November 7 ~ Psalm 65
Our God, you deserve praise in Zion, where we keep our promises to you. Everyone will come to you because you answer prayer. Our terrible sins get us down, but you forgive us. You bless your chosen ones, and you invite them to live near you in your temple. We will enjoy your house, the sacred temple. Our God, you save us, and your fearsome deeds answer our prayers for justice!
You give hope to people everywhere on earth, even those across the sea. You are strong, and your mighty power put the mountains in place. You silence the roaring waves and the noisy shouts of the nations.
People far away marvel at your fearsome deeds, and all who live under the sun celebrate and sing because of you. You take care of the earth and send rain to help the soil grow all kinds of crops. Your rivers never run dry, and you prepare the earth to produce much grain. You water all of its fields and level the lumpy ground. You send showers of rain to soften the soil and help the plants sprout. Wherever your footsteps touch the earth, a rich harvest is gathered. Desert pastures blossom, and mountains celebrate. Meadows are filled with sheep and goats; valleys overflow with grain and echo with joyful songs.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
I don’t know about you, but I tend to shortchange God. Oh, I don’t mean to do this…but I find that time after time, I ask God for things and then half-heartedly believe He will do them. This is not a conscious action on my part. But if we stop and take a hard look at our faith, I bet you are not all that different. I would be willing to bet that most of us underestimate God’s power to work in our lives… and His willingness – His desire – to do so!
Look at this Psalm again. “Our terrible sins get us down, but you forgive us.” “You give hope to people everywhere on earth… You silence the roaring waves and the noisy shouts of the nations… You take care of the earth.” Is this the description of a small God?
Today, let’s agree to start living in expectancy – expecting God to do great things in our lives… expecting Him to do far and above what we ask or imagine. Let’s pray with confidence that God is hearing us and working in and through us, according to His perfect plan. Let’s rest in this… and be still and know that HE is our God. Feel Him working in your life today – and expect great things in the future!
©2009 Debbie Robus
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November 6 ~ Job 35:12-13
God won't listen to the prayers of proud and evil people. If God All-Powerful refuses to answer their empty prayers, he will surely deny your impatient request to face him in court.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
This scripture is the comment of Job’s young friend Elihu, after he listened to Job rant and rave about how he was being persecuted and was suffering even though he had done nothing to deserve any of it. Job was angry with God and making wild demands of Him.
If you go back and read Job 33 and 34, you will see that Elihu made a long, eloquent speech and really put Job and his other friends in their places. And simply put, he is telling Job… “Buddy boy, you cannot tell God how to run the universe!” He’s also saying, “Pot, meet Kettle!” In other words, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t make demands of God… “Lord, help me cram for my test,” or “Father, please change my wife/girlfriend and make her start enjoying Monday night football!” or even “God, please melt away 25 pounds and get me back into my skinny clothes!” and then criticize Him when you feel He doesn’t answer – or answer in the ways you prefer!
When will we learn to stop telling God what to do? We need to pray thoughtfully and humbly! We need to be very careful that in everything we ask of God, we ask that it be done according to His will. We cannot possibly come even remotely close to orchestrating things in life like our Heavenly Father does… and we insult Him to even try! So pray about everything. All you need to ask of God is that His will be done in each request you present. Since His ways are perfect… suggesting anything else would be rather ridiculous! Trust God to answer… have faith and patience… and leave all judgment to Him.
©2009 Debbie Robus
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November 5 ~ Job 27:7-10
I pray that my enemies will suffer no less than the wicked. Such people are hopeless, and God All-Powerful will cut them down, without listening when they beg for mercy. And that is what God should do, because they don't like him or ever pray.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
This was the sentiment of a desperate Job. And let’s face it, we all say things under pressure or in desperate situations that we probably wouldn’t – and shouldn’t – say otherwise. If we are honest, some of us are pretty good at praying for our enemies to suffer like the wicked people we believe them to be. From that bully who makes your life miserable to the political candidate or elected official you don’t like, to members of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, we find ourselves wishing that God would cut them down.
