Psalm 147:3-5
He renews our hopes
and heals our bodies.
He decided how many stars
there would be in the sky
and gave each one a name.
Our Lord is great and powerful!
He understands everything.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A weather “front” came through our area yesterday, and what seemed like millions of leaves blew from the trees as the winds gusted. Our yard and driveway were covered in the results…leaves more numerous than we could ever begin to count – if we even cared to do so.
Do you realize that the stars in the universe are more numerous than these leaves? Yet God cares so much that He planned for each and every one of them – and gave.them.a.name! The God who cares that much about stars in the sky cares even more for each of us. So how could we ever doubt for one minute that He would renew our hopes and heal our bodies?
How could we ever question whether God would understand us…and everything about us? Surely the God who creates and names the stars can handle little ole me…and YOU! The question is…will we let Him? Will we trust God enough to bring Him our thoughts, dreams, desires, deepest concerns – and even our mistakes? Will we believe His promise to heal us, forgive us, restore us, and meet our every need?
It is time to “walk the Walk” in direct correlation to how we “talk the Talk”! The time has come to thank God for all that He does for us…and to mean it! We say we trust Him…that we believe that He is all-powerful, loving, filled with grace and mercy for us – that He is our “Great Healer”. So isn’t it time to let Him be all of these things in our lives? Will this be the day that we begin?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label underestimating God's care and power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label underestimating God's care and power. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for May 19, 2014
Psalm 20:7
Some people trust the power
of chariots or horses,
but we trust you, Lord God.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In November 2013, CBS aired a story on 60 Minutes titled the “Recycled Orchestra of Cateura”…about a ragtag “children’s orchestra” in Cateura, Paraguay, where children learn to play instruments made, quite literally, from trash. The creator of these instruments, Don Cola, lives alongside the landfill in Cateura. He has no background in classical music…much less instrument making. But he is apparently quite skilled as an artisan and craftsman, and he listens to the instructions of others and creates musical instruments from discarded items and wood. There was a violin made from an empty paint can and an oven tray…and cellos made from old oil barrels that sported tuning knobs fashioned from such discarded items as a hair brush handle, a wooden spoon, a woman’s shoe heel…and even a kitchen tool once used to make gnocchis.
Social worker and orchestra conductor Favio Chavez matches the students with a suitable “instrument” and teaches them to play…mostly classical music, but also some Latin tunes – and even a few Beatles songs. Chavez says that this “orchestra” has given these children an alternative to gang life in this Paraguayan community that was built on a landfill. There has been a documentary created… “landfillharmonic: The world sends us garbage. We send back music.”* The 60 Minutes story and the documentary have both served to bolster familiarity with the “landfillharmonic”…and now they are performing all over the world with well-known musicians from the U.S. and Europe. They are even set to open in a South American venue for Metallica!
When you watch this story, I will tell you that your first instinct is to pull out your checkbook or credit card and order a brand new instrument or two to send to Cateura. And people have done exactly that. Truckloads of instruments have arrived, and the reporters say that the reactions from the children when they see an actual guitar, violin, or cello are heartwarming.
But here’s the catch…as the children of Cateura get new instruments, do they lose their “appeal”? Aren’t they merely another “children’s orchestra”…albeit one from a South American slum? Does the power of what they are accomplishing in the orchestra lie in the group itself as they learn to play an instrument and function together as a musical group? Or is the real power in the lesson of taking objects from the trash and fashioning something that can make beautiful music? Which is more compelling…not-so-great music created on instruments constructed from landfill items…or mediocre performances performed on brand-new ones sent from anonymous donors around the world?
Chavez, Cola and others admit that this is a Catch-22. And the lesson for us in this is that we all tend to put our stock in the wrong power from time to time. We rely on our own skills and abilities, rather than God’s. We think we are “all that and a bag of chips” and forget Who literally “gave us the moon”...Who truly made us whatever it is that we think we are! We get so busy trying to do things our way…to “drive the car” and create a desired outcome…and we forget to stop and ask God what HE thinks – much less to ask for His help!
I challenge you to examine your life today and see where you have misplaced power. Where have you put your stock in something other than God’s authority and influence? Have you traded in His ability to create “beautiful music” with a “landfill instrument” in your life in favor of a brand new shiny apparatus or method of your own doing? Do you see that this is not where the real potential and capacity for joy, blessings, success and fulfillment lies? Will this be the day that you surrender control to God and operate in HIS power rather than what you perceive as your own?
