Day 351: Life IS Funny (Part 1)

Ecclesiastes 9:11

I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

1 Corinthians 2:9

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagine what God has prepared for those who love him.”

This is one of the last series of the  year, but for the next couple of days I just want to talk about how unpredictably funny life is. It’s crazy, I sometimes sit back and look at my life, and think, how did i get here? I never would have thought that I’d be in the pace that I am in this moment. But I am and all I can do is thank God for it.

The truth is life is very unpredictable, so unpredictable that it is funny. The things that God does in us and in our lives we could never imagine. Especially when we take a look back at where we were and who we used to be and see how far God has brought us, it leaves us with our jaws dropped. Because He is that good. He is a God of miracles and He works miracles in us. I guess the question I am trying to ask here is, did you ever think your would be where you are? Did you ever think that God could take you and make you into the person that you are? Did you ever think that god could enhance your life and your quality of living the way Eh has. We may not be the person we thought we were going to be at this moment in our lives but we are exactly who God wants us to be. We are exactly where He wants us to be and that is so much better than we could ever do for ourselves.

We all have plans and dreams and vision boards outlining our life and where we want to be in a certain amount of time. We have a plan, we know what we want and we think we know how we are going to get there. The thing about God is that HE knows  the end goal and He knows how we are going to get to where we want to be and it might not be in the time we thought or the way we thought, but when we get there we will know it was HIm. When we get there we can do nothing but laugh because we see how His hand was on us the whole time but better than that, how His plan was so much greater than our. His path is full of growth and love. God sees our plans and He sees our wants and desires and He is not ignoring them. Instead He is taking them and doing what God does, He is making them better He is making us better. He takes our plans and erases the path we thought we would take in exchange for the path HE already had picked out. Let me tell you, this path does not look like our but we will know that it is God’s. The funny thing about it all is that sometimes God’s path doesn’t look right to us. It doesn’t look like we are going in the right direction. When we’re looking at it from where are, sometimes it can look a bit crazy. But when we look back we see the bigger picture. We see the moments that needed to take place. The delays that needed to happen in order for us to get to where we were going. We see the little bumps that needed to be there to prepare us for where we were going.

This is why we put our faith in God. This is why we trust HIm with our life, because even when it looks wrong it’s right. Even when it feels wrong, as long as we are trusting in God it’s right. God’s path may be a bit harder and take a little longer but I can tell you that it is worth the wait. It is worth every moment. God has something so great for each and every one of us, there’s just some work that He needs to do in us as we make our way to it.

All this to say, we might know where we are going, but life is unpredictable. We might now know the next step or we might not know where our foot will land but we have to trust that God’s has a plan, and I can tell you that HE definitely does. When we get to that place that God wants us to be we can laugh in joy because we never would have thought we would be where we are and because we are so grateful that God is in control.

Response/ Prayer Time

Take the time to think about where you have been and who you were. Now take the time to see who and where you are. Thank God for all He has done in your life and just thank Him that His plans are so much greater than ours.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 352!

Day 319: So Will I

Psalms 150:6

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!Praise the Lord!

Psalms 69:34

Praise him, O heaven and earth,

the seas and all that move in them.

Todays devo is inspired by a beautiful song by Hillsong United called ‘So Will I’ and before I go into detail I want you to read the lyrics of this song that are so beautifully crafted.

And as You speak

A hundred billion galaxies are born

In the vapor of Your breath the planets form

If the stars were made to worship so will I

I can see Your heart in everything You’ve made

Every burning star

A signal fire of grace

If creation sings Your praises so will I

...I can see Your heart in everything You say

Every painted sky

A canvas of Your grace

If creation still obeys You so will I

If the stars were made to worship so will I

If the mountains bow in reverence so will I

If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I

For if everything exists to lift You high so will I

If the wind goes where You send it so will I

If the rocks cry out in silence so will I

If the sum of all our praises still falls shy

Then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times

And as You speak

A hundred billion failures disappear

Where You lost Your life so I could find it here

If You left the grave behind You so will I

I can see Your heart in everything You’ve done

Every part designed in a work of art called love

If You gladly chose surrender so will I

I can see Your heart

Eight billion different ways

Every precious one

A child You died to save

If You gave Your life to love them so will I.

