Exodus 23:25-26
Worship only me, the Lord your
God! I will bless you with plenty of food and water and keep you strong.
Your women will give birth to healthy children, and everyone will live a
long life.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
My
mother-in-law has been going through old photo albums and
journals...many that belonged to her mother and her aunts and uncles. In
some of these, there are accounts of the 1918-1919 flu pandemic and its
effects. Greg’s family hails from Iowa. I have heard about the 1918 Flu
Pandemic most of my life...ancestors of mine succumbed to it in rural
Arkansas communities just east of where I live today, including four
people in one family alone who died over the course of a couple of days.
I had not realized that this was such a widespread “event”, but
information at http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/index.html
explains that this deadly outbreak covered not only much of the United
States – but Europe, as well, since soldiers were traveling back and
forth to fight in the war, and they carried the flu with them. I’ve
heard my grandparents and other relatives share recollections (a few
firsthand!) of how no one dared to even try to go to a home and care for
the sick, for fear that they would also become ill with the virus.
Burying the dead was a challenge...many people were too sick to even dig
the graves for those who had perished.
I share this as a way of
way of demonstrating that hardships are nothing new. If you think you
or your family has it rough...if you think you have been given “too much
to handle”...consider that you probably don’t have a corner on that
market! So why do your problems seem bigger than those of others? It
may have more to do with where your focus and your worship lie than what
is actually happening to you.
In a crazy twist of events that
can only be described as a “God thing,” I became friends with Veronica
Squef, a young woman who lives in Massapequa, New York – a community on
Long Island. Veronica’s husband, Keith Glascoe, was a firefighter who
lost his life on 9-11-2001. Veronica and Keith had two boys, Nolan (age
2), and Owen (age 1). She was pregnant with their third child – Keith,
Jr. – who was born in April 2002. I have never met Veronica and her
boys in person, but we correspond frequently through the mail and via
Facebook. I asked her one day...”What is your secret? How have you
survived this all?” She replied that her boys were her focus...that
every day she reminded herself that “you have three boys who are
counting on you”...and this motivated her to put one foot in front of
the other and keep going. Now I ask you...Who do you think whispers
this encouragement to her each day and undergirds her efforts?
Focus
is the key. We can focus on God and trust Him to bless us...to feed
us...to keep us healthy and strong...to give us the courage and energy
to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Or we can wallow
in our struggles and sorrows – and we ALL have them – and have a giant
pity party. We can pretend that we are the most persecuted person on the
planet, wring our hands and cry, “Why ME, Lord?!”...and flounder in the
“wilderness” of misery and defeat.
Like so many things in
life...this is our choice. But it doesn’t have to be so. Regardless of
what we face today, God can help us handle things. We need to stop and
fully recognize how incredibly – and abundantly – we are loved and
nurtured by God. We need to start focusing on His tremendous gifts and
the amazing power of His care and blessings. We need to shift our focus
from our own selfishness and pity to the compassionate, merciful
sacrifices of Jesus for each of us – and how we can glorify His ransom
and shower Him with our praises and service.
Choosing life in
Christ...and an emphasis on worshipping God in all things and at all
times...will not guarantee that every day will be a bed of roses and all
of your problems and challenges will disappear. But this shift in
attention and motivation invites God to share the burden... to heal your
heart, mind and soul...and to carry you when you cannot walk on your
own. Don’t you want this? Isn’t He worth it? Where will you choose to
direct your focus? Who do you truly worship?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label making God the center of our lives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label making God the center of our lives. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for May 18, 2014
Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship. Day and night they keep on telling about God. Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it…
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
When I was a little girl, I remember how dark it was at my grandparents’ farm at night. They lived “out in the country”…with a dense woods bordering one side of their little house and across the dirt road…and pasture land on the other two sides. I think I may have been in college when the road in front of their house was paved…and it might have even happened later than that. The highway that lay behind their house was only a few acres away…but because of the thick woods that served as a buffer, it seemed like this road was miles to the north. The nights were not only incredibly dark…it was also very quiet, except for wildlife like whippoorwills, owls, and an occasional cow, dog, or rooster.
