God's Care Over All His Works.

1 Praise the LORD, my soul.
LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,[a]
flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
(Psalm 104:1-9,31-34)

I began my reading this morning in Job. A cross-reference there sent me to Psalms. This entire psalm details the glory of God's creation - how He has provided for each creature - how He designed a world perfectly suited for each living thing He created.

When I read through scripture, I am encouraged and reassured that God, indeed, has wisdom, knowledge, strength and power enough to keep the world spinning on its axis. More than that, He keeps us and guides us and comforts us.

I can't help but think of another scripture passage, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:5-7 NIV).

Blessings on your journey,
Mary

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall (Psalm 55:22 NIV).

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34 NIV).


Blessings on your journey,
Mary

The Peace of God

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts"(Psalm 139:23 NIV).

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).

I woke up this morning with the scripture from Philippians on my mind. I think I had better get my head on straight and give my day to God! There is a lot going on in my life right now - lots of balls in the air. God is faithful though and at the end of each day when I lay my head down, I have no doubt He has been with me through it all.

And I have no doubt He will sustain me for this day too! My prayer today is that you feel the peace that transcends all understanding as you move through the day ahead and always.

Blessings on your journey,
Mary

Beyond Comprehension or Imagining

Have you ever dealt with (or avoided dealing with!) an issue that just weighed you down, and nagged at you and was an underlying anxiety in every aspect of your life? I'm sure we all have, and today one of those issues for us was resolved in a way that I still can't quite wrap my head around! I won't share the particular details because they are not what is important, and they may serve to distract from my point.

For about a year there has been an issue in our lives (not a marital/family relationship issues) that has really caused us some strife in our relationship with God. We have been kind of hard-headed--I have been so in particular. It's one of those issues where we tell ourselves -- and God, "I can deal with this on my own." After you have repeated that sentiment enough times, you even start believing it.

But when we edge God out, when we don't even allow His guidance, we certainly cannot deal with it, at least not very well and not for very long! It continues to nag at us and crops up unexpectedly at the most inopportune times!

This morning things came to head and I found myself on my knees. I actually began to cry because I knew I was going to have to give up the last little bit of my pride in this situation and allow God to fix it, if it was to ever be resolved. When I finished I still didn't feel as if the situation could be fixed.

Within 2 hours though a series of phone calls and events took place that simply could not have been orchestrated my the will of man. I still am kind of numb because even though I have said many times that I know God loves me, until today I don't think I really comprehended just how much He does indeed love me.

Because of my submission, God was able to work His way in our lives. He brought about what needed to happen--not to relieve us of responsibility or accountability, but to reassure us that He was indeed in control and that he could and would bring things to fruition according to His plan. Of course, His plan is always to prosper us - to bring goodness and peace into our lives.

We now see a way clear to resolve the situation and to move forward with a new type of reassurance. The reassurance is not within or through ourselves, though. It is a reassurance that surrender = peace. Letting go of pride = comfort. Relying upon God = abundant provision beyond imagining.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. [Isaiah 43:3-4a NIV]

I'm not given to making declarations like this. I'm not about sensationalism or drawing attention to myself when I relate how God works in our lives. But I'm making this declaration: God is intimately and intricately involved in every single aspect of our lives, both the mundane and the extraordinary. He knows every breath we take. He comprehends the depth and breadth of our stubbornness and petulance. He loves us anyway.

He sent Jesus to earth to atone for our innate sinfulness and to win us eternal life. God's grace surpasses and far exceeds anything that the human mind can comprehend or imagine.

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! [Isaiah 30:18]