With God, all things are possible. Is He the power in your life today? Don’t you think He should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
*http://www.landfillharmonicmovie.com/
Some people trust the power
of chariots or horses,
but we trust you, Lord God.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In November 2013, CBS aired a story on 60 Minutes titled the “Recycled Orchestra of Cateura”…about a ragtag “children’s orchestra” in Cateura, Paraguay, where children learn to play instruments made, quite literally, from trash. The creator of these instruments, Don Cola, lives alongside the landfill in Cateura. He has no background in classical music…much less instrument making. But he is apparently quite skilled as an artisan and craftsman, and he listens to the instructions of others and creates musical instruments from discarded items and wood. There was a violin made from an empty paint can and an oven tray…and cellos made from old oil barrels that sported tuning knobs fashioned from such discarded items as a hair brush handle, a wooden spoon, a woman’s shoe heel…and even a kitchen tool once used to make gnocchis.
Social worker and orchestra conductor Favio Chavez matches the students with a suitable “instrument” and teaches them to play…mostly classical music, but also some Latin tunes – and even a few Beatles songs. Chavez says that this “orchestra” has given these children an alternative to gang life in this Paraguayan community that was built on a landfill. There has been a documentary created… “landfillharmonic: The world sends us garbage. We send back music.”* The 60 Minutes story and the documentary have both served to bolster familiarity with the “landfillharmonic”…and now they are performing all over the world with well-known musicians from the U.S. and Europe. They are even set to open in a South American venue for Metallica!
When you watch this story, I will tell you that your first instinct is to pull out your checkbook or credit card and order a brand new instrument or two to send to Cateura. And people have done exactly that. Truckloads of instruments have arrived, and the reporters say that the reactions from the children when they see an actual guitar, violin, or cello are heartwarming.
But here’s the catch…as the children of Cateura get new instruments, do they lose their “appeal”? Aren’t they merely another “children’s orchestra”…albeit one from a South American slum? Does the power of what they are accomplishing in the orchestra lie in the group itself as they learn to play an instrument and function together as a musical group? Or is the real power in the lesson of taking objects from the trash and fashioning something that can make beautiful music? Which is more compelling…not-so-great music created on instruments constructed from landfill items…or mediocre performances performed on brand-new ones sent from anonymous donors around the world?
Chavez, Cola and others admit that this is a Catch-22. And the lesson for us in this is that we all tend to put our stock in the wrong power from time to time. We rely on our own skills and abilities, rather than God’s. We think we are “all that and a bag of chips” and forget Who literally “gave us the moon”...Who truly made us whatever it is that we think we are! We get so busy trying to do things our way…to “drive the car” and create a desired outcome…and we forget to stop and ask God what HE thinks – much less to ask for His help!
I challenge you to examine your life today and see where you have misplaced power. Where have you put your stock in something other than God’s authority and influence? Have you traded in His ability to create “beautiful music” with a “landfill instrument” in your life in favor of a brand new shiny apparatus or method of your own doing? Do you see that this is not where the real potential and capacity for joy, blessings, success and fulfillment lies? Will this be the day that you surrender control to God and operate in HIS power rather than what you perceive as your own?
With God, all things are possible. Is He the power in your life today? Don’t you think He should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
*http://www.landfillharmonicmovie.com/
Daily Devotional for February 24, 2011
Psalm 31:12
I am completely forgotten like someone dead. I am merely a broken dish. I hear the crowds whisper, "Everyone is afraid!" They are plotting and scheming to murder me. But I trust you, LORD, and I claim you as my God. My life is in your hands. Save me from enemies who hunt me down. Smile on me, your servant. Have pity and rescue me.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I was folding laundry, and I piled a stack of underwear on top of a stack of t-shirts, and the underwear fell over onto the floor. All of it had to be refolded. Now, at one point in my life, I would probably have groaned and grumbled and uttered some things I can’t repeat here. But this time, I picked up the clothing, laughed, and refolded it.
