Devotion
In His Hands
Chipo Biti
Trust is a hard thing to come by in the world. When you are surrounded by people who only have their best interests at heart, it can be very hard to find someone you can confide in. The thought of giving a person a glance into your heart and your mind can be daunting.
People are capable of convincing you that you can trust them, but the moment you have finished confiding in them, they are already thinking of the way they're going to tell someone else about everything that you've just shared with them. People are capable of smiling in your face and talking behind your back at the same time. Such things leave very little to be desired when it comes to trying to trust people and letting them into your lives.
Fortunately, with God we don't have such worries. We know that God has our lives in our hands and this gives us peace. It does not scare us and it definitely does not give us any reason to worry. God truly is the only one who has your best interests at heart. Everything He guides you in is for your benefit. This is why he constantly urges us to follow the guiding of His Spirit.
He isn't trying to control us. He is trying to prevent us from experiencing anything detrimental to our health and our livelihood as his children.
Think of an interaction between a child and their mother. A child may walk into the kitchen and tell their mom that they are ready to drive a car. The mother will look at her eight year old child and tell them that they are not ready to drive. The child might become upset and think that their mother is trying to stifle their dreams. But the mother is actually protecting them. If the child tries to drive at their young age, they will end up injuring or even killing themselves.
Prayer
The same thing happens with God. He knows us better than we know ourselves and because of this, some of the things he may guide us to do might not make sense in the moment, but when we take a look at our lives later, we realize that everything actually does make sense.
This is why David could confidently tell God that he has committed his spirit into God's hands. He is the only one who can truly protect us, guide us, and prepare us for anything life tries to throw in our direction.
Night Prayer
And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Inspiration
Samson's power came from God, not from his beautiful locks of hair! He knew the origin of his strength and called out to the Lord to help him abolish his enemies. We have the power to overcome obstacles and hardships in our earthly life. We must remember that our strength comes from the Lord and contribute our tenacity to Him. We are grateful for His gracious character as He gifts us with skills to battle our enemies.
Prayer
Dear Father, We are grateful for the strength You have instilled in us. We could not stand against sin alone and we praise You for gifting us the power to conquer our sin. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
Allowing The Scriptures
To bring Joy To My Life
Frances Taylor
The beginning of Luke's Gospel has always been one of my favorite readings. It makes me feel confident that I can believe what I have been taught. It also gives me peace because I know that God's promise has been fulfilled. We have been set free from fear. Of course, we will know fear of the unknown in this unpredictable world, but not fear of death because we can be sure that death is not the end, only the beginning of a new life. Otherwise, how could we continue to experience happiness and joy in the face of suffering? This freedom of fear, this belief in the good news – this Gospel message – is what made the early Christians so willing to face suffering in the name of Jesus. It is what motivated them to spread the good news to anyone who would listen. Is our world any less in need of the Gospel than theirs? I doubt it. Considering how we work so hard to be happy! How hard we work to avoid pain or suffering! So ...
