Proverbs 22:6 ” Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

As Job mused in Chapter 12:12, “Is not wisdom found among the aged?”  Sometimes it will take until a child has matured to adulthood that they finally grasp all the Godly instruction they’ve received at home.  From early on, we try to impress on our children the importance of living a life for Jesus…but many times it seems like it falls on deaf ears.  But don’t give up, for this is a scripture with a promise for all parents.  Keep pouring good into your children…and good will come out.

I Samuel 1:10 ” In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.”

Hannah wasn’t just upset…she wasn’t just sad.  Hannah  was totally heartbroken  and in  anguish for  what she saw as insurmountable odds.  From  deep within her being she poured out her soul…pleading for God’s mercy.  And the Lord heard her and moved.  You may be feeling as hopeless as Hannah today, but remember,  God is listening to your prayer and He will move.

I Corinthians 13:12 ” Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Who can understand God?  Who can comprehend His ways or grasp His greatness?  What we perceive now falls so pathetically far from what we’ll then realize…when we’re face to face.

Proverbs 25:28 ” Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. “

When a city has no defenses…the enemy can come in – invading and conquering without opposition.  When we allow our inner self to act out without restraint…the enemy comes in also.  He comes in to overpower our dignity and flaunt our volatility.  He holds captive our discretion and boasts of our instability.

Psalm 63:1 ” O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David wrote this Psalm while in the desert…and sometimes we travel through our own desert.  Those periods of dryness, when everything seems empty, parched and withered…those times when God seems so far away.   But be encouraged…God’s showers are coming!  Showers of blessings flowing down and filling your soul with living water.  Your emptiness will be filled, and because of those abundant blessings,  new life will spring forth from within.

Genesis 4:9 ” Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ “

From the first time that question was uttered by Cain, to today, we must all be accountable to God for our fellow-man.  If we see someone flailing in the water…we help.  If we see someone drowning in sin…we need to go to their aid as well.  We can never become an island unto ourselves…for God commands us to love and protect one another, just as He loves and protects us.

Isaiah 30:15 ” This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’ “

God really does know best, and always has our best interest in mind.  But we  sometimes think we know better.  Exodus 14:14 is an excellent example of what the Lord is trying to tell us in the verse…”The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Our strength is derived from hope and obedience, not sheer force and brute determination.

Jonah 4:4 ” But the Lord replied, ‘Have you any right to be angry?’ “

Jonah couldn’t understand why the Lord would have compassion on the wicked people of Nineveh…and he was angry about it.  We see things happening in the world today and we can be just as shocked and angry as Jonah. .. “What are You thinking Lord to allow this to happen?”  But God’s ways are above our ways…His plan is perfect in this imperfect world…for only the Lord can see around the corner.

Psalm 88: 2-3 ” May my prayer come before You; turn Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.”

There comes a time in everyone’s life when anguish, grief and heartache takes over our body.  We truly feel that we are approaching death…the pain is that intense.  But we can’t allow the pain to overwhelm and consume us…rather, we need to allow the Lord and others to help pull us from the abyss…until the darkness subsides.

Lamentations 3: 55-57 ” I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close Your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called You, and You said, ‘Do not fear.’ “

I sit… shrouded by the darkest depths of the mire, for I know Lord, I am living with the despair  of bad choices I have made…and choices I had no control over.  So I cry out to You  for deliverance, for I believe that You will not only hear,  but also draw close and comfort me.   Because I put my trust in You… I know I can face all my fears.