I know it’s a lot but there is so much depth to these words. There is the idea that whatever Christ does I will also do. But also, if creation sings your praises, if these inanimate objects sing your praises, so will I. How much more can I sing your praises than a rock? I love that the song says that we can see the heart of God in everything He says, everything He made, everything He done, and finally we can see His heart a billion different ways. How amazing is that? Everything reveals a bit more about who God is, it tells us a little more about His love for creation and humanity.

Everything is a testament of who God. All creation reveals His presence, creation reveals who God is.

Psalms 19:1-4

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

The most compelling thing about this scripture is that it says that the heavens proclaim the glory of God, the skies are a display of His craftsmanship. All creation proclaims the glory of God. The sun, the moon, the stars they all declare the glory of God day in and day out. They do it without ever saying a word or making a sound. The sun rises and sets everyday without fail, doing what God has created it to do. The moon rises as the sunsets, to give light to the night sky, as well as the stars, doing what it was created to do. That is how they bring glory to God. Creation is constantly in tune with it’s creator, God. Creation is constantly obeying God, by doing exactly what it was created to do. Everything in creation is constantly glorifying. So if creation glorifies and praises God without making a sound how much more can we do with our voices. How much more can we do with our hearts, and with our minds. This song is a declaration to God, saying if creation praises you, so will I. If creation can obey you, so will I.

The song goes on to say, “If you left the grave behind you, so will I...If you gladly chose surrender so will I.”

These are such bold statements, because it’s something that we as christians talk about this all the time. This is what Jesus did and we can do it too. In this song it changes from what we can do and what we will do, we make a choice to turn away from a life that will lead us to an eternal grave and we choose to follow Christ. We choose to surrender our lives to Him We make the decision that following God is definitely for us. If this life is good enough for you, a king, it’s good enough for me.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to respond in whatever way you feel led. Let that response guide your prayer today. Have a conversation with God, allow Him to lead you.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 320!

Day 293: But Wait...There's More!

Ephesians 3:20

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Malachi 3:20

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Recently I had a realization, that no matter how big I dream, no matter how grand my plan is for myself and my life, God will always top that. It’s mindblowing to think about. Most people who know me know that I’m a dreamer, and I dream big, not only that but somehow someway all of my dreams are going to come to pass. It’s crazy when I sit and think of all the things I want out of life, and I’m reaching for the stars, I get a revelation that even in those moments God is bigger. Meaning He has a bigger vision, and a grander plan. That makes me trust Him even more. It pushes me to lean into His will a little more. God can do far beyond what we can ever think, or ask. That’s just a testament of how great God is compared to us, He expand our dreams, expands our faith, and expands our expectations. Simply because He is that good. I mean we’re talking about the guy who created the entire universe and everything in it.

When God blesses us, He really blesses us. It’s like a proud parent showering their child with gifts. God will go above and beyond for us, because He loves us that much. Sometimes we are waiting for God to move in our lives, waiting on promises, and when they do come to pass God makes the wait so worth. It’s a beautiful thing when we expect things from God. When we are waiting for Him to move miraculously in our lives, because He goes beyond our expectations. Over the summer I was really struggling with how we were going to pay tuition this year. I have struggling with this my entire time in school, and this times it seemed close to impossible. My family was going through so much financially, I couldn’t find a job, no one was willing to give me a loan and no one was willing to cosign. I found one person to co-sign and it got denied. Everything got denied. So I just kept praying and kept trusting God. I did not know how it was going to happen but I knew it was going to happen. But here’s the thing, I was expecting God to provide a loan approval, or enough money to start the payments. I called financial aid to see what they could do and they all told me there was nothing they could do. So I prayed some more and emailed the president of the school. Three days later I got an email saying, they would increase one of my grants. But wait...there’s more, they gave me a scholarship that would cover the rest of my tuition for not one but both semesters! I started screaming and broke out into tears, I was not expecting that but God went beyond my expectations and did something I did not even think of. Then I got offered not one but two jobs. I didn’t know how I was going to take care of myself financially, but I have four on-campus jobs. But wait...there’s more, I didn’t think I would get a refund check, but I went to the financial aid office and they had one there waiting for me, so now I don’t have to worry financially. God just keeps on blessing me, and it’s beyond whatever I could think or imagine.

