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Daily Dose of Encouragement

Rainy Days and Mondays

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“The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.“
Psalm 145:8, NIV

For those who survived the mind-bending seventies―an era marked by anti-war protests, women’s lib, bell-bottom pants, lava lamps, and Saturday Night Fever―the soft, compelling voice of Karen Carpenter was a welcome reprieve within the psychedelic acid rock and hippie subculture of the day.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1950, Karen and her brother, Richard, released more than a dozen hit records by the time she was twenty-four. Less than ten years later she was gone. A victim of heart failure brought on by anorexia nervosa, a devastating eating disorder the general public knew little about until her death. Although known by her friends to be goofy and fun loving, inwardly she struggled to feel loved and accepted.

I write this devotion on a Monday. It’s raining—again. The words of Karen’s 1971 hit, Rainy Days and Mondays, roll through my mind. As she sings of how rainy Mondays always get her down, I note her words in the following line hold the solution to her pain. She states, “The only thing to do is run and find the one who loves me.” I wonder if she knew the One who truly loved her. If those who feel unloved and discarded in today’s society knew the One who loved them, there would be far less anxiety, depression, and suicide. God’s Word tells us that without hope, people perish (Proverbs 29:18). We see this sad conclusion play out daily in the news.

Our Heavenly Father is a God of compassion who desires to lift us above our circumstances. He encourages us to come to him when we are “weary and heavy-laden.” Walking daily by his side is where we’ll find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30).

Do you know the One who loves you? If so, are you willing to share Christ’s love with someone who hasn’t experienced this freeing reality? Psalm 145 tells us that Jesus is loving and faithful. He is our Protector, Provider, Sustainer. He is our Savior, and he is near. Believers are Christ’s hands and feet in this turbulent world. The words we speak can lift the heads of those who are down-trodden. Be Jesus with skin on.

Rainy days and Mondays don’t always have to get us down.

Blessings,

Starr

GET’ER DONE!

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“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21

I didn’t know much in my early Christian life, but it didn’t take long to realize that I needed a power greater than myself if I was going to truly be Jesus’ disciple.  Change was hard! (And by the way, it still is!) Somehow, I understood that any accomplishments made for eternal purposes would not happen unless I had help. 

I read the Bible, but had a hard time understanding it. I searched every self-help book I could get my hands on, and listened to hundreds of sermon tapes. I asked other Christian women to teach and mentor me, but help came like a very slow dripping faucet. Like a sponge I listened to anyone who would teach me. 

After a while I began to understand that man and his manual tools could only help so much.  To illustrate, think of a man who needs to drive a three-inch screw into concrete. Using a manual screwdriver, he is going to struggle, pushing hard with all his might to get the job done in his own strength. Or he can pick up an electric power drill and sink that same 3-inch screw in seconds!  By using his outside power source, he can get the job done without zapping his own strength, and can get much more done in the process. 

After we have accepted Christ and have His power living in us through the Holy Spirit, we too can accomplish a lot more in this life. More than we could ever accomplish in our own strength.

So today – let us plug into the power source that God has already given us. His power source, His Holy Spirit, that lives inside us 24/7, but which we so often ignore. He is stronger that we will ever be.  And then watch him work through us, getting more done that we would ever have imagined!  

Until Next Time,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda

 

Photo credit: https://www.freeimages.com/photographer/unknowme-67461

 

 

 

Devoted to Prayer: “In Empty Places”

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“Devote yourselves to prayer … .”

Colossians 4:2, NASB 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you …”

James 4:8

Amazingly God doesn’t need to hear from us—He wants to. Privileged to pour out our hearts, we receive His comfort in exchange. Prayer intimately and powerfully connects us to God in every place.

 

“Devoted to Prayer: In Empty Places”

 

“I don’t even know why I should bother praying.”

medium_2963211897-200x300Utterly frustrated and desperately discouraged, I voiced these words to God. I surely did. Was it the best thing to say? Probably not … except it was totally honest. Plus, God already knew my feelings about the trial I chafed under. Even after reading His Word, I sensed zero connection with Him. Empty … no relief—I told the Lord that as well. Ever so gently, He reminded me of Luke 18:1, in which He taught His disciples to pray always and not lose heart. Now He directed me to do the same. A glimmer of hope arose.

Suddenly new prayers—unlike previous ones—escaped my lips. I knew they were from the Lord. They didn’t magically, instantly solve everything. But those prayers strengthened me for the time being. Isn’t that truly what matters? To live minute by minute in full dependence on Him—drinking in His grace and resting in His love?

Abba Father meets with us in empty places. As we diligently seek Him in prayer, He raises, restores, and reinforces us. Ever present, He’s always with us. Lovingly the LORD gives “… His song … in the night, A prayer to the God of my life”

Ps. 42:8. 

Perhaps a lengthy trial torments you today, and you wonder if praying yet again will make any difference. It will! Our God faithfully hears and responds as we cry out to Him:

Weary, empty I cry out

To You, the One who fills

Restless and pained I reach out

For Your comforting embrace.

Life. It troubles me sometimes.

Valleys low, rivers deep

I cling. Seeking safety, peace

Direction through stubborn storms.

 Fretful, uncertain, alone

I wait for You ~

Your loving hands that lift, Your

Tender touch, gentle presence.

And while I’m aching, looking

Faithfully You respond

Consistently You reveal

That in my night, You’re with me.

Your songs awaken my mind

Your words steady my heart

What blessed relief You bring

You whom my soul loves, longs for.

With me, forever with me

Though sometimes I

Feel alone. But always Lord

In night and day, You’re with me.

Does it really matter if we pray? By all means! For when we pray, God nourishes our hearts so we don’t give up. He fills our emptiness with His mercy and grace … with Himself.

Drawing Near,

Emily

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