Daily Devotional for December 20, 2011

Psalm 146:6-10
God made heaven and earth; he created the sea and everything else. God always keeps his word. He gives justice to the poor and food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free and heals blind eyes. He gives a helping hand to everyone who falls.

The LORD loves good people and looks after strangers. He defends the rights of orphans and widows, but destroys the wicked. The LORD God of Zion will rule forever!

Shout praises to the LORD!

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

Christmas Day was the one time of the year when my mom actually said, “Have a cookie for breakfast!” For most of us, we associate December 25th with something magical – a time to somewhat throw caution to the wind. We eat what we want, skip our workouts and diets, stay in our pajamas all day, get together with people we haven’t seen all year for a great big celebration, and more. Many of us drink too much, party to hearty, and spend far more than we have in the bank! For others, December 25th is a day they would just as soon skip altogether. They are lonely, poor, hungry, sick, grieving and downtrodden. A holiday that is supposed to be all about joy and “making merry and bright” is simply like a knife to the heart.

God understands all of this… and He stands ready to meet you right where you are this holiday season. He always keeps His word…and not just on December 25th. For this, we can shout praises to the Him, no matter where we find ourselves - this Christmas, and every day of the year.

We find it easy to focus on the joy of giving during the Christmas season. We also find it easy to focus on what we lack and feel rather sorry for ourselves. The truth is that we serve an awesome, amazing, powerful and loving God who is always there for us, every minute of every day of the year. And for this, we can continually celebrate and be grateful.

As we approach December 25th, stop and shout praises to the LORD for meeting you right where you are and always having your back. Celebrate all that He has created… and thank Him for showing up in our lives each and every day.

©2011 Debbie Robus

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