The problem with all of this - aside from the obvious issue with praying for bad things to happen to people - is that we are passing judgment! Deciding who God should punish is not our job, but do we ever like to jump in and lend a hand! How can we possibly know the heart of another person? And how would we feel to think that others were praying for us to suffer at God’s hand?
Does this mean we are to accept “evil” people – or that we can’t pray about situations we feel are evil or wrong? Absolutely not! When we see something or someone that bothers us or causes us concern with his/her actions, we must pray. We must ask God to deal with this situation… BUT… we must ask Him to handle things according to His will, not our whims. This might just mean that God changes OUR attitude rather than the other guy! God’s ways are perfect… ours are human. We need to pray for our “enemies”… but not that they suffer. We don’t need to tell God what to do… we need to ask Him to exercise His will and handle these people and situations - as He knows is best. To do otherwise is to assume ourselves equal to God… and we all know better. Pray for your enemies… but ask God to decide what is best for them – and for us. Then trust His decisions and rest in his answers.
©2009 Debbie Robus
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November 4 ~ Isaiah 33:2
Please, LORD, be kind to us! We depend on you. Make us strong each morning, and come to save us when we are in trouble.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
Recently, we experienced some serious flooding in parts of Arkansas. In Little Rock, a news anchor happened to be reporting live from a downtown street that was flooded. This was a situation where drivers couldn’t tell the street was flooded until the last minute. A vehicle headed toward the flooded area, and men on the street yelled for the driver to stop. But the rain was so heavy that the driver apparently didn’t hear the men, and she was soon submerged in the water and being pulled quickly toward a storm drain.
Someone in the vehicle was able to stick their head out the window and scream for help before the water got too high. By that time, the passersby were already making efforts to rescue those in the vehicle. And that is what happened. Firefighters and First Responders arrived, and the driver and her son were rescued just in the nick of time.The time came when there was nothing these two people in the vehicle could do but wait on others to rescue them. I can only imagine their panic! I am sure it took every ounce of strength they could muster just to wait patiently for the rescuers. And they most likely feared for their very lives.
We are like the people in the car. We plunge headlong into things that are disastrous…and often people are standing by and shouting to us to stop, but we don’t hear them. We depend on God to rescue us… to save us from trouble – and to give us strength and courage until help arrives. And more than once, I just bet God has rescued you in the nick of time. I bet his kindness and mercy have been your fortress and your strength! I know this has been the case for me on many occasions.
Today, as you pray for God to be kind to you and make you strong – or save you from trouble – remember to praise Him for the many times He has done exactly this. Thank Him for loving us so well… and ask Him to show you how to avoid the flooded streets of life and stay on high ground.
©2009 Debbie Robus
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November 3 ~ Psalms 25:21
I obey you with all my heart, and I trust you, knowing that you will save me.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
I pray long and hard for God to show me which scriptures to use for these devotionals. You might have noticed that since the end of the summer, our scriptures have basically been a study of prayer. I searched for scriptures throughout the Bible about varied aspects of prayer and the uses of prayer in different situations. This has become my guide for the daily devos. I find it amazing when someone e-mails me and says, “That was just for me today!” or “This had special meaning at this time in my life.” God knows what I can’t possibly know… who needs this very word each day.
So I didn’t take it lightly when just this past Sunday, a dear friend stopped me at church and said, “I want you to write about the heart… trusting God not only with your head, but also your heart and your strength!” Imagine what it was like for me to look at today’s scripture… “I obey you with all my heart…” I mentioned a few days earlier that scripture says we must “love appropriately” – and God gives us wisdom to discern things and to make good choices. But so many of us love God and trust Him with our head, because we know intellectually – and possibly from peer pressure – that this is the right thing to do. Loving and obeying God from the heart is a totally different matter!
Deuteronomy 6:5 says “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” In Mark 12:30, Jesus added a commandment, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength…”* But as my friend put it, “When you start to love God from the heart, that’s what really matters.” AND… she mentioned strength. See, if you love and obey the Lord with all of your heart, your head (and Satan) are going to say, “You KNOW that won’t work! You’re crazy to consider this. How can you trust God for such-and-such?” It will take strength to persevere against such odds.
