Today’s scripture: Psalm 31:1-4
Some of us find it difficult to trust. We’ve been abused. Wounded. Betrayed.
Hurt by words. By fists. By neglect.
We certainly haven’t found anyone on earth worthy of our trust.
I wasn’t very trusting for much of my younger life. Too much hurt from too many
hands. I didn’t trust easily … especially men.
Even the God I’d heard about since birth seemed to have turned aside.
Then I met the man who would become my husband. When we met, he was still dating
another woman, and he and I became good friends. I watched how, even when other
women we worked with would flirt with him, he was always loyal to his
girlfriend.
He seemed trustworthy.
And now that we’ve been together for almost 34 years, I can say without doubt
that he is.
It took a bit longer for me to realize that God, too, is trustworthy. When I
thought He’d abandoned me, I realized that I had abandoned Him. He’d “had my
back” even when I’d turned that very back from Him. He protected me, provided
for me, cared for me.
My Lord and I have been walking together every day for 25 years. And I can say
without doubt that He is trustworthy.
Without doubt.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 25:1-3
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been journaling for many years, and one
constant theme has been how trustworthy God is.
As my journey has gone from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys, He has
been with me. Protecting me. Providing for me. Blessing me. Comforting me.
As I write these words, I am convicted. I am so unworthy of His everlasting
love and never-forsaking presence. Even when I have neglected Him or ignored Him,
He has continued to be trustworthy.
I read the next words in today's scripture, and I pray along with the psalmist:
"Let me not be ashamed." So often, I fail to share God's truth with
others. I don't always seize those moments to tell of His love and grace. To my
credit, it's not because I'm ashamed of God; rather, it's because I'm ashamed
of my own inadequacies. "What if I say the wrong thing?" or
"What will they think?"
My constant prayer should be—must be—to give the Lord all glory, honor, and
praise. To joyfully and unashamedly share His truth with others. To surrender
everything to Him.
For He is worthy of my trust.
Today’s scripture:
Psalm 13:5
I’ve written before that I was abused as a child and young teenager by three
different men. When you’ve been hurt by an adult, it’s often hard to trust anyone
… even God Himself.
I didn’t trust men for a very long time, and I didn’t trust God either. Oh, I
still believed in Him, but I distrusted His love … for me, at least.
I’m so grateful that I found trustworthy people, and I’m (literally!) eternally
grateful I found my way back to the arms of Jesus.
I finally realized that God is worthy
of trust, that His mercy is abundant, that His grace is abundant, and that His
love is everlasting.
He is the God of my salvation, and I can trust in Him in every situation and at
all times.
If you find it difficult to trust, go to the One who is worthy of your trust too. People may let you down,
but God never will.
Never.
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:7
Love believes all things.
I spoke at an event a while ago, and I said that the one attribute of love
that was missing from Paul’s list was, “Love is trustworthy.” After meditating
on the words we’re focusing on today, I think I may be wrong. Today’s attribute
is close.
If I love someone—truly love him—I’ll believe the best of him. I’ll believe
he’ll do his best. He’ll be loyal and kind. He’ll be faithful to me. In fact,
I’ll believe he’s worthy of my trust.
In return, I need to be the same for him. This is the relationship I’m blessed
to have with my husband. I know he’ll be faithful to me. I know he’ll love me
through sickness and health, good times and bad, riches and poverty … because, in 27 years of marriage, he has.
So I can believe he’ll be the same in the next year or five or ten.
Love isn’t blind. That’s certain. If someone has clear issues—anger, a tendency
to belittle, a history of infidelity—you should avoid an intimate
relationship. However, if he has proven
himself to be faithful, then you can trust him.
You can believe in him.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 71:14-16
Today's devotional is short and sweet.
We are given a great privilege of praising God, and He deserves nothing less.
He is the Creator; we are the created. He is strong; we are weak. He is holy;
we are sinful.
Yet, even though we are weak and sinful, He wants to hear from us. He wants to
know that we honor and revere Him—and rightfully so.
I've heard recently that praising God is for us because it makes us feel good,
and yes, when I praise Him, I certainly feel very blessed. But my praising God
should never be about me. About how I feel. About how I sound when I sing.
No, I should be praising Him because I am in awe of who He is. Because He
deserves my focused worship. Because He is worthy of every ounce of glory and
honor. Because He is the only way to redemption. Because He is righteous. Because He is my source of peace and hope.
Because He is God.
And I am not.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 71:1-3
On more days than I care to admit, I need a refuge. I need Someone stronger
than I could ever be. I need a rock, a foundation.
