I woke up crying. Have you ever done that? It can happen from deep 
hurt, grief, loss and emotional or mental pain. It’s not my morning of preference. But, life happens. It is in times like this that I think gaining spiritual maturity seems way over rated. And, though the Bible tells me that in the middle of my grief and trouble, no matter how grievous it is, God is working….I want to default to a thought of…. I just don’t care.
This is where the rubber meets the road in our life pain, and where we can go down a path of flesh and self pity, or rise to meet God at His Word of Truth and find the hope and strength we need for another day.
What about you? What do you do when you are in a bad place? Do you fuss, stew and steam over it? I think we all do some of that. But, after the steam has been let out, what do you do? Do you minimize the power of God’s Word in your life, or do you purposefully embrace the truth?
Today’s Truth: John 17:17, John 6:63 NASB, Pro. 30:5, 2 Timothy 3:16 CEV
“Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.”
“Every word of God is flawless”
“Everything in Scripture is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live.”
The truth transforms us. Spiritual growth is not a quick thing, but happens by the day by day process of replacing lies with truth. To be conformed into His image we must fill our lives with God’s Word. The Bible is more than a handbook. The Word of God is alive and active, working in us. God’s Word stimulates faith, produces life, and leads us to change. God’s Word is also our food of spiritual nourishment that is needed to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
Troubles come in many forms. Many of our troubles and pain come from making choices based on unreliable sources, such as the culture we live in or the traditions we have been brought up in. Rick Warren says there are four things we base our choices on:
- Culture, everyone is doing it.
- Tradition, we’ve always done it
- Reason, it seemed logical
- Emotion, it just felt right
He goes on to say that all four of these are flawed from the Fall. What we need is a perfect standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction. Only God’s word meets that need. ( Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life)
Where do we go from here?
Well each of us knows how to worry. We are pretty good at it. When we worry we are practicing focused thinking on the negative in our life. Let’s turn that around in our pain and trouble and practice focused thinking on Scripture. Focus on God’s word instead of your problem. What a thought!
Today I have gotten out an index card, and penned in the following verse to focus on:
Psalm 138:8
“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Do not abandon the works of your hand.”
Every time I am overcome with the emotion of hurt, trouble or the pain of my current circumstance I am going to focus on this truth. This one single truth gives me hope. It tells me that God is actively working in my life. He will fulfill His plan in my life and He will not abandon me. When focused on this I have hope for the day.
Find a verse for the day, and focus on it.
God’s Word will begin setting you apart in mind and heart to be in constant connection and fellowship with Him today. And, girls That’s Relationship!
Today’s Prayer
Father, I give you my troubles. I give you my tears. I take now your Truth and ask you to give me your peace, presence and comfort in the middle of my circumstance. Lord, change me.
so blessed by your devotional today. It really spoke to my heart. I really needed to hear a word from the Lord today and the scripture verse: “The Lord WILL fulfill his purpose for me. Do not abandon the works of your hand.” He’ll do it!
this word is so timely today in my life. i give the Lord praise for
speaking thru you to me! His WORD is TRUTH!!!!!
For this day: “When morning dawns and evening fades, You call forth songs of joy!” Truth.
Thank you for these truths this morning. I so needed to read them. My scripture that I found to focus in on is 2 Peter 1:3-11 (especially vs 8). Taking the focus off of me and placing it where it belongs on the Lord and others. When I do this, I will not stay ineffective and unproductive in my knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.