You’re probably wondering what folding underwear has to do with God, so I’ll tell you! As I refolded these pieces of clothing, I thought about how we are a lot like them. God washes us clean in the blood of Jesus. He folds us neatly and prepares us for another day. Then we fall… we lose our balance… we get distracted or overloaded and top heavy… and we tumble. And God, being God, picks us up, dusts us off and refolds us. He has pity on us and rescues us… even in our “brokenness”… and He restores us.
I would like to think that God looks at us and laughs…at least sometimes. More often, I think he is saddened by our falls and shortcomings. But He still loves us, just the same. I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful to serve a God who loves me like this. The devil would be glad to leave us on the floor in a heap to be trampled by anything and everyone. I am so glad to know that if – and when – I fall, God will rescue me and fold me back in place so that I am ready for another day in His service.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that we serve a God who can smile on us even in our broken state? Have you put your life in His hands and trusted Him to save you? When was the last time you thanked God for taking such good care of you? Isn’t it time you did?
©2011 Debbie Robus
I am completely forgotten like someone dead. I am merely a broken dish. I hear the crowds whisper, "Everyone is afraid!" They are plotting and scheming to murder me. But I trust you, LORD, and I claim you as my God. My life is in your hands. Save me from enemies who hunt me down. Smile on me, your servant. Have pity and rescue me.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I was folding laundry, and I piled a stack of underwear on top of a stack of t-shirts, and the underwear fell over onto the floor. All of it had to be refolded. Now, at one point in my life, I would probably have groaned and grumbled and uttered some things I can’t repeat here. But this time, I picked up the clothing, laughed, and refolded it.
You’re probably wondering what folding underwear has to do with God, so I’ll tell you! As I refolded these pieces of clothing, I thought about how we are a lot like them. God washes us clean in the blood of Jesus. He folds us neatly and prepares us for another day. Then we fall… we lose our balance… we get distracted or overloaded and top heavy… and we tumble. And God, being God, picks us up, dusts us off and refolds us. He has pity on us and rescues us… even in our “brokenness”… and He restores us.
I would like to think that God looks at us and laughs…at least sometimes. More often, I think he is saddened by our falls and shortcomings. But He still loves us, just the same. I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful to serve a God who loves me like this. The devil would be glad to leave us on the floor in a heap to be trampled by anything and everyone. I am so glad to know that if – and when – I fall, God will rescue me and fold me back in place so that I am ready for another day in His service.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that we serve a God who can smile on us even in our broken state? Have you put your life in His hands and trusted Him to save you? When was the last time you thanked God for taking such good care of you? Isn’t it time you did?
©2011 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for February 9, 2011
Exodus 15:1-15
The LORD is my strength, the reason for my song, because he has saved me. I praise and honor the LORD -- he is my God and the God of my ancestors. The LORD is his name, and he is a warrior! He threw the chariots and army of Egypt's king into the Red Sea, and he drowned the best of the king's officers. They sank to the bottom just like stones. With the tremendous force of your right arm, our LORD, you crushed your enemies.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
We never know where or when we will get an opportunity to share with someone just how powerful God is. Recently I walked in to a local office to drop off some papers, and as soon as I opened the door, I was blasted by the smell of cigarettes. I’m not talking the faint smell of smoke, as if someone snuffed a cigarette in the parking lot as they entered the building. I’m talking the smell of a dozen or more people sitting in a crowded room, all lit up and puffing away.
The cigarette smell belonged to one man who was standing at the counter, and he appeared to be in his late forties. He was talking to the receptionist about his paper work. He was animated and friendly, and when he turned and saw me standing off to the side awaiting my turn, he graciously stepped aside and gestured for me to “come on over.” I walked up to the window. Then he moved in toward me and began to chat. What did I think about the snow we’re having? Who was the man in the photo hanging on the wall? (Governor Beebe – it was a state office.) The receptionist was busy copying the man’s papers, so we had a few minutes to stand in line together.
The man then began to talk about how much we needed the snow, because the drought last summer really hurt the trees in his yard. Then he asked me, “You don’t know anyone who would like to buy a beautiful home, do you? Because I think I’m selling mine and leaving this place. There just aren’t many opportunities for a guy my age to meet someone here.” And he winked and nudged my arm. I smiled, not knowing quite what to say… and he continued, “I tried going to church, but that didn’t work, so I’m not going back.”
