daily devotional

God knows Best

Guest Post by Miss Kylie King

I don’t like change, and the human in me gets upset when the vision in my mind doesn’t become a reality. But do I really want my vision? My wants? Is that what the Lord wants for me? As tough as it is for the vision in my mind not to come about at times, I simply cannot compete with the Lord’s will. The more I dig deeper I realize I don’t want to. “You can make many plans, but the Lords purpose will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21

We may tell ourselves:

“This is everything I’ve ever wanted.” He wants more for you.

“Nobody knows myself like I do.” He knows you better.

“This is the perfect timing and I would love it so much.” He loves you more.

He knows what’s best. His plans are to redeem you. To restore you. No matter how hard you try to compete with your personal desires the sovereign God reigns over them.

Lord, today I ask for your reminder that I cannot compete with your will for my life. Your will is the best, even when we do not realize it. I may believe I have the most beautiful, perfect timeline for my life. But if it’s not yours than I do not want it. You truly know what’s best for me. I will trust in that, even when I do not understand. Thy will be done, Lord.

Life’s not Always Easy

Guest Post by Mrs. Beth Holder

It is a common misconception that the life of a Christian should be easy. I’m not sure where that idea came from since even Jesus didn’t live an easy life. The Holy Spirit actually led Jesus into a place where He would be tempted, 40 days of no food and living in the wilderness. He was faced with temptations from Satan himself. As God’s children, should we expect any less?

Difficult times are not enjoyed. I’m sure Jesus didn’t enjoy those 40 days of battle. I believe He saw the difficult times through the lens of eternal victory rather than temporary trials as He used the Word as His weapon. Because He fixed His eyes on the eternal victory, He was able to not give in to the temptations.

A year ago, I faced a difficult journey. I had 30% of my kidney removed fully believing along with the doctor that the mass being removed was malignant. Over 2 months we lived in the “what ifs”. We were tempted to give up, to be angry, to question, to live in fear, but God…. He faithfully reminded us to not lose heart. He reminded us to keep our eyes focused on eternity. As His children, we could look on the difficult times through the lens of eternal victory rather than the temporary trial. It was quite a journey where the Word was our weapon. Praise God, my difficult journey ended in a miracle. The journey itself, though, left me with a greater trust in God and a greater vision of looking at difficult times through the lens of eternal victory.

Let’s not expect life to be easy. It wasn’t for Jesus. Let us use the Word as our weapon and view difficulties as temporary times of growth leading us to eternal victory! The lens of eternal victory gives great strength, courage, and hope!

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.—Matthew 4:1

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.—2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I’m Learning

I’m trying to be more spontaneous. Monday when I got home from work I cleaned my bathroom floors. I know, right! Pretty crazy. Usually I only do that on Saturdays. As you can tell I’m really shaking things up.

The thing is I am such a rigid, routined person I can easily get caught up in my to-do list and miss out on what’s happening right in front of my face.

There’s nothing wrong with having a list – with being routined. There is something wrong when that list totally dictates your life. There’s something wrong when YOUR routine trumps God’s WILL.

Sometimes we need to stop the checking off of the list and just look around us. We need to look beyond ourself and our checklist.

I’m learning that it’s ok to veer off the list sometimes. I’m learning that some things can wait. I’m trying to learn that I can in fact grocery shop on a different day of the week.

I’m learning.

I hope you are, too

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21

Awesomely Awkward

Y’all, I’m awkward.

Always have been. Always will be.

I’m ok with it now, but that hasn’t always been the case. The thing is the more God becomes my center – my focus – the more I realize it doesn’t matter if I’m awkward. After all, He made me this way for a reason. For a purpose.

I said that to say this – don’t let who you think you are hold you back. I spent a long time too scared to post, too scared to speak, basically too scared to be me.

My list of awkwardness is a mile long, and in the past when I would walk into a room that list would play on repeat. Not anymore.

I don’t know what hang-ups are holding you back from doing what God needs you to do – but I’m gonna say this in my best momma voice, “You stop it right now!”

Get to steppin’ girl.

Be brave.

Go for it.

Someone needs you to be you.

God made me awkward, but everything He makes is awesome. I guess that makes me awesomely awkward.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Life’s Busy, but God is Good.

Guest Post by Mrs. Ashley West

Life is busy. On top of having a two, soon to be three year old, AND a two month old- add 2020 to the mix and BUSY is an understatement.

It seems like there is just not enough hours in the day- can I get an amen?! But in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life, I want to take a moment and reflect on how GOOD God really is.

I don’t want to overlook the fact that I’ve seen God’s hand in every aspect of my life and how He has provided peace in the midst of many a storm. I want to always have a spirit of thankfulness. It’s unsettling for me to think about what life would be without Jesus. I’m so thankful for his unfailing, steadfast love.

My prayer is to every day be more like Him- let those around me see Him through me. I’ve found that by putting God FIRST above all things, He makes a way for even the busiest days to go smoothly. Where are your priorities today? Trust me- I’m preaching to the choir on this one- because life is, like I said BUSY.

It’s easy to get caught up in our to-do lists. I want to encourage you to just take a moment every morning to thank God and worship Him. Every chance we get to do so is a blessing. I pray that everyone has a wonderful week and may God bless you and keep you! Happy day!

“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 straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

God Is.

Guest Post by Mrs. Tracy Baker

I asked people for words to describe their emotions after 9/11. The top three were fear, anger and sadness. These are all justified emotions that my flesh wants to put on and wear around like a coat of armor. Is that how I should be??

