fearing not, trusting God

 Wednesday, March 27, 2024 (6:09 a.m.)

Thank You God,

Thank You. Praise You. Worship and adore You.

There are so very many things to fear. And Your Word tells us not to. 

Awake for hours, songs of trusting You kept me company. And my mind occupied. With hope. Thank You Father.

You supply us with so many verses of hope. And waiting. You remind us of Your glory and faithfulness. 

Blessed Father, I come before You. Asking. Seeking. Knocking (Matthew 7:7). Expecting. Trusting. Waiting. Wondering. Reading. Singing. Smiling. Standing firmly and staying my mind on all You promise. 

Use me today. Exactly as You know is best. Fearing not. And trusting You. I love, need, trust and want You Lord. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(128 words ~ 7:00 a.m.)

only YOU!

 Tuesday, March 26, 2024 (6:00 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You for sleep. Rest. Hope. Love. You. Not in that order.

Mm, yes Lord. Thank You for YOU!

Genesis 28:15

Ephesians 1:17-23

Revelation1:17-18

Matthew 28:18-20

1 John 2:28-3:2

(7:02 a.m.)

While I don’t have words to express my thanks for Your faithfulness, my heart is full. Father, I ask (Matthew 7:7) You to continue blessing and keeping us with Your goodness. Your mercy and grace.

Looking more deeply in Your Word, I want so much to “meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor and Your wonderful miracles” (Psalm 145:5). Yes, Father. Teach me to “proclaim Your greatness” as I “share the story of Your wonderful goodness” and “sing with joy about Your righteousness” (vs. 6b-7).

Blessed God, use us as only You know is best. Mm, yes! ♪Only YOU can make this world seem right Only YOU can make the darkness bright Only You and You alone can thrill me like You do And fill my heart with love for only You♪

Yes Father. ♪Only You can make all this change in me♪ It is to You I turn and trust. Hope and pray. Worship and adore. Thank and praise. Do all You must. Amen.

(215 words ~ 7:48 a.m.)

joy of the Lord

 Monday, March 25, 2024 (3:50 a.m.)

Holy God,

(4:15 a.m.)

Thank You for the joy we have in You.

(4:50 a.m.)

Joy that is not manufactured. Nor pretended.

Father, thank You that we have Your Word. To read. Study. Draw from. Practice.

Your Word is living Truth (Hebrews 4:12). Speaking to us through the eons. Thank You God.

Reading sections in the Old Testament (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 28:7-8) and New (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) I am encouraged. Hope-filled. Grateful.

Use us Lord. Leading, guiding, directing us in sharing the joy that comes from Your presence in our lives. We love, need, trust and want to follow You. Thank You Father. Praise You Lord. Amen.

(123 words ~ 5:14 a.m.)

cause for celebration

 Sunday, March 24, 2024 (6:25 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You for days to celebrate.

(7:32 a.m.)

Mm. Yes, Father. Days and ways to celebrate. Thank You that Your Word has much to say about celebrations. And the reasons behind them.

Thank You. ♪I Just Want to Celebrate Another day of living I just want to celebrate another day of life♪ keeps singing inside me. Thank You that it’s true. I DO want to celebrate!

(8:29 a.m.)

Thank You that we have Your Word to remind us of the importance of celebrating each day as the gift that it is. Jesus said (John 10:10) that He “came to give life - life that is full and good.”

Continue pointing us to all the causes we have of celebration. And You do exactly that!

Reading of Jesus’ Triumphant Entry (John 12:12-19) there were shouts of “Hosanna!”. A footnote for verse 13 directs me to Psalm 118:25-26. Following the lead there, again I am smiling.

“Please, Lord, save us. Please, Lord, give us success. God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord” (International Children’s Bible).

(9:27 a.m.)

The more I read and search and follow, the more reasons I find to celebrate, praise and rejoice. Thank You Father. Going up just one verse (24) again I smile.

How very often do I reference this as being the day You have made? Rejoicing [celebrating] and being glad in it. 

Thank You Father. You provide such cause for celebration and we are grateful. Use us today. Exactly as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(287 words ~ 9:47 a.m.)

practicing ♪Trust In You♪

 Saturday, March 23, 2024 (5:29 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

First thoughts. ♪I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving in my heart I will enter Your courts with praise (Psalm 100:4) I will say, “This is the day that the Lord hath made I will rejoice for He has made me glad (Psalm 118:24) He has made me glad, He has made me glad. I will rejoice for He has made me glad, glad, glad…♪

How great is it that I automatically smile every time I consider being glad. Thank You Dear Father.

Thank You that we are able to trust in You. Psalm 25.

(6:30 a.m.)

Believing You to be reliable. True. Able. Strong. Faithful. Unchanging. Caring. Trustworthy. Kind. Patient. Unfailing. Always.

1 Peter 5:7

Psalm 56:8

♪Trust In You♪

(7:14 a.m.)

Thank You for the privilege of sitting here. Searching ways of practicing trusting You. Being reminded of Your overall goodness. Your grace. Your glorious greatness (Psalm 145:5-8).