-Dyamond

I think many times  it depends on our faithfulness, God will bless those who are faithful. He is looking at the ones who are constantly faithful to Him, and obeying Him. God sees that and He rewards the ones whose hearts stay with Him. This is not to say that we should only serve God for a blessing, but that faithfulness definitely pays off. Yes it pays off in eternity but it also pays off while we’re still on earth. We all have something that we want from God, continue to be faithful and wait what He will do. I’m a living testimony of what happens when God is faithful to us and we are faithful to Him.

All this to say, don’t underestimate God. Keep dreaming big and expecting God to move in your life and He will do more than you could ever imagine.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Just take the time to thank God that He is faithful. Take the time to pray and be grateful for who He is and what He does. Reflect on the times where you have seen Him move in your life. Reflect on the times when maybe you weren’t as faithful to God but He remained faithful to you. Take that with you as you pray today and pray however you feel led. Have a conversation with Him, if you need something tell Him, tell Him your greatest hopes and dreams and watch what He does.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 294!

Day 274: The One He Left the 99 to Find

Luke 15:3-7

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

This is one of my favorite stories in the bible. This story is followed up by a lost coin and the prodigal son. I love these stories so much because I can relate. I don’t like losing things, even if I have a thousand more, I will tear my room apart looking for that one, because it’s just as important to me as the other thousand, and when one is lost, I have to find it. There’s no other choice. I think that’s what Jesus was getting at here, when He told this story. When He talked about leaving the hundred sheep to find the one that had strayed away. Now many would ask, why would you do that seeing you have ninety-nine more. Count the one as loss and move on. I mean it seems to make logical sense to look at the ninety-nine and be satisfied even if one is missing. I mean you still have ninety-nine sheep, but not to Jesus, ninety-nine wasn’t the same as one hundred. Jesus had a different understanding of this story. Jesus didn’t come to leave any man behind, we see that in verse 7 when He says, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Jesus came to save those who are sinners, not those who were already saved. He could have spent His time with those who were already saved and living a righteous life, but what would that have done? Jesus was willing to come down and search for the lost hearts, the lost souls and bring them back. Jesus loves us all the same, but when He came He came seeking those who needed salvation, healing, freedom. That meant He has to leave the sheep that never left Him in order to go after the ones that strayed, because He loves us that much. He came for His lost children, and rejoiced when they repented. It’s almost as if Jesus came and said, ‘I need to go find my lost children. I need to go find the one that has strayed away and tried to go on without me. I cannot let them die, knowing they need me.’ He came with the intention of finding those who were lost. Jesus says even though we willingly turn away from Him, He’s still gonna come find us to bring us back. Even though we walk away, He’s always there to bring us back. Jesus knows that we cannot survive without Him, if we could He would have stayed on that throne in heaven.

When we put it in perspective we must come to the realization that we are that one. We are the one He left the ninety-nine to find. At one point in our lives we were the sheep that strayed, and Jesus came and found us. I don’t know if this is true for you but God never left me get too far when I strayed away from Him. He came and found me. He didn’t let me walk away and count it lost, because He loves me. He cares enough to come and find us even when people think we can be replaced. See the thing about God is, we cannot be replaced in His heart. If we could, do you think Jesus would leave the ninety-nine to find us. We are so special to Him that He had to come and find us. We have to understand that we as God’s people as His children, when we come into this life we complete the body of Christ. We cannot have parts of the body leaving and walking away and never being found. He will come and find us. Sometimes He will wait for us to return like the father of the prodigal son. He’s waiting with open arms to bring us back into His house, and throws a party when we return.

All this to say, we are so important to God. He loves us so much. He loves us so much that instead of replacing us, which He can do if He wanted, He leaves the ninety-nine to find us. To God we are worth it, to God we were worth sending His son.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the  time to respond to what what we discussed today in whatever way you feel led. Allow that to guide your prayer today. Take the time to thank God that He is so loving, caring, and gracious. Thank Him for salvation and repentance. If you are someone who needs to repent now is the time to do it. If you have not accepted Christ into your life and you want to, now is the time to do it.  

If that’s you, if you want to make that decision today, pray this prayer with me.

“Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sins and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.”

If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! If you made the decision to follow Christ today, congratulations! Please do not hesitate to reach out (to me or anyone else) and get plugged into a church. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 275!

Day 235: Merely Vessels

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.

We are merely vessels used by God to bring forth His purpose for people on Earth. We are vessels through which His word is revealed to His people. I want to talk about this today because I think sometimes we can get caught up in the idea that we are the ones doing God’s work, and not Him doing it through us. We can get a big head sometimes and a bit arrogant. Without Him we would not have anything to give or do. So sometimes we have to check ourselves like, ‘Chill, go sit down somewhere and have a glass of humility.’ I love that Paul starts this statement off with a question, basically asking, “Who am I and who is Apollos?” Like who do you think I am, or who do you think I think I am. We sometimes view ourselves as more than what we actually are. It’s like a need to feel or be important.  We are simply God’s servants, just vessels here to be used by God. We’re only here to do what God has told us to do, and at the end of the day, what matters most is that God did the increase. Yes, we are vessels of God’s word, but we have to know that He doesn’t need us, He wants us. He wants us here planting and watering seeds so that He can make the increase. He wants to use us to bring His good news to the people, but that does not mean that the show stops when we decide to make ourselves unavailable. Paul goes on to say, I did one thing, Apollos did another but without God it would have never grown. He did the increase, not us. It doesn’t matter who watered or who planted all that matters is that God made it grow. At the end of the day, God is the only one who can make us grow, the only one who can increase us. Which brings me to my next point.

We often give God’s praise to man. Meaning we credit the people God used instead of giving honor where it is due. While God sends people in our lives to help us grow and elevate us, we must make sure that we realize it is God who is working through them. We can honor people for what they have done, and thank people, and show our gratitude, there’s nothing wrong with that. It becomes a sin when we begin to take away what God is doing in our lives and give all the credit and honor to man. God has gotten us where we are today, He has used man to help along the way but God is behind it all.

I love Chance The Rapper, but there is a specific moment in his career I want to highlight, and it’s when he won his Grammy for best new artist. He might have set the record for how many times someone has thanked God in an award speech. I love the fact that he thanked God for the position he is in. He thanked God for the people around him that helped make him winning a grammy possible. He gave God all the credit, for everything. He knows that if it wasn’t for God he wouldn’t have the people in his life that pushed him, helped him, and supported him. God is the mastermind behind it all.

All this to say, God is behind everything. No matter how much we plant or how much we water, until God does the increase, nothing will happen. God deserves the praise for all of it, let’s not take it away from Him and give it to someone else.

Reflection/ Prayer Time

1. Take the time to think about and thank God for the people in your life, that God has placed there to get you where you are today,
2. Next take the time to realize that we are merely vessels and thank Him for using us to bring forth His word to people.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 236!

Day 105: Make Some Noise

Psalms 98:4

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.

Psalms 33:3

Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

Psalms 47: 1

O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.

Psalms 5:11

But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.

Psalms 66:1-2

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious.

By definition a psalm is a song of praise or a hymn. Throughout the book of Psalms we are told to praise God. Shout for joy, exult Him, worship Him, for He is worthy to be praised. There are so many things to praise God for, the list is neverending. Sometimes we just have to stop and vocalize it, we have to shout out to God in joy. We just cannot hold it in, we have to praise God. God has done so must for us that we should constantly praise Him, we can never praise Him enough or thank Him enough for all the things He has done.  The best thing is that, there doesn’t have to be a great event that takes place in our lives for us to praise God. Everyday we wake up, every breath we take, every moment is an opportunity to praise God. It’s the little things that count more than we think. Thanking and praising God for even the smallest thing because He is responsible even for that. There is always a reason, there will never not be a reason to praise God. (double negative, I know)

Another word that stands out in these scriptures is ‘joy’. Shout to God with a voice of joy. God is just so good that sometimes you just walk around smiling for the sole reason that God is just amazing. The joy of God is so deep within us that even our darkest moment can be turned into an opportunity to praise God. THere is so much joy in the Lord, sometime we have to just stop and say thank you. I do it all the time when I’m walking down the street, sometimes I just have to stop and take in everything God is doing, or has done. I take in the beauty of His creation and I just have to say thank you. I can’t hold it in or wait, I just have to say thank you.

