Daily Devotional for November 11, 2015

Psalm 138:8
When I walk into the thick of trouble,
    keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
With one hand
    strike my foes,
With your other hand
    save me.
Finish what you started in me, God.
    Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugeterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

In the last week or so, we have had a couple of weather fronts that brought some fairly gusty winds. The leaves, dried from weeks of drought-like conditions, “rained” down on the yards and roofs and coated the landscape like an autumnal blanket. So this morning, in anticipation of yet another weather system, Greg used his leaf blower to move the “blanket” from our yard to the woods surrounding our house and into piles that will be collected by the city street department.

Nine years ago, we walked the land where our house now sits and “brainstormed” about how and where to place our new home.  The lot was thick with underbrush and covered in trees, and as we walked from the street inward, Greg often led the way and pushed limbs and thorns aside for me and created a safe pathway.  The “reward” at the back side of the lot was a bluff that overlooked the river below… with vistas that stretched for miles in one direction and surprised us with a view of the lake and dam in another. 

We knew that clearing this lot and building our home would be a lot of work…and there were challenges to overcome - and a few setbacks.  But we could not stop.  We had to keep going.  And as I looked out on the valley below us this morning - dressed in hues of yellow, red, green and brown, and teeming with birds, squirrels, and other wildlife - I was happy that we finished what we started…that we persevered to make this spot our home.

When I first read Psalm 138:8, I immediately had the visual of walking through the woods behind someone who pushed away limbs and briars…a protector who slashed the tall weeds and cleared a path for me.  This is how I see God.  He clears the pathways.  He knocks down the obstacles and handles the worries.  And my “reward” at the end is a breathtaking “view” of my Heavenly Father in all of His glory.  I know that God will finish what He started in me…that He will never give up or leave me trailing behind to wade in the weeds and thorns by myself.

Like leaves that “rain” down on the earth during a fall rain storm, worries and troubles come to all of us.  I’m trusting God to clear them all away for me, in His perfect timing – and according to His impeccable plans for me…always and forever.  What about you?


©2015 Debbie Robus

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