I believe that when we fully love and obey God with our heart, even when our head says that what we are doing is illogical, God will give us strength to pull through the situation. BE SURE to do this prayerfully… don’t go off on a tangent doing wild things and believing that “God told me to do this.” He will only endorse and strengthen faithfulness to HIS guidance. So be sure you are in God’s will and listening closely for His voice. God sent me a message through my friend… I’m sure of that. He wanted to be sure that I told you about obeying Him with your heart today. I rarely bump into this person at church, so I know that God sent her, and I am so glad we talked. Who is God sending your way today? What messages… what strength…is He trying to give you? Are you obedient with the heart? Are you loving completely - with your mind, soul, heart and strength? Shouldn’t you?
©2009 Debbie Robus
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November 2 ~ Psalms 86:17
Show that you approve of me!
Then my hateful enemies will feel like fools,
because you have helped and comforted me.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
Have you ever watched a small child who is “performing?” Maybe he/she is singing a song for you or reciting a poem, and when it’s over, everyone applauds… especially the child! It really doesn’t matter how well the child performs… we have mercy on them and cheer anyway, even if words are forgotten, dance steps are missed, or the music is off-key.
For the child, it’s all about approval. If nobody applauded and cheered, he/she would become self-conscious and/or embarrassed and stop performing. In one way or another, “children” of all ages desire approval… this is human nature, and the approval is reassuring and comforting. We know we are not perfect, but the fact that others seem not to notice and applaud our efforts gives us motivation to continue trying (and hopefully improving).
Nobody knows better than God how much we need mercy. Nobody knows better than He how much we need His approval even when our “performance” is not so hot. We need His comfort and encouragement. We need to know that even when we are unlovable, God loves us anyway – and He does!
Today, I encourage you to ask God for mercy. None of us deserve it, but God grants it anyway, because He loves us beyond what we can ever comprehend. His mercy will help us to grow, be strengthened and encouraged. Soon our “performances” will improve… because God’s approval will be our motivation. Hear Him applauding you already! Hear His cheers of love and mercy as He lifts you beyond what you could ever accomplish on your own. Feel His beaming smile of approval and bask in its glow. Whenever the devil tries to tear you down, pray for mercy and rest in God’s grace. Then thank Him for loving you so well!
©2009 Debbie Robus
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November 1 ~ Colossians 4:2
Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful.
(Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.)
Once a week, I take my grandmother to the beauty shop, and while she gets her hair done, I run her errands and shop for her groceries. She makes me a grocery list, and I can pretty well tell you what will be on it each week… milk, buttermilk, cornbread mix, chocolate chip cookies, Cokes, Three Musketeers. I could almost shop for her without a list. But then she will throw me a curve… one week it was a mop and a broom… another, she needed a clock. Still another, she needed a half gallon of vinegar and paper towels. If I want to be sure I get what she needs, I have to consult the list each week.
When we pray, we sometimes get into a “rhythm” – or is it a rut? – where we pray for the same things over and over… to the point we start to almost pray without thinking. “Lord, help me with my algebra.” “Lord, I need you to give my child wisdom and encouragement,” or “Father, please heal my body,” or even “God bless Mom and Dad and sister and brother, and cousin Joe, and Grandma and Grandpa, and the dog and cat…” - you get the picture.
This passage reminds us we need to keep alert. Our prayers need to be more than just the same old list over and over. We need to be totally in the moment when we pray… consciously, purposefully pouring out our heart to God… sincerely asking for His help and guidance. Just as importantly, we need to be deliberately and wholeheartedly thanking Him and praising Him... and this is where I believe we often fall down the worst. We praise God and thank Him during our prayer time… but the praise and thanks are hollow. They are spoken out of habit and routine more than out of our heart! We tend to just “go down the list.”
Today, let’s start the month off right. Let’s revamp our prayer time. Let’s keep alert and let our thanks and praise be heartfelt and completely sincere. Let’s pray in the moment - spontaneous, genuine, honest prayer that speaks of our deepest desires and needs. No more “going down the list.” No more taking God for granted! We must never give up praying, but our prayers must be honest and filled with heartfelt thanks. Will you make the commitment to stay alert as you pray? Will your prayers and praises reflect your heart?
©2009 Debbie Robus
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