If I scroll through my social media accounts today I see the same emotions on display. Now instead of coats of armor they are weapons being used to lash out at others. Definitely not how I am supposed to be.

It’s awful to feel out of control, scared for the future, and overwhelmed by my circumstances. Thankfully, as a Christian I have somewhere to turn for answers. In Philippians 4:11 Paul says he has learned to be content in all circumstances. Learned……not supernaturally granted. …….learned. Yikes 😳, That means I can learn to be content in whatever circumstance I’m in ( 9/11, crazy pandemic world, or insert problem here ) but I have work to do.

Those that know me know what’s coming next. I have to Philippians 4:8 those thoughts of despair. I have to intentionally capture them ( 2 Cor. 10:5 ) and replace them first and foremost with truth – number 1 being I may not be in control, but my God certainly is.  After that truth bomb, peace begins to flow back in and I can dwell on all the goodness of God.

Thank You Jesus for being our hope in the hard times. 🙌🏻

Keep it Simple

Guest post by Maggie Marino

What a lot of people don’t understand is that you need to keep things simple.

For example, my coach in basketball always starts out with the basics such as dribbling, passing, and shooting. He creates a foundation. With this foundation, he teaches us different positions, plays, and roles that each one of us need to do.

Also, by doing this he sees each of our strengths and weaknesses. He keeps it simple and then builds on it. He understands that to get out a message, you have to keep it simple so everyone understands.

He gets that not everyone starts at the same level and that the best way to coach, is to keep it simple.

This concept applies to most situations in life, especially when it involves beginners, and makes living a whole lot easier.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

Grace will set you Free

Church wrecked me Sunday.

Like ugly crying, sniffling and snotting all over the place, mascara all down my face. I’m now considering fake eyelashes because then I wouldn’t have to worry about raccoon tracks going down my face every single church service.

This Sunday’s sermon: grief and regret.

It’s something I’ve battled every single day since November 13th. The sermon was written for me – no doubt. The grief is real, and the regrets – the regrets continuously haunt me and taunt me. The last few months I’ve stepped inside of a self-made prison – one that I won’t let myself out of.

The question Pastor Trey left us with was this: Will those mistakes continue to hold you down, or will they bring you to a place that you can finally be free?

I want to be free. God wants me to be free. God wants you to be free. He doesn’t want us bound up by self-made shackles. God has the key, and that key is His grace.

Regrets are real. But God’s grace is bigger than any self-made shackles we’ve locked ourselves into.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Flipping the Script

Guest Post by Mrs. Kim Harris

Don’t you just love how God can flip the script on you – often when you don’t even realize it! This year we have all experienced so much, both collectively and personally. In the midst of all the chaos and even loss, God has shown himself faithful in so many ways.

I couldn’t see it at the time, but the Lord literally began leading me on a journey, step by step, to become healthier and stronger in my body, mind, and spirit.

It all began in November when my husband and I started trying to eat healthy and lose weight. He recently turned 50 , and I was about to turn 50 in March, so we wanted to get it together to stick around for our grandkids. Once the pandemic hit full swing in April, the Lord began waking me up for prayer every morning at 3 am for 30 days. In those wee hours I would pray, worship, read my Bible, and seek the Lord until it was time to get ready for work. I had always been a night owl prior to this, so it was a major change!

After that I kept getting up early, between 5-6 am to pray, worship, and read my Bible. When July came around, the Lord put it on my heart to add exercise to my routine. On July 11th, I started getting up at 5 am to pray, read my Bible, and spend time with the Lord. Then I began to run at the track at 6 am and come back home to get ready for work.

Health is one of those things that we often take for granted or neglect until we face a major crisis. The truth is we can’t do anything for the Lord or fulfill His purpose for us if we fail to take care of our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I want to challenge and encourage you today to examine your heart and ask the Lord what simple, positive changes you can make to become healthier and stronger in your body, mind, and spirit. I promise you won’t be sorry that you did. He will show you the way – just like He did with me. This has definitely been a life changing experience for me, and I’m so grateful! Will you let Him flip the script for you?

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. ~ 3 John 1:2 NLT

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

An Invitation from Worry

Guest Post by Mrs. Aimee Bartis

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:39

In Mark 4, Jesus had been teaching to large crowds, telling parables. The last parable He tells is the parable of the mustard seed. A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds that grows into a huge plant. The Kingdom of GOD is like a mustard seed, a small amount of faith grows into a huge plant of discipleship.

After this day of preaching Jesus and the disciples get on a boat. Jesus goes below deck and falls asleep. A storm comes up and the disciples freak out. They go get Jesus and basically say “Wake up! Why are you sleeping while we’re dying? Don’t you love us at all!!!” {insert flailing arms here}

Jesus replies with verse 39. Then he asks them “why are you freaking out? Don’t you trust? Don’t you have faith? Mercy, we just talked about this!”

I’m paraphrasing here. Also adding some panic and sass and eye rolling. Because that’s probably how I would reply. Mercy, I am so glad that GOD is GOD and I am not!

Anyway…

This verse and this story is an invitation to us from Jesus. It’s an invitation to not worry. I am a recovering worry wart. I was a champion worrier. I used to lay in bed at night worrying that I had offended someone in the course of the day. Maybe they didn’t laugh at my smart remark or something equally ridiculous.

Until I heard it put this way: worrying is a way of saying you don’t trust Jesus to act. Uh oh!

That’s not what I wanted. I want Jesus to act on my behalf for my good and His glory. So, each day I start by turning over my worries to Him. I invite you to do the same.