..while you were sleeping....but HE never does....

Lord, be gracious to us;

    we long for you.

Be our strength every morning,

    our salvation in time of distress.

 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;

    when you rise up, the nations scatter.

 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;

    like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;

    he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

 He will be the sure foundation for your times,

    a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;

    the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

Isaiah 33:2-6

waking up to more distress..

just thinking that before the internet

before smart phones

such kind of stuff would not have been there to greet you in the morning

it would not be there right at your fingertips at 5 am

when your dog woke you up

but

Even my close friend,

    someone I trusted,

one who shared my bread,

    has turned against me.

 But may you have mercy on me, Lord;

    raise me up, that I may repay them.

 I know that you are pleased with me,

    for my enemy does not triumph over me.

 Because of my integrity you uphold me

    and set me in your presence forever.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

    from everlasting to everlasting.

Psalm 41:9-13

when reading some Psalms.. as a follower of Christ, I do not quite get the "so I can repay them" 

after all, the Lord tells me that vengeance is His, not mine

I am asked to offer the other cheek, go the extra mile.. forgive.. and all that..

but,

I can find hope in the fact that He indeed has mercy on me

that He upholds me 

( not because of my righteousness but because of His )

and He has indeed set me in His presence forever

He is from everlasting to everlasting 

and He is not surprised by the latest onslaught I received sometime while I was sleeping

when the one who never sleeps  or slumbers was watching over me,

when He in His sovereignty allowed it,

He was, by His purposeful goodness 

accomplishing His plans for my life.

because of that 

I praise Him in the storm

because even the winds and waves obey Him

there is NOTHING that can separate me from the love of God..

and for that,

once again,

I am eternally thankful

...with joy you will draw water... no matter the threat level.. PTL

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

it's a well known passage, a passage I have made part of my daily, early morning prayer, 

practising what it says, 

NEEDING what it promises 

standing on this promise, sometimes for sheer survival..

last year around this time the "threat level" in my life was elevated quite a bit, horrendous things beyond my control, consequences of someone else's disregard of others affecting me..

God has been very good to me ever since, He always is.. He actually has blessed me and has been restoring the years the locusts have eaten in an area of brokenness like I never thought possible..

meanwhile the issues never got dealt with.. others were added and today I am finding myself in more of a stressed out state again..

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering...

Hebrews 10:32

remembering all His goodness to me.. remembering those days last year when I felt the fear in my stomach.. when He gave me

this verse and decided to believe it...

Surely God is my salvation;

    I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;

    he has become my salvation.”

 Isaiah 12:2

and now, because His Word is alive and gives us all we need for life and godliness ... here is what I found when reading on:

With joy you will draw water

    from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12: 3

that's what I want... no fear... and joy.

that's what I can have

worries and stresses will not rob me of my joy..

the joy that is in the Lord.

what can man do to me.

what can anyone or anything do to me.

God is my salvation

the Lord Himself is my strength and my defense...

nothing can separate me from that.

NOTHING

so thankful for that.

eternally.

.. satisfy us in the morning... taking this day one step at a time...

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    for as many years as we have seen trouble.

 May your deeds be shown to your servants,

    your splendor to their children.

 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;

    establish the work of our hands for us—

    yes, establish the work of our hands.

waking up and giving my cares to Him, with thanksgiving, and gaining His peace is what I do, what I have to do every single day.

none of the big ticket items have been solved, they can some days seem a little less troublesome and then again it seems they are never going to go away

other layers are added and some of the things that were working out at one point in time are not anymore..

one of the devotions I receive each morning was talking about walking with the Lord.. 

one day, one step at a time..

that's my prayer

I am not borrowing tomorrow's trouble because today does indeed have enough of it's own.

this morning I am pleading with Him,

the sovereign God of the Universe,

to satisfy me with His love

to restore the years the locusts have eaten

to give me joy

His favour 

and that the works of my hands today will be established by Him, 

and Him alone.

One step at a time

rejoicing in the good

trusting Him for the bad 

and the very bad.

To Him alone be the glory

forever and ever

AMEN

choose wisely... for the easy road leads to DESTRUCTION

sinking into this weeks passage in Matthew, these two verses kept on jumping out at me.. thinking on them I realize that there are so many different facets to them..

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

thinking of my loved ones on the wide and easy road.. which will FOR SURE lead to destruction.. the lure and temptation of the "easy" is only going to be "true" for a while.. the consequences of choosing this road are monumental... praying that some "turning around / repentance" will happen.. as long as there is breath there is time to do that..

the narrow gate... the way is hard.. do I ever know of that.. and yet.. it leads to life, life everlasting, eternal life with God... always worth the "harder road".... even more blessed when reading the cross reference in Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

fullness of joy.. not just joy.. not just happiness and gratitude and blessing and refuge and protection and love and mercy and grace..

but fullness of that.. more than enough.. overflowing.. never ending.. no need to fear of running out.. ever..

pleasures forever more

eternal pleasures

treasures in heaven

gladness and fulfilment 

eternally

in His presence

no ifs or buts

and on earth

Him by my side

His angels watching over my every step

making sure I will not stumble

safe in my Daddy's arms

sheltered from the attacks of the evil one

who has already LOST the battle for my soul

yup.. so thankful He opened my eyes and gave me the faith to choose the narrow gate..

so thankful because of the Holy Spirit in me,

I can continue to choose the hard road

no compromise

no leaving the path laid out for me

His will

My salvation

My defense

I am NOT AFRAID

because He first LOVED ME