God Cares for Us

 

God has a special interest in the underdog. He usually chooses the downcast and trodden to use as His servants. He is no respecter of human qualities, but looks for humility of heart (James 4:10; Matthew 5:3).

It is wise for us to put our complete trust in our Father God, who loved us enough to come to the earth as our defense (John 3:16-17; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). He is our refuge in times of trouble and oppression (Psalm 9:9).

When God is with us, just as He was with Moses and Joshua, no one can successfully oppose us. He never abandons or fails to help us (Joshua 1:5). He takes the anxiety out of all of our tomorrows as we live one moment at a time (Matthew 6:34).

God listens to our prayers and gives us all good things to enjoy, with hopeful plans for our future. We find Him if we will seek Him and look earnestly for Him, walking in His will by His Spirit (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Christians world-wide experience trials like ours and some even worse than ours. Satan looks for those that he can attack, harass and shred. So, we can lay our cares and worries on God's capable shoulders, since He is always thinking about us and watching out for our concerns (1 Peter 5:7-9).

God has not given us any reason to fear, but showers us with His power, love and stability of thoughts and feelings (2 Timothy 1:7). When stress and anxiety threaten to overwhelm us, His presence in our life brings us life-altering peace and joy (Psalm 94:19). 

Prayer:

Father God, You have never forsaken those who seek You. We sing praises to You, O Lord, as You dwell not only in Zion, but also within our spirit. We will declare Your wondrous deeds among all people and nations (Psalm 9:10-11). You give us Your peace so we do not need to fear anything life throws at us (John 14:27).

Nothing will ever separate us from Your love - not any current or future trial. No demon from hell, circumstance in our life, or natural or man-made disaster can shake our foundation of salvation in Christ (Romans 8:37-39; Isaiah 41:10).

Thought for the Day:

Whenever we are afraid, and we will be afraid from time to time, we can put our faith in God's faithfulness. - Psalm 56:3; Philippians 4:6-7

Living in the Moment

 

The Serenity Prayer, the whole prayer and not just the first paragraph, teaches us to live in the moment. This is the key to living a life full of the peace and joy of the Lord.

The next moment does not yet exist; five years ago only exists as a memory and can no longer really affect this current moment; unless there are unresolved issues from our past, which still haunt us today, and which God wants to heal.

The only true reality is now…this one moment in time. We may pass from life one moment from now; so living this current moment fully is imperative to our joyful existence.

The excitement about this one moment of time is that we do not have to wait for it. It is already here. We can make of it what we choose. We can live in God's perfect will for every single moment of time (Ephesians 2:10).

As we pay attention to this exact moment, we take note of our breath. Is it shallow and tense or peaceful and deep? What thought is in our mind? Are we concerned about an issue or enjoying the presence of God?

What emotions accompany our thoughts? Are we angry, anxious, addled or are we basking in the love the Lord? How does our body feel? Is there pain, are we tired, do we have an unusual amount of energy?

As we learn to be present in the moment with our self, then we can take the next step of being present in the moment with God's Holy Spirit. Abiding within us, He gives us creative options, inspirational direction and Godly wisdom.

Do not be afraid of paying attention to who you really are inside. You may not like yourself, but God loves you. So you have value, which you never explored or acknowledged, just waiting for you to discover.

We do not need a mask, addictions or an escape to deal with our negative emotions or circumstances. This only postpones the inevitable need to face who we really are. Take time to look in the mirror and to love your self.

Living in the present helps us to care for our own needs, as well as the needs of people God brings into our life. We will look deeper than the manifesting emotions, into our own heart and into the heart of others.

God will give us discernment about the true needs in our soul or in the life of our family, friends, acquaintances and even total strangers that we meet along the way. 

God will show us how He wants to use us to help, heal, provide for, or to pray for these needs. As we walk in His Spirit every moment of every day, we further His Kingdom.

Prayer:

Father God, most of us have calendars that are so full of activities and responsibilities that we have no time to just "be" in Your presence. We rattle off a quick prayer as we rush out the door, but we have not truly connected with our self or with You.

Teach us to fully abide in each moment of time. Help us not to regret the past or fear the future. Remind us that You have a perfect plan for every moment of our life, and teach us to walk in Your Spirit through every one of them.

Thought for the Day:

God calls us to adopt the attributes of a little child - to trust the Lord without reservation, to be open to new experiences in life, to enthusiastically enjoy our current activities, and to joyfully, lovingly and freely walk in His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.
- Matthew 19:14; Galatians 5:15-26