Very clearly, I felt my opportunity present itself… “Why would you not go back to church?” I asked. He replied, “I don’t figure God would like it too much if I came to church to find a woman.” I asked him, “How do you know? What if you thought you were only going to church to meet someone, but God was leading you to church so He could do other things for you?” He stopped and looked at me with a puzzled look, and asked, “So you’re saying I’m selling God short?” “Maybe,” I told him. “You might be underestimating the power of God… and you are surely underestimating how much He cares about you.”
The man seemed a bit caught off guard by my comments. He smiled and said, “So in other words, I should give God another chance?” “Probably,” I said with a smile… “there are a lot of wonderful churches around here… you should check them out and give God another try.” I did not invite him to my church… I planted a seed, and I thought I’d let God handle the rest. This was not a “sales pitch” for my own church.
The receptionist came back to the window and finished her business with this man. He thanked me and said, “You’ve given me a new way to look at all of this.” He smiled and walked away.
I thought about the brief encounter, and I know that the outcome was totally God’s doing. Because of the strong cigarette smell, I was maintaining a wide berth. When the man stepped aside and gestured for me to approach the window, I could have waved him off and stayed where I was, but I stepped up, signed in, and stood beside him. And when he started to talk to me and get chummy, I could have given him one-word answers, nods of the head, and generally let him know I was not interested in what he had to say. I kept reminding myself, “He’s God’s child, too… he’s God’s child, too. Get past this.”
I felt God was saying, “Okay, I’m giving you an opportunity to speak for me… what are you going to do with it?” I believe we get many of these opportunities… often several times a day. And most of the time, we either fail to recognize them… or we fail to accept them.
Later in the day, another incident reminded me of an encounter I had years ago with my cousin, J.D. Mired in all sorts of personal struggles, J.D. attended my dad’s funeral, and he tells me that I approached him at the cemetery and said, “I’m praying for you.” I have absolutely no recollection of this. I do know I was praying for J.D. – and today he is a totally new person. The road to recovery was a long, difficult one, but he now travels several states conducting worship services and tent revivals. His focus every day is living for Jesus Christ and bringing others to a relationship with Him. And in recent months, J.D. actually did meet a Christian woman at a revival service – and they were married a month ago!
I’m not saying that the man I met in the local office will find his soul mate in church - or become a minister. But what I am saying is that we do sell God short. We underestimate His love for us… and His power to make the impossible happen. I told the man yesterday that the Bible tells us, “With God, all things are possible.” I hope he understood what I was saying to him in so many words… that we are each and every one precious and incredibly important to God. He knows us… He knows our needs, our desires, our hopes and dreams – and our talents and abilities. He understands what we can accomplish – for ourselves and for His kingdom. He can free us of addictions, debt, emotional baggage, sinful attitudes and behaviors, and more. And the kicker is… He wants to do this for us!
My prayer today is that we would all start to recognize the little opportunities God provides us each day to share His message with others. I also pray that we would look past appearances, smoky jackets and overly-talkative personalities and see the person inside that God sees… and recognize that he/she has incredible value to God – just like we do!
I have to admit, I have griped and grumbled (at least to myself) every time I have had to set foot in this local office for something. But now I see that God gave me an opportunity in the very spot I didn’t want to be... and I could easily have missed it. Are you recognizing how important you are to God… and the chances He offers you to serve Him? Are you paying attention to God these days? Shouldn’t you?
©2011 Debbie Robus
The LORD is my strength, the reason for my song, because he has saved me. I praise and honor the LORD -- he is my God and the God of my ancestors. The LORD is his name, and he is a warrior! He threw the chariots and army of Egypt's king into the Red Sea, and he drowned the best of the king's officers. They sank to the bottom just like stones. With the tremendous force of your right arm, our LORD, you crushed your enemies.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
We never know where or when we will get an opportunity to share with someone just how powerful God is. Recently I walked in to a local office to drop off some papers, and as soon as I opened the door, I was blasted by the smell of cigarettes. I’m not talking the faint smell of smoke, as if someone snuffed a cigarette in the parking lot as they entered the building. I’m talking the smell of a dozen or more people sitting in a crowded room, all lit up and puffing away.