I think we sometimes save our praise for the moments when something happens that is ‘worthy to be praised’. But we serve a God that is worthy to be praised every second of everyday. We don’t have to wait until He’s done something, we can praise Him in advance. We don’t have to wait until we are out of the valley, we can praise Him while we’re down there. We can cry out, in our moment of despair and God will hear us.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is of Paul and Silas singing and praying in prison.

Acts 16: 25-26

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.

There’s a miracle in the praise. Paul and Silas had been thrown in prison for spreading the message of Christ. They get in prison, and start to pray and sing to God in the midnight hour. They continue to lift their voices to Him in praise, despite their situation. The people who threw them in prison were hoping it would shut them up, but it did more than that. It led them to prayer, and songs of praise.  Prayer is a way in which we praise God as well. God heard their cries, he heard their prayers, he heard them in the midst of that prison. They did not care who was around, they lifted their voices and praised God anyway. And He lifted those prison gates and freed not only them but gave the rest of the prisoners an opportunity to be free. Not only did that happen but the guard gave His life to Christ that night.

GOd is so good and we don’t have to wait to praise, we can priase HIm wherever we are, physically, mentally, or emotionally, He hears our voices and He responds.

Reflection/ Prayer Time

Take the time to praise and thank God for any and everything. No matter what you are going through lift your voice to God, even if it’s hard right now. Shout out to God in praise. This may look different to everyone, but whatever that means to you, it is between you and God. Just lift Him up today. He is worthy.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make  sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for day 106!

Day 102: Clinging to God

Psalms 63:8

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Cling- to be or remain close

Today we’re talking about being clingy. Now, usually this is a bad thing, we think of being clingy towards another person as desperate. We look at clingy people as needy and too dependent on others.  But what about when we are clinging to God? That is exactly what we are, we are in constant need of the Lord and very dependant. There is nothing wrong with being close to people and wanting to be close to them. However, if there is anyone we want to cling to or be clingy with, that person is God. God is someone that we should want to remain close to all the days of our lives.  We want to be wherever He is, whatever He is doing we want to be a part of it.

David says that His soul clings to God, that’s where we should all be. Holding on to God for dear life. Holding on to Him so tight as if we are afraid to let god. Our souls long for a savior, our souls want the love of God. The best place for our souls to be  is in the hands of god. The best place for us to be is in the presence of God, and there is where we will stay.

It’s almost like being desperate, having an urgent need or desire. We are in constant need of God, we cannot live without Him. It’s knowing that without Him in our life everything would fall to pieces. We need Him and more than that we want to have Him near us every second of every day. That is where we live, clinging to God because we know who holds our life. We know who has everything we need, we cling to the supplier of life. We cling to the person who blew breath into our bodies and gave us life. We want to be near the person who has had His hand on us from the very beginning. The person who has led us to where we are. The person who sent His son to die on a cross so that He could have a relationship with us. We cling to the giver of the Holy Spirit that guides our footsteps and protects us all the days of our lives. We want Him because, who would we be without Him? Where would we be without Him? As we said yesterday, God is everything we need and more. Everything we want and more. Why not cling to Him? why not fall desperately head over heels for Him? He’s that person that we can fall so deep in love with and keep falling every day of our lives. There is so much to cling on to, so why not?

Reflection

1. Do you find yourself clinging on to God more than anything or anyone in your life?
2. What does it mean to be desperate for God?
3. Do you truly believe that God is greater than any and everything you could every want or need?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about what stood out to you today and whatever is on your heart.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening, make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 103!

Day 101: My Soul Thirsts For You

Psalms 63:1-5

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.

God is more than anything we could ever want or need. He is better than this life itself, when we imagine the greatest thing in the world God is greater and better. God is just awesome all together. We serve a beautiful and unfailing God.