I am so very, very weak. Before I get out of bed each morning, I stretch to
alleviate some of the pain that seems to accumulate through the night. Then,
more often than not, I say something like, "Lord Jesus, please hold my
hand more tightly today. Please be my strength today."
Because of how He's carried me in the past, because He has been trustworthy, I
know that He'll save me this day.
One day at a time.
I know when I can't do this thing called life on my own, I can run
(figuratively, of course!) to a place of refuge: God Himself. I can
"resort continually" to His strong arms. I can stand on the solid
rock of His presence and seek shelter in His fortress.
Yes, I am weak. Yes, I have little strength on my own. How very, very blessed I
am that I'm not alone. I do have a
refuge. I do have a loving God to
whom I can go.
Are you feeling a bit weak today? Do you need a place of refuge? Run (or walk
... or even crawl) to the One who will be your strength today.
Today's scripture: Psalm 32:6-7
I love to worship God through song. It's one of my very favorite things to do.
I especially love praise songs based on scripture. I not only get to sing to
the Lord, but I also get to memorize His word!
In fact, often, I find a praise song that speaks to my heart, and then later, I
learn it comes directly from the Bible. I love that!
A long while ago, I fell in love with a simple praise chorus:
You are my hiding place.
You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance.
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
I will trust in You.
Let the weak say I am strong in the strength of the Lord.
It's a simple song, but full of such truth. And its words come from today's
scripture.
Our God invites us to climb up on His lap and find refuge in His arms. When we
are afraid or uncertain, we can hide in Him. We can trust Him to fulfill His
perfect will in and through us.
We are weak; He is strong. We are lost; He shines His light. We're in trouble;
He preserves us.
We can trust Him because He is fully and completely worthy of our trust.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 25:1-3
I mentioned a couple of days ago how I revisit my journals each time I start a
new one, and I'm in that process right now. One constant theme has been how
trustworthy God is.
As my journey has gone from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys, He has
been with me. Protecting me. Providing for me. Blessing me. Comforting me.
As I write these words, I am convicted. I am so unworthy of His everlasting
love and never-forsaking presence. Even when I have neglected Him or ignored
Him, He has continued to be trustworthy.
I read the next words in today's scripture, and I pray along with the psalmist:
"Let me not be ashamed." So often, I fail to share God's truth with
others. I don't always seize those moments to tell of His love and grace. To my
credit, it's not because I'm ashamed of God; rather, it's because I'm ashamed
of my own inadequacies. "What if I say the wrong thing?" or
"What will they think?"
My constant prayer should be—must be—to give the Lord all glory, honor, and
praise. To joyfully and unashamedly share His truth with others. To surrender
everything to Him.
For He is worthy of my trust.
Today's scripture: Psalm 4:5
"... put your trust in the Lord."
Sometimes, this is very easy. When things are going well, bills are paid, and
the kids are healthy. When you're working at the perfect job or dating
"the one." When you're on the winning team or just closed escrow on
your dream home. Then it's easy to put your trust in the Lord.
But life isn't always perfect, is it? In fact, more often than not, things
don't go well. You find yourself doing some creative financing just to get this
month's bills paid. Your child is down with the flu ... again. You just
tolerate your job. Your boyfriend just said the dreaded words, "It's not
you. It's me." Your team is 9-0 or your house is in foreclosure.
Or even worse, your doctor says, "I'm sorry. It's cancer."
Can you trust in the Lord even then?
I've been journaling for over 20 years, and each time I start a new journal, I
read the previous. The last 20 years' journey has been a combination of ups and
downs, twists and turns. Times when I've been on top of the world; times when
I've been in the deepest valley.
Trusting God hasn't always been easy, and over the years, there have been times
when I cried out in confusion and frustration, "Why?!"
Fortunately, I've learned that God's ways really aren't mine, and His thoughts
are so far higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). I've learned that His plan for me
really is one of hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
No, my life isn't perfect. My health continues to decline, slowly but surely.
My everyday pain isn't going away nor am I suddenly infused with energy. More
days than not have me asking for strength—just to make it through the day.
I don't understand why God has chosen not to heal me, and I certainly continue
to pray that He will one day. But even if I continue to live in pain, even if I
get to a place where all I can do is lay in bed ... well, then I can still
trust Him because I know how He loves me. I trust in His grace and mercy and
compassion.
Trusting God isn't always easy, but I know that it's the only way I can live my
life: trusting Him that all things really do (and will) work together for my good and His
purpose (Romans 8:28).
