February 19 – God’s Spa Is Best

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh  and refreshment to your bones. - Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)

If mom told me once, she told me more than a hundred million times, “Don’t slam the screen door!”  Some lessons need repetition because they are very important.  Our verses today are familiar and they have wisdom and promises we need to remember. So, we return to them often. Don’t weary then of hearing Scripture quoted which you have known before. These truths need to be reviewed more than occasionally; we need to hear them often. We need to admit that we don’t have all the answers and our understanding is not enough. God knows the straight path for us and He knows the end from the beginning. He can direct us when we have decisions to make. So it’s up to us to put our  trust in our loving, all-knowing God. It is risky to think our understanding is enough apart from that given to us by the Lord. It is risky messing around with any means or people who do not follow God’s way. If we turn away from evil and trust the LORD with all our heart, we will have healing and refreshment to our bones.  Better than any spa visit.

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October 27 – Known By Name

“The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.””  Exodus 33:17 (NASB)

Being known by name is important in many ways.  Yesterday's blog we noticed how God's Name is near to us. Today we read how significant it is that God knows us by name.  Moses had asked God to go with him and the people of Israel on their way to the land God had promised to them.  Our verse is the promise God gives to Moses in reply to his request.  God gave two reasons why He would do what Moses asked Him to do.  He said He would do it because H was pleased with Moses and because He knew Him by name.  This promise can be ours as well.  If we are trusting in our Lord and if we love Him and obey Him, He is pleased with us.  And we believe that He knows us each in a personal way and by name also.  So we can trust Him to answer our prayers too.  The God who Moses prayed to and who answered him is our God, for there is only One God and He never changes.  What a privilege we have that God knows us by our name. 

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June 22 – He Hears, He Answers

“You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” Psalm 65:2  (NIV)

When we hear these words which were written by the psalmist David to God, we might think that they sound too good to be really true. There are so many people these days who aren't interested in coming close to God and are not interested in praying to Him. We may often hear someone say “I'll pray for you,” but do they follow through?  Many never actually pray as they say they will.  However those who truly believe that God is the one who answers prayers are the ones who actually do pray to Him and they experience answers to their prayers as they come to Him. We are encouraged to make it our regular practice to come to Him who answers our prayers. Isn't it wonderful to know that no matter where we are when we pray our God is listening. He not only hears us when we pray, he does something about it for He is the one and only God who answers prayer. 

August 2

“When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.” Psalm 86:7 (NIV)

King David knew from experience how faithful God was to take care of him. He knew that experiencing distress is a real part of his life. He knew that God was watching over him all the time, but he also recognized that God wanted David to call on Him for help. When your experience distress in your life I trust that you have the same confidence in your God. If you have called on Him when you needed help you have experienced His presence and His response to your call. He has helped you in the past so now you know what to do when you encounter problems in your life. So you can say with David, “you answer me.”

June 8

“Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?”  Matthew 16:8 (NIV)

In the following verse Jesus reminds His disciples that not long before He had fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread. But the words of Jesus in our verse remind us that our Lord is aware of our discussions when we face problems. We so often think we are going to work out our own solutions through our own strategies and plans. He knows when we are thinking that way and talking that way. And He wants to remind us that He has the solutions. So let us not talk among ourselves when we have needs. Let us talk to the Lord about them. He does have the answers.

May 16

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.”  Psalm 16:7 (NIV)

David was praising God for teaching him and showing him what to do. It may seem at first glance that David is talking credit for thoughts that came to him at night, as if he could make decisions because he himself knew the answers. That was really not what the psalmist was saying in this verse. He was praising God for those thoughts that came at night. That’s how God was leading him. So it is with us. When we are asking God to guide us in our decisions, He may answer in several ways.  One way might be by putting thoughts in our hearts when we are relaxing at night or as we awaken in the morning. It is the Lord who counsels.

February 19

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Do you get tired of hearing Scripture quoted which you have known before? Are there truths that we need to be reminded only occasionally, or often? We need to admit that we don’t have all the answers. But where we lack understanding, our God does know the end from the beginning. And that’s good because He can direct us when we have decisions to make. So it’s up to us to put our complete trust in our loving, all-knowing God. And trusting Him is to look to Him as our guide at every step of the way. This verse promises that He will make our paths straight right to the destination He has chosen for us.