the night led me here to rejoice with You this morning. Again we started with Galatians 6:4-5 in The Message. “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”

How can this possibly be made any clearer? The more I read in Your Word, the more settled my heart becomes. There’s genuine hope igniting into true joy. And it’s all because of Your love. And mercy. And grace. Your sufficiency Lord (2 Corinthians 12:9).

♪Put Jesus in Your Everyday Life♪ (Nehemiah 2:4-5)

Ephesians 6:4 “Headship (5:21-33 Illustrated Bible Handbook) Headship does not speak of power but of serving! …To know that Christ is our living Head is to receive His promise of constant support and sustenance. To speak of headship in the family is intended to communicate that same promise of selfless love, offered by the husband to his wife.”

Hebrews 12:2

Equitable - fair and impartial

♪I Will Fear No More♪ (The Afters)

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaias

These are just a few of the areas my mind is going this morning. All over the place. And my “secure thought”? Your grace is sufficient.

None of what You call us to are we expected to do on our own. Your Word, Your Truth, Your promises, Your Holy Spirit are all here for our taking!

Illustrated Bible Handbook reminds us, “Weakness Is Strength; [2 Corinthians] 12:1-10… Whatever the problem, it helped Paul realize that God’s ‘power is made perfect in weakness.’ It is when Paul is weak that he is strong.”

Holy God, how desperately I need these reminders! I have been attempting to rely on my own feeble abilities and understandings (Proverbs 3:5-6). To no avail.

Thank You for calling me back to studying Your Word. To ‘making a careful exploration of who I am and the work I have been given, and then sinking myself into that’ (Galatians 6:4). Father, I have gotten so completely far from this practice.

Here I ask You to do for me all that I am currently unable to do for myself. Every single time my mind begins taking me in the various directions it wants to go, bring me back to Your best for me.

You know Your plans for me. The plans that are for good and not for evil. The plans to give me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). They involve forgiveness at every turn. Forgiveness of myself. And others.

Oh most dear and Holy God, let me truly live this day glorifying and enjoying You. You are good. You are holy. And Your grace is absolutely sufficient for me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Easy-to-Read Version, “But the Lord said, ‘My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.’ So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me.”

Oh Dearest God, make it so! I can’t love the way You want me to on my own. Nor am I able to freely forgive. You working in, with, by, through and for me is my only hope.

Remind me as often as necessary that I am to ♪Put Jesus in my everyday life. He wants to be my very best friend!♪

I am fully Yours. Use me as You alone know is best. Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen.

(690 words ~ 9:16 a.m.)