You are bigger than our circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Always available (John 14:26) for our every single need. You are merciful. Mighty. Here.

Thank You for continuing to teach us the importance of waiting. On You (Isaiah 40:31). Thank You that You not only hear us when we call to You for help (Psalm 34:17a) You rescue us from all our troubles (17b).

You do this! In, with, by, through and for us. Every single aspect of our beings are protected by Your presence (Matthew 28:20b). Thank You God. Praise You Lord.

Thank You for Your promises. Do all You must in helping us continue learning and practicing ♪Trust In You♪

Use us as You alone know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(299 words ~ 7:50 a.m.)

slow and calm

 Friday, March 22, 2024 (6:24 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You. Smiles keep coming. Unexpectedly. Surprising me each time. Thank You so much.

There’s joy in here somewhere. It keeps popping up. Suddenly. Without warning. And I am grateful Lord.

Yes! Thoughts take me all over the place. It’s when I notice the smiles that I recognize You at work. In me. And my awareness of circumstances.

How truly I thank You for the ways You change my thinking. One thought leading to another. “Fast and loose” became “slow and tight.” Followed by “fast and furious” turning into “slow and calm.”

Looking to Your Word, again I smile. Psalm 94:19. The Passion Translation. “Whenever my busy thoughts were out of control, the soothing comfort of Your presence calmed me down and overwhelmed me with delight.” Yes!

Thank You Father. You slow my thoughts. Calm my soul. And bring me joy.

Use me today. Exactly as You know is best. Depending on You every step of the way.

I love You. I need You. I trust and want You. Thank You for all You are and do on our behalves. Be with us Lord. Amen.

(197 words ~ 7:35 a.m.)

again I begin...

 Thursday, March 21, 2024 (7:38 a.m.)

Again, I begin…

This time tearfully. Broken. Hopeful. Hurting. Wanting. Needing. Trusting. You.

Yes Father, I believe. I trust. I want You to take ALL the concerns of my heart and use them for my good and to Your glory (Romans 8:28-30).

There are big changes coming Lord. Big. Huge! You know Your best. And I trust You to lead and guide us through it all.

Thank You that we can come before You with our hurts. And our hopes. 

(7:48 a.m.)

Blessed, Loving, Holy God, thank You that in coming back before You my heart is practically exploding with hope. This is brand new territory for me Lord.

I grew up believing it’s safer never to get my hopes up. That way I could save myself from disappointment.

Thank You God that I don’t ever have to save myself. That’s Your job. And You are really good at it.

Holiest Father, I could make a non-ending list of all the things I would like to see be different. Thank You that You already know all that’s on my mind. Thank You for the smile that keeps coming as I initially choose to turn to and trust in You.

Searching “bringing our hopes to God” I am immediately directed to Romans 5:5. Going straight there, I inch my way back up the page. “CHAPTER 5 Faith Brings Joy Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Yes Father. Yes!

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory” (v.2). Father, thank You that this is never something I could work hard enough to achieve. Jesus did this for me!

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love” (vs. 3-5).

Thank You Lord that I no longer have to tie myself up into the knots of all the ways I have wanted things to be. I get to look to You instead. Depending on Your promise of The Future Glory (Romans 8:18-30).

Oh this just keeps getting better and better! Thank You God.

Illustrated Bible Handbook explains, “The promise of righteousness is for now - and for forever. What now seems a struggle will become full liberation when Jesus returns, when the fact of our sonship is made plain to all.”

Father, all the uneasiness in my thoughts pale in comparison of Your promised glory. Thank You.

Continuing the paragraph above, “Then even the Creation will share in a great purification, as every trace of sin is removed (18-25). In the meantime we have assurance that the Spirit ‘helps us in our weakness.’ We have the confidence that whatever enters our life is designed for good, that we may grow toward likeness to Jesus and our destiny (26-30).” Yes please!

(11:06 a.m.)

Now back to Romans 5:5.  Verses 3 through 5 actually. Particularly in Easy-to-Read Version. “And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit He gave us.”

Yes! Yes, please! Hope. In You. Because of your love.

EasyEnglish Bible says, “We are happy even when we have troubles and pain. That is because we know that those troubles help us to become patient and strong. And when we remain strong, we show that we trust God. When we trust God like that, it causes us to hope for God’s help. And when we hope like that, it will not disappoint us. That is because we know that God loves us very much. God has given His Holy Spirit to be with us. The Holy Spirit causes us to know God’s love very well.”

Thank You Father for the number of smiles I notice as I read Your promises. Smiles that represent trust. In You!

I ask (Matthew 7:7) that I would stay close by You today. Not wandering too far off in my own thoughts. Keep me tethered securely to You.

Yes! Here's even more confirmation of our security in You.

Hebrews 6:17-19. “God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”

Thank You Father. Praise You Lord. Joining myself in with Paul’s words to the Romans (15:13), “I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in Him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit” (International Children’s Version).

Yes please. Thank You. Amen.

(959 words ~ 11:40 a.m.)