By the mid-nineties, Greg and I had owned the farm for several years, and the “farm” description now only referred to its former purpose. The barn and a couple of rusting implements were all that remained to indicate that cattle had once filled the pastures and barn lot…and that crops grew in the terraced fields. One lone pear tree was all that was left of the orchard in which I stood on my horse’s saddle as a young girl and picked apples. The hen house was gone, along with the “smoke house” where we stacked firewood to keep it dry for the winter – and most of the fencing had been removed.
Greg and I built a new house smack in the middle of the pasture, and we had virtually a 360-degree view of “wide open spaces”. We watched sunrises and full moon rises in the back yard and sunsets in the front yard. Even though much of the dense forest had been removed over time, and the roads had been paved (adding to the noise), there were still more stars in the sky on a clear night than anyone could count…and the views of “the heavens” were spectacular. I called it my “Montana Sky”.
We loved the farm and the 15+ years we lived there. But the time came when a move was necessary, so we made the difficult decision to sell and relocate. And we have lived in two other houses since then…each with their own beautiful surroundings. In our present home, we once again have views of the heavens. They are not as “wide-open” as the one we once enjoyed…but the vista is extensive, just the same. I’ll admit…I will always have a special place in my heart for the farm of my childhood…the place where we built our “dream home” and enjoyed many happy years.
But here’s the thing…the memories we created at the farm will always be with us. And whether we can physically see them or not, the “heavens” are forever in place, creating a canopy over us. We are encompassed by God’s craftsmanship and glory. I love the views from our windows. I never tire of it. I enjoy the continual reminder of God’s glory and handiwork. But I know that the heavens will never change or disappear…and God will always be with me, regardless of where I live.
When I grow melancholy for the farm and an earlier time in my life, I think of all of the wonderful days we enjoyed there. We will always have our memories. They have traveled with me in my heart from house to house! And God is always with me, too. There is evidence in every corner of my life – every instance and circumstance. I am so grateful for His continual presence…and the assurance that wherever I go, there He will be, also.
Do you feel the continual presence of God? Do you recognize His artisanship and the canopy of His protection over your own life…and in your surroundings? Is the God of the heavens the LORD of your life? Don’t you think it’s time He is?
©2014 Debbie Robus
The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship. Day and night they keep on telling about God. Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it…
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
When I was a little girl, I remember how dark it was at my grandparents’ farm at night. They lived “out in the country”…with a dense woods bordering one side of their little house and across the dirt road…and pasture land on the other two sides. I think I may have been in college when the road in front of their house was paved…and it might have even happened later than that. The highway that lay behind their house was only a few acres away…but because of the thick woods that served as a buffer, it seemed like this road was miles to the north. The nights were not only incredibly dark…it was also very quiet, except for wildlife like whippoorwills, owls, and an occasional cow, dog, or rooster.
By the mid-nineties, Greg and I had owned the farm for several years, and the “farm” description now only referred to its former purpose. The barn and a couple of rusting implements were all that remained to indicate that cattle had once filled the pastures and barn lot…and that crops grew in the terraced fields. One lone pear tree was all that was left of the orchard in which I stood on my horse’s saddle as a young girl and picked apples. The hen house was gone, along with the “smoke house” where we stacked firewood to keep it dry for the winter – and most of the fencing had been removed.
Greg and I built a new house smack in the middle of the pasture, and we had virtually a 360-degree view of “wide open spaces”. We watched sunrises and full moon rises in the back yard and sunsets in the front yard. Even though much of the dense forest had been removed over time, and the roads had been paved (adding to the noise), there were still more stars in the sky on a clear night than anyone could count…and the views of “the heavens” were spectacular. I called it my “Montana Sky”.
