Category: God’s Word

A Daddy Writes to His Daughter

My Sweet Daughter,

I know that you’re not feeling well (Psalm 56:6). I can see that you’re hurting (Genesis 16:13). I feel your pain and I understand what you’re going through (Hebrews 4:15). 

I want to encourage you. You are loved (Jeremiah 31:3). You are precious. You are priceless. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). And above all, You are mine (Isaiah 43:1).

My gracious love will be with you during the day, and my song will be with you during the night (Psalm 42:8). I hear your cries, your desperate pleas. I am listening. I will bring you up out of the pit you are in. Out of the mud and the muck that wants to pull you under. I am your Rock–and you can plant your feet firmly on Me. I will give you a song of praise that will be an encouragement to others, and that will prompt them to trust in Me, as well (Psalm 42:1-3).

You can let go of the perfectionism. Let go of the need to perform, to meet unreachable standards, to live up to everyone’s expectations. I know that you are only human, and that you make mistakes. The sin that you committed–the one you are obsessing about? I have already forgiven it. Those harsh words that you said in anger? I have already forgotten them. I am Your loving Father, and I take care of my own (Psalm 103:8 and 11-14).

Bring me the burdens that you are trying to carry. The hurts, the hangups, the worries, the fears. They are too heavy for You, and you are not meant to handle them. My shoulders are strong enough to bear them. And I want to give you something instead–joy and rest and peace and life, as You yield your will to my own and trust in Me (Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:10).

I long for Your worship, even when you don’t feel like it. I yearn for your praise, even when it hurts (Hebrews 13:15). I remain the same–unsearchable in greatness, full of mighty deeds, clothed in splendor and majesty. I am good, righteous, and gracious; full of compassion, slow to anger, and great in mercy. I open my hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. I delight in your devotion, and I am near to you in your time of trouble. I will save you and preserve your life, as you fear and love me (Psalm 145).

My Princess, give me all of your worries, because I care about You more than you could ever know (1 Peter 5:7).

Love Your Daddy, the King of all Creation,

God Almighty

Image Credit: Unknown

My Faithful Shepherd

The shepherds of the Alps have a beautiful custom of ending the day by singing an evening farewell to one another. The air is so pure that the songs can be heard for very long distances. As the sun begins to set, they gather their flocks and begin to lead them down the mountain paths while they sing, “‘Thus far has the LORD helped us.’ Let us praise His name!”

Finally, as is their beautiful custom, they sing to one another the courteous and friendly farewell “Goodnight! Goodnight!” The words then begin to echo from mountainside to mountainside, reverberating sweetly and softly until the music fades into the distance.

~ from Streams in the Desert, December 31st

God has brought me through this past year, and I must believe that He is able to and will be faithful to lead me through 2015. I have a mixture of feelings about the year ahead: fear, excitement, uncertainty, hope, worry, resolve. But the important thing is that God is in control, that He has guided me to this point, and that He will not abandon me now. He is my faithful Shepherd, and I rest in His love for me and His promise to guide me along the right path.

“Thus far has the LORD helped [me].” – 1 Samuel 7:12

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” – Psalm 37:23

❤       ❤       ❤

Photo Credit: WallpapersCraft

Using Worry as an Opportunity

In the midst of the legitimate concerns of life, we need not quiver with fear. God will sustain us by His power. When we feel vulnerable, we become distracted by our concerns. God can sustain us during those worrisome times, not by promising that nothing bad will happen, but by reminding us that we were made to trust Him above all else. In a broken world, we have no guarantees except that God can be trusted, and that He wants us to draw on the depths of His love and grace in every circumstance that He gives or allows. We too can use worry as an opportunity to say, “Therefore we will not fear” (Psalm 46:2).

~ from Overcoming Worry, by David Egner

I was greatly encouraged by reading a section from Overcoming Worry – Turning Fear into Faith last night. I felt very burdened at the time, and God prompted me to pick up this little booklet and to meditate on what it said.

The section that I read referred to Matthew 6:25-34, so I wanted to share that with you as well. Wow–did it ever challenge me to trust that God will take care of me, and that I do not need to worry!

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So the next time we are tempted to worry, let’s use worry as an opportunity to trust that God is in control and that He has our best interests at heart! ❤

the-birds-of-the-air

Photo from: HD Nice Wallpapers / Edited by: Me 🙂