Psalm 139:9-10

 

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:9-10 ESV

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #walk #vacation #travel #plans #journey #wisdom #guidance #prayer #faith #grace

God goes before us

 

I've probably shared this before--stop me if you've heard it--but I read Exodus several times and angrily wondered how they could behave so badly when God is right there traveling with them, living among them. Surely they realized that He knew everything they did and heard everything they said. How could they have the audacity to complain when God provided everything they needed, when He saved them from slavery?

     I don't know how many times I read Exodus, and wondered all of those things before I realized,...nothing has changed. I'm no better than the Israelites. God is right here traveling with me, living within me. He knows everything I do, say, think, and feel. He provides me with everything I need and even saved me from a life of slavery to sin. Yet, I have the audacity to complain.

     Driving home from Michigan seemed to take forever. I just wanted to get home, but it was like the harder I pressed, the more obstacles appeared. There was construction, accidents, heavy downpours that made it impossible to see past the nose of my car. None of us felt well. We were exhausted and grumpy. Yet, as soon as we got home, it was as if all was well. 

     Can you imagine how the Israelites felt, traveling for 40 years and just wanting to get home? I empathize with them, especially knowing that the adults never made it to the Promised Land. However, it was because of their lack of faith in God, Who was visible before them the whole journey, Who parted the Red Sea, Who fed them and sustained them. I imagine they hurt God over and over again. 

When I think of how God sustains me and takes care of me, I am in awe of Him. I know I am blessed. He has revealed Himself to me, yet time after time, I don't reciprocate with the unwavering faith that He deserves. I will continue to work on this.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

Exodus 13:21 ESV

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #walk #vacation #travel #plans #journey #wisdom #guidance #prayer #faith #grace

Psalm 121:8

 

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:8 ESV

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #walk #vacation #travel #plans #journey #wisdom #guidance #prayer 

The best laid plans

 

As my vacation winds down (thank goodness), I battle with the question, "Was it a good vacation or a bad vacation?" I honestly don't know. The best answer is, "It was a vacation." For that, I'm thankful. 

The glass-half-full part of me looks at the fact that I got to spend quality time with my family. I got away from work for a week (except for a few minutes of emails). I got to visit a part of the U.S. where I've never been before, and it was beautiful (see the above photo). 

     The planner in me, however, has several complaints. The most frustrating of which was the weather. I tried to pack for all of the different seasons that can happen within one week in Michigan, which is really similar to the ever-unpredictable Ohio weather, but I missed the mark. 

     Yesterday it was 58 degrees out, with a windchill of 54. It rained and rained and then rained some more. The wind blew so hard that the umbrellas were useless. Of course, that was the day we had to take the ferry back to Mackinaw City, so we were drenched, and our luggage was moist and it just felt like we would never be warm or dry again. When we got to our room, we turned on the heat. I should add that the day we took the ferry to the island it also rained, but it was nowhere near as cold out.

     I've been so out of touch spiritually this week that these types of situations remind me that I should have been talking to God regularly about my plans instead of going off on my own without Him. It would have made a difference, I believe. All of this reminded me of the passage in James:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 

As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

James 4:13-16 ESV

     Not to say that it's the equivalent of making a life-changing plan without Him, but still, things just tend to work out better when we involve our Father in our plans. I don't think one single plan has worked out the way I intended it to this week. Everything's fine, but maybe if I had prayed for guidance or wisdom, I would have packed a sweatshirt. 

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Join me this week in praying for those who are traveling this summer. Pray that people are careful and safe. Pray for patience, kindness, and tolerance. We've all been cooped up for a long time, and sometimes it's easy to let our emotions get the best of us. Please pray for peace and love.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #walk #vacation #travel #plans #journey #wisdom #guidance #prayer 

Faith in God

A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances would always say "My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect. He makes no mistakes!"

One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king.  His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty from losing a finger.

Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman asked "Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger."

The slave replied:
"My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows why these things happened. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!"

Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.

Later, the King left for another hunt, this time alone. He was captured by savages who engaged in human sacrifices.

On the altar and ready to sacrifice the nobleman, the savages discovered that their victim did not have one of his fingers. According to them, only a whole person with all his/her parts intact could be offered to the gods. The King without a finger was deemed an abominable sacrifice for their gods. So they released the King.

Upon his return to the palace, the King authorized the release of his slave.  He received the slave affectionately.

He asked his slave, "my dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?"

The slave answered, "my King, if I had gone with you on this hunt, I would have been sacrificed instead because I have no missing finger. Remember everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong. He made you to keep me in jail so I would not be with you on the hunt."

Often we complain about life, and negative things that happen to us, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.

Every morning, offer your day to God, don't be in a rush.

Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, and ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong!

You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because He never makes mistakes...

The path of God and his word are perfect, without impurities. He is the way of all those who trust in Him.

God is never wrong!