We loved the farm and the 15+ years we lived there. But the time came when a move was necessary, so we made the difficult decision to sell and relocate. And we have lived in two other houses since then…each with their own beautiful surroundings. In our present home, we once again have views of the heavens. They are not as “wide-open” as the one we once enjoyed…but the vista is extensive, just the same. I’ll admit…I will always have a special place in my heart for the farm of my childhood…the place where we built our “dream home” and enjoyed many happy years.
But here’s the thing…the memories we created at the farm will always be with us. And whether we can physically see them or not, the “heavens” are forever in place, creating a canopy over us. We are encompassed by God’s craftsmanship and glory. I love the views from our windows. I never tire of it. I enjoy the continual reminder of God’s glory and handiwork. But I know that the heavens will never change or disappear…and God will always be with me, regardless of where I live.
When I grow melancholy for the farm and an earlier time in my life, I think of all of the wonderful days we enjoyed there. We will always have our memories. They have traveled with me in my heart from house to house! And God is always with me, too. There is evidence in every corner of my life – every instance and circumstance. I am so grateful for His continual presence…and the assurance that wherever I go, there He will be, also.
Do you feel the continual presence of God? Do you recognize His artisanship and the canopy of His protection over your own life…and in your surroundings? Is the God of the heavens the LORD of your life? Don’t you think it’s time He is?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for December 19, 2013
Psalm 27:4-5
The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“All I want for Christmas…” is a phrase that is uttered countless times by children of ALL ages every year. This is the first year that Timothy has really understood about Santa Claus. And he has a list – a Spiderman pillow pal, cars and trucks, and “other stuff”!
Isn’t that how we are so much of the time? We have a list of specific things that we want from God… and a lot of “other stuff”. We are anything but single-minded, when in fact, all we need is to seek the house of the LORD all the days of our life… to delight in His perfections and meditate in His temple. If we focus on God, He truly will conceal us in the sanctuary of His love, grace, wisdom and mercy when the troubles come…and they will come in this earthly lifetime!
In this season when our focus is scattered in a zillion different directions, let’s stop and take a minute to reel things in… to pull back on the festivities and plans and wishes and expectations and focus on God’s gift of Jesus Christ… the real reason for Christmas and so much more. If we pin our hopes on Jesus… if we concentrate on living with Him as the center of our very being… everything else truly is “other stuff”… as it should be.
What are you asking for this Christmas? Who are you seeking? Are you hoping for – and expecting – to receive your heart’s desires… because they line up with those of God Almighty through His Son, Jesus Christ? Will this be the season that you begin to seek the One Thing that matters and forget the “other stuff”? Are you ready to rest in the safety of His love and care? Will this be the day you start to make it happen?
©2013 Debbie Robus
The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“All I want for Christmas…” is a phrase that is uttered countless times by children of ALL ages every year. This is the first year that Timothy has really understood about Santa Claus. And he has a list – a Spiderman pillow pal, cars and trucks, and “other stuff”!
Isn’t that how we are so much of the time? We have a list of specific things that we want from God… and a lot of “other stuff”. We are anything but single-minded, when in fact, all we need is to seek the house of the LORD all the days of our life… to delight in His perfections and meditate in His temple. If we focus on God, He truly will conceal us in the sanctuary of His love, grace, wisdom and mercy when the troubles come…and they will come in this earthly lifetime!
In this season when our focus is scattered in a zillion different directions, let’s stop and take a minute to reel things in… to pull back on the festivities and plans and wishes and expectations and focus on God’s gift of Jesus Christ… the real reason for Christmas and so much more. If we pin our hopes on Jesus… if we concentrate on living with Him as the center of our very being… everything else truly is “other stuff”… as it should be.
What are you asking for this Christmas? Who are you seeking? Are you hoping for – and expecting – to receive your heart’s desires… because they line up with those of God Almighty through His Son, Jesus Christ? Will this be the season that you begin to seek the One Thing that matters and forget the “other stuff”? Are you ready to rest in the safety of His love and care? Will this be the day you start to make it happen?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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