This is a heartfelt plea for divine guidance and instruction that comes many times when we’ve reached the end of ourselves. It’s the stark reality between human limitations and God’s wisdom to make good decisions. But for many of us, asking for help from anyone, especially from God, is a hard thing to do. But in order to grow with God, our life must be filled with obedience, submission, and trust… as His good Spirit cares for us with love and compassion. Our prayer should then be as David wrote in Psalm 25:4-5, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” And the result… will be emotional stability and a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Month: November 2025
Isaiah 54:5 ” For your Maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is His Name – the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.”
God is not only our Creator but our husband, demonstrating the covenantal ties of unwavering love, commitment, loyalty, and restoration. Therefore, it can be very comforting to our souls when we’re caring for a loved one who once cared for us. This is especially heartening at those times when we look back longingly at seasons in our life when we were lovingly taken care of by that parent or spouse. God’s intimate caring relationship for us is vividly described in Ephesians 5:25-26, where Jesus Christ’s sacrificial love for the Church as its husband is shown to be something we can confidently place our dependence and trust in.
Matthew 15:10-11 ” Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, ‘Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean.’ “
Jesus was wanting the people to understand that the words coming out of their mouths revealed the state of their hearts and the corruption that would render them defiled in the sight of God… not anything they might eat. Later, when Peter asked for this to be explained, Jesus incredulously asked him if he was that dull! Or to put it in modern language, “Don’t you get it Peter??!!” Jesus then explained what He meant fully, (Matthew 15:15-20) but it seemed not to have stuck well in Peter’s mind, for in Acts 10:9-16 we see God using a vision of unclean animals to convince a unwilling Peter that anything unclean God could make clean…and that God’s intentions were to now welcome Gentiles into the community of faith. This all concluded at Cornelius’ home, a God fearing Roman centurion that was desiring to convert to Christianity. That’s where Peter finally “got it” and Cornelius became his first Gentile Believer. Therefore demonstrating God’s overreaching cleansing power by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8)
Jonah 2:9 ” But I, with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You.”
This prayer of Jonah’s is coming from finding himself in the belly of a great fish. But it shouldn’t have to take a dire situation to express our gratitude to God. Everyday we’re alive should be worth offering thanks to Him Who gives us all good things. So this Thanksgiving Day, offer to God a sacrifice of praise and thankfulness for all He has given you.
Deuteronomy 32:2 ” My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” KJV
On this day before Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for two things I usually forget to even acknowledge. The first is what a friend of mine calls “God’s sparkles”…those tiny blessings that only you know about. It’s when God winks at you in a loving way… and shows how very special you are to Him. For as this Song of Moses shows us, (in contrast to the chaotic and noisy world around us), the quiet and gentle pitter patter of rain demonstrates the tender and nourishing nature of God as He showers blessings on us. The other thing I’m remiss about, is being grateful for the things that never happen. Later in Chapter 32, Moses tells us that it’s only God that can protect and deliver us from all the seen and unseen dangers that come into our lives. So today, I will take a moment to thank God for all His small blessings, and all the things He’s protected me from.
Psalm 33:4-5 “For the Word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.”
God’s Word is His written Voice… so that even in the deafening silence of pain & suffering, grief & loss, you can still hear Him. Many places in the Old Testament God’s Voice was manifested in the thunderstorm as it warned His people to receive His Word. (Psalm 29:3-9 & Psalm 18:13) But as we also see so many times, God’s Voice can be found in that still small utterance that pierces through the painful silence of our souls. Psalm 33:4-5 above shows us the characteristics of God…upright, faithful, righteous, just, and steadfast in love. But these also characterize His Word…God’s written Voice for us to hear.
Jeremiah 33:11 ” Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; His love endures forever.”
No matter what our outward circumstances look like…we must always remember the unfailing goodness of God. His goodness is unfathomable in its greatness…His benevolence, the true source of our well-being, as He showers His abundant blessings and lovingkindness onto His children. (Nahum 1:7 & Zechariah 9:17) Events and conditions in our lives can change in a blink of a eye…but God never changes…and neither does His goodness!
Sometimes faith is tasting the sweetness of God in the saltiness of your tears.
The Psalms aren’t all full of gladness & light…in fact, Psalms of Lament make up the largest single category…56 of the 150 Psalms in the Old Testament. Within these Laments we see every human emotion expressed in the raw…anger, doubt, despair, sorrow, and grief…as the Psalmist painfully articulates his melancholy of regret, and suffering. In Psalm 22 we see his feelings of being forsaken by God. In Psalm 42, David writes of the separation he senses from God. And in Psalm 88, we see the very darkest of laments, ending with only a glimmer of hope. So what can we learn from all these laments as we approach God with our own tearfulness? First, as we sit quietly before God, lay it all out before Him. Put into words all the pent-up emotions, fears, and doubts. And don’t worry, God’s heard them all before and can’t be surprised by anything you will say. Be completely honest…yell if you need to…get it all out…for God has very broad shoulders and desires to hear you. And as the tears of frustration & loss flow, take a deep breath and remember. Remember God’s faithfulness, remember what He’s brought you out of in the past, and remember His mercy and grace. And then, as you grasp ahold of that thread of faith…praise God for His lovingkindness and Sovereignty, for He will never leave you nor forsake you, no matter what.
Hebrews 10:11-12 ” Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.”
The Levitical priests led public worship and performed religious service, including the daily sacrifices. Morning and evening they managed and supervised the execution of offerings brought in by the people. But by the sheer repetition, it demonstrated that these sacrifices couldn’t take away the guilt of sin completely. In stark contrast to these priests whose work was never done, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was made once for all…His work eternal, effective, and the final infinite solution for human sin. Therefore, Christ’s finished work atoned for man’s sin in a way that no human sacrifice could ever accomplish.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 ” There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”
No matter how long we’ve been a Christian, this still stands…we’re all guilty before God of falling short in our ethical & moral obligation to Him on a daily basis. (Romans 3:23) And if we’re very honest with ourselves, we’ll admit, that if we claim to be without sin, the only one we’re really deceiving is ourselves. (I John 1:8) For no one can claim to have made their heart pure and clean before God on their own. (Proverbs 20:9) So every day it becomes a conscious decision of the will for us to make good choices, exercise patience & kindness, and walk closer to God rather than turning away.
Safetypinlove 