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
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Inspiration
Anger is a natural emotion we will feel at one time or another. Anger can be dangerous if we allow it to control our lives; acting out of fury does not reflect the righteousness of God. In anger, we shout out hurtful words, and bitterness stirs up jealousy in our hearts. Anger pushes people away from us; they lack respect for us and begin to think poorly of our character. We understand this is not a reflection of God, and we must take our emotions to Him before we hurt people.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we become angry throughout our lifetime. Please forgive us for our outbursts and teach us to stop allowing anger to control our lives. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
Priorities, Priorities!
Frances Taylor
Does Jesus really want us to believe that our enemies are our parents, children, family or friends? Somehow, I don't think so! It is really about priorities. Have you ever chosen to watch a sports program when your child wanted to talk to you? What about not sitting at the table for meals because a special game is on? We are called on to make choices all the time. We can choose God, or we can choose other. Is that late night party worth missing church? We can talk all we want about being too busy, but the truth is that we find the time for what we want to do. I love to read, knit, spend time with my friends and I hate doing the laundry, dishes, vacuuming, but it all needs to be done. I would rather pick up a good book than exercise. I can say that I am "too busy" to do the things I don't enjoy doing, but the truth is, I choose to spend my time in other ways. The same is true about putting God first. A friend that is always put last doesn't ...
Night Prayer
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Inspiration
We often blame God for struggles in our lives. We feel that He does not care for us or isn't all-powerful. We ask why He isn't parting seas or moving mountains for us. Sometimes, it's tempting to blame God and stop trusting Him altogether. God does not tempt us to reject Him, and struggles occur because we live in an imperfect world. God uses our hardships to grow closer to us by strengthening our character and faith. We will not blame Him for our difficulties. Instead, we will continue to praise His name and rest peacefully in His loving arms.
Prayer
Dear God, we struggle daily in this imperfect world. You are our hope in the darkness, and we will continue to lean on Your everlasting arms in comfort and peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
