God Has a Way of Balancing Things

And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. (Genesis 29:31) 
 
God has a way of balancing the scales. I have seen it with money, with time and, as this verse says, with love. Leah was “unloved” but Rachel was adored by Jacob. Leah had children and Rachel was barren. Not all things are that cut and dry spiritually, but all things are in the hands of the Lord. He is the One who opens and closes wombs. He is the One who determines the day of our birth and knows the day of our death. Moreover, even though Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah, Leah was married to Jacob years longer and Leah was buried with Jacob.  God does not do these things to punish us or hurt us: but to balance us. 
 
While there are blessings, there are also burdens. That balances us. If life here were perfect, would anyone want to go to heaven? Think about it: we all want to go to heaven but no one wants to die, even though life is hard here.  You may not be getting something you have been praying for—a long time. It might be something that others get so easily, but for you, you are begging God for answers, yet without seeing it. If this is you, look at the circumstances differently. 
 
Instead of begging God for what you do not have, start thanking Him for all you do have. Instead of feeling badly about what you are missing on earth, start asking Him to give you a heart to have many things in heaven. We are only passing through here but heaven is for eternity. God knows what is best to keep you balanced. Start praising Him. Start praying to Him about pleasing His heart instead of asking Him to please yours. He loves you. Try seeking His face instead of His hand, and you will receive His peace that surpasses everything else. 
 
God is incredible. I pray today He speaks right to your heart through this devotion as He did mine. I am reminded of Colossians 3:2, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. So often we can become earth minded instead of eternity minded. Just the other day I was wondering why about a situation we have longed for in our life and yet struggled to attain, but God. Thank You Lord for speaking to my heart, I pray many are blessed and inspired to shift there focus on having a heart to have many things in heaven. God does indeed know what is best to keep us balanced. I needed this today. 
 
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord! 
 
Today Reading is 1 Peter 3:8 


He Knows What He’s Doing

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:20-22) 
 
These are crazy times. Every day, things happen that we can’t explain, and every day we ask, “Why?” Again and again, we come up short of the answers. At least I do. 
 
This life is a troubled land where sickness and heartache do not discriminate. Some wonderful people are suffering this very minute. I wish I understood it or had some way to fix their troubles, but all I can do is take their hands in mine. 
 
Maybe the hardest question for us Christians is “Why?” We either avoid it altogether or beat our brains in trying to figure things out, but there are two things we know for sure, and they’re big. First, this is not our home. The day is coming when our Father will wipe away every tear and all suffering will cease, (Revelation 21:4). Second, we’re not alone, even when we think we are.
 
Maybe you feel like God has forgotten you. It might be hard to “see” Him or hear His voice right now, but that doesn’t mean He left you. He never will—never. If you feel like you’re the only one who’s in a mess, you’re not. You’d be surprised to know how many people—neighbors, friends, and even movie stars—feel just like you do. 
 
The enemy of your soul is slick. He wants you to think you’re the only one – but that’s a lie. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last. You’re not alone, either. Jesus promised never to leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 3:5). When things go haywire, turn to Him and say, “I don’t understand what’s going on, but I will bless You, Lord. I am Yours and You are mine. I trust You in all things.” 
 
Take cover in Jesus. He is one hundred percent trustworthy, and He knows exactly what He’s doing. 
 
I read this devotion a couple days ago and when I woke this morning to put the daily devotion together, I kept being drawn back to this particular devotion, it wasn’t what I had planned to post today but God’s ways are much higher than my ways and I want to be obedient. Someone out there needs to read this and I trust His direction so His direction I will follow and trust Him to take care of the rest. Whatever your facing today just remember, He knows what He’s doing, Trust Him.  
 
Have a beautiful day in The Lord! 
 
Today’s Reading is Proverbs 4:23 


The “Why’s” of Life

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:34)

Isn’t it wrong to ask God “why?” Isn’t it wrong to question God? One day I was reading this verse, and suddenly I realized that Jesus asked God “why?” While Jesus was on the cross, dying for the sins of the world, He asked God, “Why have You forsaken Me?” We all know that God did not forsake Jesus. We also know that Jesus never sinned, so asking God “why” does not have to be wrong. Just by including the Lord in our thoughts shows a step of faith. It shows faith because we are praying, acknowledging that He is listening, and God will reward our faith.

