Thursdays devotion

Read Psalm 119:145-154

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
-Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
"MOM, come here! Mom!"

The frantic cries of a four-year-old wake me in the darkness. Bleary-eyed, I hurry to our son's room. He's had a bad dream, and now he can't sleep. Speaking softly, I try to ease his fears. Then I lie on the floor beside his bed until he is resting peacefully once more.
I can empathize with my son. I know about not sleeping. My mind races with worries of the day, struggles with my faith, concerns about my family, anxiety about what might happen. These concerns rob me of peace and rest. Only through God's word have I begun to release my anxieties.

Like my son, I seek words of reassurance, and I want to know that my loving parent — my heavenly Father — is by my side. Psalm 23 and Joshua 1:9 remind me that God is with me, leading me, even in the darkest hour. When my soul cries out in the darkness, God's words comfort me and help me to let go of my fears. I can wake in the morning refreshed.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your holy word and for your promise to be with us always. Hear our cries, and grant us peace and needed rest. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Prayer focus:
Those who have trouble sleeping
borrowed from this link
http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/

Let's make it about God

"I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music."


Psalm 101:1 (ESV)
Devotion:

God seems to do an incredible amount of things for people, almost like a personal valet. "I found the perfect pair of shoes on sale," someone once told me. "It's like God knew I needed that little boost." Or the time that God helped another person find their glasses. They prayed and "poof" they found them.

This sometimes makes me question. How is it that people give God credit for helping them find shoes on sale, or that really great parking spot, and yet other people suffer? Loved ones get hit with disease. Financial problems cause sleepless nights. A hurricane hits Haiti as they struggle to overcome the effects of a devastating earthquake.

Maybe you too have pondered such things. Maybe it's caused you to question how much God loves His creation.

God is deeply interested in and intimately involved with us according to verses such as this one: "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

The fact that God allows you to find that perfect-for-you little blessing one day, and come down with the flu the next doesn't negate His love for you. God's song plays strong and consistent over you, regardless of the good times or the hard times. His individual notes dance around us, inviting us to find Him, and then to find our part in His song.

Living in harmony with God, and finding our note in His song can compel us to look for ways to reach out to others who are needing to hear Him sing over them in their suffering. I also believe it can help us live in joy despite our circumstances. And I believe living out those notes will lead us to live lives of peace, even when times are not peaceful.

Today, let's close our eyes and open our hearts as we listen for our God singing over us. And let's take the time, eyes still closed, to imagine what it would look like for us to live in tune with Him.

Dear Lord, You do care about the intimate details. Just like the sparrow, You feed us; just like the lily, you clothe us in beauty. Father, for that I am immensely grateful. Help me to stay in tune with You and not stridently sing my own song over top You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

From my devotion book

This is related to the book of Habakkuk

The details of our days are different, all who've approached God in prayer can relate to Habakkuk's feeling that God's ears appear deaf. Like us, Habakkuk wrestled with God in prayer. He questioned at times God's silence. When God withheld what Habakkuk wanted he negotiated for a partial settlement. When God said no, Habakkuk took matters into his own hand.

We have only three short chapters of Habakkuk's conversations with God, but they contain major principles of prayer:
Pray with a willingness to wait-we must wait on God, waiting and praying go together
Pray with honesty-Contrary to our worse fears, God delights in our honesty in prayer. Habakkuk cried out, "how long?" (v.2) stripping himself of his neat prophetic robe and laying bare his impatience and frustration.
Pray with perseverance-As we bring our requests to God repetitiously, we partake of his presence repetitiously and give Him more opportunities to change our hearts.
Pray with readiness-We are to pray, ready to receive God's promised best, Ready or not God's answers will come.
Pray with confidence-When we cant see what God's doing, only faith believes he is at work. Habakkuk believed, he didn't know how or when God would accomplish his promise.
Habakkuk knew God was worthy to be trusted and believed in even when He appear inactive.
"I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:1-3