The cigarette smell belonged to one man who was standing at the counter, and he appeared to be in his late forties. He was talking to the receptionist about his paper work. He was animated and friendly, and when he turned and saw me standing off to the side awaiting my turn, he graciously stepped aside and gestured for me to “come on over.” I walked up to the window. Then he moved in toward me and began to chat. What did I think about the snow we’re having? Who was the man in the photo hanging on the wall? (Governor Beebe – it was a state office.) The receptionist was busy copying the man’s papers, so we had a few minutes to stand in line together.
The man then began to talk about how much we needed the snow, because the drought last summer really hurt the trees in his yard. Then he asked me, “You don’t know anyone who would like to buy a beautiful home, do you? Because I think I’m selling mine and leaving this place. There just aren’t many opportunities for a guy my age to meet someone here.” And he winked and nudged my arm. I smiled, not knowing quite what to say… and he continued, “I tried going to church, but that didn’t work, so I’m not going back.”
Very clearly, I felt my opportunity present itself… “Why would you not go back to church?” I asked. He replied, “I don’t figure God would like it too much if I came to church to find a woman.” I asked him, “How do you know? What if you thought you were only going to church to meet someone, but God was leading you to church so He could do other things for you?” He stopped and looked at me with a puzzled look, and asked, “So you’re saying I’m selling God short?” “Maybe,” I told him. “You might be underestimating the power of God… and you are surely underestimating how much He cares about you.”
The man seemed a bit caught off guard by my comments. He smiled and said, “So in other words, I should give God another chance?” “Probably,” I said with a smile… “there are a lot of wonderful churches around here… you should check them out and give God another try.” I did not invite him to my church… I planted a seed, and I thought I’d let God handle the rest. This was not a “sales pitch” for my own church.
The receptionist came back to the window and finished her business with this man. He thanked me and said, “You’ve given me a new way to look at all of this.” He smiled and walked away.
I thought about the brief encounter, and I know that the outcome was totally God’s doing. Because of the strong cigarette smell, I was maintaining a wide berth. When the man stepped aside and gestured for me to approach the window, I could have waved him off and stayed where I was, but I stepped up, signed in, and stood beside him. And when he started to talk to me and get chummy, I could have given him one-word answers, nods of the head, and generally let him know I was not interested in what he had to say. I kept reminding myself, “He’s God’s child, too… he’s God’s child, too. Get past this.”
I felt God was saying, “Okay, I’m giving you an opportunity to speak for me… what are you going to do with it?” I believe we get many of these opportunities… often several times a day. And most of the time, we either fail to recognize them… or we fail to accept them.
Later in the day, another incident reminded me of an encounter I had years ago with my cousin, J.D. Mired in all sorts of personal struggles, J.D. attended my dad’s funeral, and he tells me that I approached him at the cemetery and said, “I’m praying for you.” I have absolutely no recollection of this. I do know I was praying for J.D. – and today he is a totally new person. The road to recovery was a long, difficult one, but he now travels several states conducting worship services and tent revivals. His focus every day is living for Jesus Christ and bringing others to a relationship with Him. And in recent months, J.D. actually did meet a Christian woman at a revival service – and they were married a month ago!
I’m not saying that the man I met in the local office will find his soul mate in church - or become a minister. But what I am saying is that we do sell God short. We underestimate His love for us… and His power to make the impossible happen. I told the man yesterday that the Bible tells us, “With God, all things are possible.” I hope he understood what I was saying to him in so many words… that we are each and every one precious and incredibly important to God. He knows us… He knows our needs, our desires, our hopes and dreams – and our talents and abilities. He understands what we can accomplish – for ourselves and for His kingdom. He can free us of addictions, debt, emotional baggage, sinful attitudes and behaviors, and more. And the kicker is… He wants to do this for us!
My prayer today is that we would all start to recognize the little opportunities God provides us each day to share His message with others. I also pray that we would look past appearances, smoky jackets and overly-talkative personalities and see the person inside that God sees… and recognize that he/she has incredible value to God – just like we do!
I have to admit, I have griped and grumbled (at least to myself) every time I have had to set foot in this local office for something. But now I see that God gave me an opportunity in the very spot I didn’t want to be... and I could easily have missed it. Are you recognizing how important you are to God… and the chances He offers you to serve Him? Are you paying attention to God these days? Shouldn’t you?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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