David starts off this Psalm by saying, “I earnestly search for you, my soul thirsts for you”. My soul wants more than a parched land needs water. Our souls search for God like a dry mouth searches for water. There is a thirst in all of our souls that only God can quench, and He continues to quench everyday of our lives. I’m pretty sure we have all been thirsty before, my favorite is waking up at about three in the morning and having your body beg for a glass of water. And there is nothing more satisfying in that moment than feeling the cold water go down your chest, especially on a hot day when you’re parched and nearly dehydrated. That’s how our souls are for the Lord, no matter what we try to do there is always a thirst there for the Lord, and there is nothing greater than God quenching that thirst in our spirits, nothing better. Our souls need it, but we search for it, we go after God because we know He is the only one who can quench the thirst within us. When we don’t chase after him our spirits get dry and dehydrated. We cannot let our spirits remain dry, we have to keep them hydrated, and that specific source of hydration come from our Lord and Savior. David goes on to say, “My whole body longs for you.” Every part of my being longs to be with and near God. Every part of us wants to be near God, all of us wants all of Him, (props to John Legend for that one).

David is in awe of God, He says “I’ve seen you in your sanctuary”, the message version says, ‘In the place of worship’. But David says “I gaze upon your power and glory.” David is in awe of the magnificent power and glory of God. Then he says this, he says, “Your unfailing love is better than life itself.” What?!?!? Yes, better than life itself, who knew that there could be something greater than this life. There is, there is something, someone so much greater. That someone is God and that something is His unfailing love. God’s love stretches far beyond the capacity of our minds and the time limit of our lives. It is eternal and it is unfailing. In life there are failures, there are let downs, there a disappointments. But what makes God so much greater than this life is that He is unfailing, there is not letdowns and disappointments within Him. He is greater than it all. He surpasses the limits of life. For this reason we will praise Him all the days of our lives, we will lift Him up. He is more than worthy of all the honor and all the praise.  He satisfies our every need. There is nothing more satisfying than the satisfaction we find in our Lord. God is everything we need.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Take the time to read and reflect on today’s passage and lift your heart in worship to Him. recognize your need for Him and honor His great unfailing love.

I love you, and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Share this with someone and make sure you come back tomorrow for day 102!

Day 81: But...

Whenever you hear the word “but” at the end of a statement you can be sure that it is not the end. Whatever the speaker is saying, there’s more to the story, there's more to the statement. Bottom line, it’s not over.

Psalms 31:14 (expanded passage Psalms 31)

But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!”

David has been going through it, prior to this statement he is listing everything going wrong in his life. His adversaries are coming after him, he is in a state of grief and weakness, he is just having a hard time. Before he starts this list of unfortunate events he says, Lord be gracious to me. Then he goes on to tell God what is going on and how he is greatly distressed. My favorite part in this chapter and many of the other chapters is when David says, “but…” we know whatever will follow that word will not be as bad as what preceded it. We know that David has hope. David goes on to say, “BUT I am trusting you,...” This excites me so much because David knew that even in His distress, even when his adversaries were coming after him. There were men trying to take his life, literally trying to kill him. But David says, “but I trust you Lord, You are my God.” They're all coming after me, I’m in pain, I’m weak, my soul is distressed, but I trust you. You are my God, you are the one I look to even in all of this you are bigger, my life is in your hands.

We can learn something from David here, we can get so caught up in what is going on in our lives. We get caught up in the pressure, the pain, the frustration, the tears, the stress. We start to think that there is no way out. But, my friends there is, we have to remember that there is always a but, it’s not the end. There’s hope, no matter what it looks like we have to say, “But I am trusting in you, You are my God.” I am trusting in you because my life is in your hands, you have gotten me thus far and I i’m trusting that you will bring me all the way through. Sometimes all we have is trust in God, we have no other choice, we know, we hope that God is and will bring us through whatever it is we are going through. For some of us this means taking a chance on God, taking a leap of faith. Trust me when I say, He won’t let you down. There’s always a but, there’s always an answer. But we have to look up from our sorrow and our heartache and the bad situation we are in and look to where we will find hope. We have to look to Christ, we have to put our trust in Him. We know that this is only for a moment, there’s always a ‘but’, so we know, this is not the end. It’s not over.

Psalms 30:5

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Genesis 50:20

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Psalms 73:26

My flesh and my heart may fail,  but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Whatever is on your heart today pour it out to God, know that whatever you are going through there is always a but, it’s not over, this isn’t the end. Talk to God about whatever stood out to you the most today.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 82!