Proclaim

It is good to proclaim God's unfailing love in the morning, His faithfulness in the evening.

Psalm 92:1

STAND IN HIS PRESENCE

When we are faced with war, plague or famine,

we come to stand in

Your Presence. II Chronicles 20:9

Most of us reading this aren't faced with war, plague or famine, yet there are tremendous pressures in our lives at home, in the workplace and on the street among people.

This past year has been a time of intense pressure as I obtained a new job and have had a sharp learning curve to climb.

Every day at my new job as I climbed to the fourth floor for training, practicing and doing, I saw a plaque placed at the head of the stairs. It read: Area of Refuge. Since God is our refuge and a very present help in time of need, I knew that sign was there for ME.

Each day, at some point in the day, I would just stand under that sign as an admission that, in my own strength, I could not learn or do this job apart from my Refuge - God. It felt like, of all the things I have been called on to do in my life, this was one that I possibly could not do.

A year has gone by…. Basically, the job is learned and a new chapter in my life is unfolding. I am doing well, thanks be to GOD. Yet daily you will find me, at some point during the day, standing under that sign as I seek God's help, His wisdom and His strength.

Because the work day is long and the work is difficult, the Lord reminds me:

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, even young men shall fall exhausted but they who wait on the Lord shall RENEW THEIR STRENGTH, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31

As we stand in His Presence, He more than abundantly provides all that is needed for every minute. In fact, at the end of the day, we just may be singing to His glory!

Heavenly Father,THANK YOU! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Trust and Do

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Psalm 37:3

Thaw is from the Lord.

He hurls the hail like stones,

Who can stand against His freezing cold?

Than, at His command, it all melts.

He sends His winds, and the ice thaws.

Psalm 147:17 & 18

He Sends....

He sends the snow like white wool; He scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.

Psalm 147:16

The Lord Spoke

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.

Psalm 33:6

LIFTING IN PRAYER

A late winter storm arrived, coating everything in sparkling ice. Beautiful, but dangerous. The trees, especially, were affected. Long sweeping branches, usually lifted skyward, were bent low to the ground. Many trees had branches and limbs which had succumbed to the weight - breaking off, crashing to earth.

Usually after an ice storm, temperatures moderate, the ice melts and trees spring back. Not this year, not this storm.

As the bitterly cold weather remained day after day, I wondered if the trees' branches could survive the extensive pressure without breaking. I could do nothing to help - I couldn't stand there night and day, bearing the weight of the limbs until warmer weather appeared. I found myself praying for the trees.

Oh, if only the trees could bear that weight a few more days..until warmer temperatures would melt the ice and set the branches free to spring back up heavenward. Day after day the cold temperatures remained, the limbs bending to the ground. I prayed for the trees, that they could endure. Eventually, temperatures moderated, the ice began to melt ….and all was well.

I was reminded that often we know people, friends and family who are bent under the heavy cares of this life. Maybe there is an illness, marriage difficulties, problems with a child. Maybe we can't physically lift the burdens (like with the trees) but we can certainly lift them up to our heavenly Father in prayer and ask for His help for them. We CAN PRAY - for God's tender mercy to surround them, that God would empower them with strength to bear what has come their way, to lead them out to the other side. Thus, we pray, the most powerful of all things we can do for someone else, as we can watch with them, stand with them, love them and pray.

"Bear one another's burdens." Galatians 6:2

Heavenly Father, please open my eyes to see who needs to be lifted to You today. In Jesus' name. Amen