Sunday, November 25, 2012

Trusting God's faithfulness

Our Daily Bread
Have you ever had someone let you down?  I know I have.  I also know that I have let others down many more times than I care to admit.  ;-(  There is a song "Once bitten, twice shy".  As humans, it is hard for us not to be!

That is where God comes in.  God never abandons us.  During the times of our greatest joys and our greatest fears, God is with us.  How in the heck can we give God all of our fears?  For me, I try to memorize scripture passages to recite when I have doubts and fears.  I also wrote a chorus (that will soon have verses with it) that I sing to myself during these times.  The lyrics (so far) are:
I will trust in the Lord
I will wait patiently for him
And lean upon his promise
Follow where he leads
To be a faithful servant in deed.

The lyrics are very comforting and strengthening to me.  I hope they help you as well.  I will post the song on Youtube when I complete it.

Remember the last line of the devotional: Trusting God’s faithfulness dispels our fearfulness.

Lord, thank you for your peace that passes all understanding.  Please help us give our hope and fears to you.

Psalm Sunday
Let's look at Psalm 71 this week.  My favorite sections are verses 14-15 and 22-24.  Be sure to read it out loud!


Psalm 71

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
    let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
    turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
    to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
    my confidence since my youth.
6 From birth I have relied on you;
    you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
    I will ever praise you.
7 I have become a sign to many;
    you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
    declaring your splendor all day long.
9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
    do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
    those who wait to kill me conspire together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken him;
    pursue him and seize him,
    for no one will rescue him.”
12 Do not be far from me, my God;
    come quickly, God, to help me.
13 May my accusers perish in shame;
    may those who want to harm me
    be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I will always have hope;
    I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
    of your saving acts all day long—
    though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
    I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
    and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
    do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
    your mighty acts to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
    you who have done great things.
    Who is like you, God?
20 Though you have made me see troubles,
    many and bitter,
    you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
    and comfort me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp
    for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
    Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
    when I sing praise to you—
    I whom you have delivered.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
    all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
    have been put to shame and confusion.


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We are far from perfect, but despite our mistakes and our sins, we will never abandon the Lord and he will never abandon us - adapted from a statement about Abraham from the EfM Training Guide

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