By being honest with the Lord, our hearts are softened to receive His wisdom involving the things of the past, while helping us to move forward in faith for future decisions. God tells us in James 1:5-8:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

So the “why” questions are not the sin, but receiving an answer to those questions and then doubting the answer is the sin.

Today, start asking “why” about things you do not understand and ask the Lord to help you to go forward in faith. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom in how to receive His answers to the “why” questions in your life. Pray for faith, as we know that without faith, it is impossible to please God. As our faith grows, we will move forward to make decisions as the Lord leads us and we will trust in His guidance and direction for all things. The goal is to get past the “why’s” and move on to the “what’s”–trust, obey and get going.

When I read this I couldn’t help but think, He desires for us to be so real with Him and to talk with Him and share our thought’s with Him, even the Why’s. He won’t become angry with us, He already knows our thoughts and He desires to have a real relationship with us. So go to God in prayer, in conversation and ask the Why’s, then be patient and wait for the answer and continue moving forward, knowing He’s got you, He’s faithful and He won’t fail you. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Have a wonderful day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Colossians 2, Psalm 46

 

 

 

 



Search Me

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Relationships take time. And as time passes, we can decide whether we want to go to the next level with a person and eventually open up to them.

This doesn’t have to be a husband or wife thing. It applies to every relationship.

Hopefully, we all have someone we can tell our deepest, most sensitive secrets to. Someone we know can keep our confidence.

Friends like these know when there is something wrong with us, even when others don’t. They have been our friends for so long they can sense our mood without even talking to us.

With an acquaintance, it’s different. We might tell them a little about our life, but we usually let them know all of the good stuff. We wear a mask for them.

Ironically, we sometimes try to wear this mask for Jesus.

When we pray, we might ask him to forgive us of our little sins and ask for good things to happen to us, but we never ask him to search us. We don’t tell him to look deep down in our heart and see if there is anything within us that to change.

We hesitate to open up in this way because it’s uncomfortable. When the Holy Spirit searches us and convicts us of sin, we rationalize it away. Or, we have been living our life with a particular sin for so long, that it just becomes a part of us and we are calloused.

We forget that Jesus already knows what is in our hearts (John 2:25).

Jesus is waiting for us to invite him into our hearts and cleanse us of our grievous ways. We can’t hide our sins from Jesus; only keep them from the healing power of His presence. And by holding our sin so tightly, we do nothing but embrace our own death, while pushing away the author of life.

We should daily pray as the Psalmist does, and ask God to search our hearts. We should open ourselves up to the real healing that only God can give.

Have you let Jesus look into your heart lately? If not, why are you scared to do so?

When I read this my first thought was, guilty! I can think of many times in my life when I’ve done just as they spoke of in this devotion, I go to God and ask him to forgive me of my little sins and ask for good things to happen to me but I’ve failed to ask him to search me and as I thought about it I realized it was in those moments when I got real with God and I allowed Him to search me deep down in my heart and I spoke to Him without walls and barriers that I was able to overcome that thing that held me back and tormented me. He does indeed already know, it’s our place to be so real with Him that we speak truthfully with Him and allow Him to mend us. We aren’t going to say anything He doesn’t already know, you don’t have to have the “perfect” prayer in order to speak to God, just be real and honest with Him. I myself am a work in progress and this is an area I need to work on, I don’t need to wear a mask when I talk to God. He knows me already, He knows you. Let’s be real with God!

Have a wonderful day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Psalm 51:1-11



He Knows

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. (Psalm 139:4)

It’s comforting to know that God loves us with a deep familiarity. David wrote, “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether” (Ps. 139:4). Imagine having a quiet conversation with Jesus where you’re telling Him the deepest matters of your heart. Just when you’re struggling to get the words out, He gives you a knowing smile and expresses exactly what you couldn’t quite say. How good it is to know that we don’t have to get our words just right to talk to God! He loves us and knows us well enough to understand.

You know all about me, Lord, and You love me. Thank You for understanding me completely! Please help me to love You and follow You today. Amen.

When I read this it made me think of the many times I’ve struggled to express what I wanted to say to The Lord but what truth I was reminded of today, He loves me so much and knows me so well, He understands even when I can’t quite get the words out. God hears every unspoken word. What peace!

Have a wonderful day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Psalm 139:1-12