“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37:5,6

How  many times have I seen the Lord lead me to trust Him instead of defending myself. And then He brought forth the truth to exonerate me. Not that I’m always right (!) but one of the Devil’s methods is to accuse us of wrong doing we did not do. In such a situation, rather than defend ourselves, it is much better to commit our way to Him, and wait for Him to work things out. Then our part is to forgive those who accused us falsely, to bless them in our words and prayers so God can break into their lives and protect them.

“You, Lord, are the God of all forgiveness; give us grace to grasp how much we are forgiven so we can forgive ourselves and then forgive others. May we keep on the whole armor to be useful to you and bring glory to your name. Amen.”

Picture: Who am I going to trust in the midst of the storm?

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He MAKES me to lie down in green pastures.” Psalm 23:1,2

God has an interesting way of looking out for my best interests. I am careful with money and don’t like to spend it on something unnecessary. However sometimes I don’t know what is necessary, but God does and makes sure I get it.

I mentioned earlier losing my cell phone; I was not happy with that, but thanked God anyway. And He did have a plan. I got a used replacement phone which turned out to be much better than the one I lost, including longer battery life! God said, “Time for a new and better phone.” That was His plan—and in each unpleasant happening He always has a plan for our good.

Then there was the muffler event. My old van had become louder and louder; a young friend looked at it and said we could use some muffler repair material to fix it. It certainly was quieter when he was done,  but, as I backed off the lift, the muffler caught on something and was ripped in half! Well, another chance to trust God and offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

My young friend offered to find and put on a new muffler. When he was done, not only was the van quieter, but because the old muffler seems to have been clogged, it ran much better, has more power and now gets better gas milage. Thank you, Lord, for making me do that!

Now I am facing another challenge with an unclear outcome. For a renovation project I working on, I must get approval from the health department, which, uncharacteristically has demanded a test of the present septic system. Hmm, another unnecessary expense, from my point of view. But God has a plan, so I thank Him, and wait in anticipation to see what He’s going to do.

All this confirms the truth of Psalm 50:23: “He who offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors God and opens the way for God to show him His salvation.” (Paraphrase)

“Forgive as you have been forgiven.” Colossians 3:12

The legalistic quest for perfection is a natural one in my life–but it is futile. Every day I fail multiple times to do what is right in my thought life, or in some words spoken, or in some choice, action or relationship.

On one hand this is part of being a fallen person living in a fallen world, (although I must hasten to add that this is not a valid excuse for choosing failure).

On the other hand, our failures can be fertile ground for spiritual growth.

This past year, and especially this summer, I made a number of choices that did not work out for the best. Almost all of these were made with the intent of doing good, and many for doing what was best.

However, there were also heavy strands of wrong motives woven into the fabric of the decisions, and these marred the final product. For instance, jumping in to give good advice to a person who is not ready to hear it. Many would not consider such failures to be all that bad, but when I consider how they can affect outcomes, they are significant.

The bottom line, however, is what I do with my failures. God allows them and will use them for profit. Tomorrow I will tell you some good things I learned to utilize these failures for good and growth.

“We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In you our hearts rejoice, for we trust in your holy name” (Ps. 33:20,21).

Praise you for what will come today:

good things from your hands,

wise things from your mind,

loving things from your heart,

challenging things from your will,

grace-filled things from your compassion.

“May your unfailing love rest on us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you” (Ps 33:22). Help us to hope in you alone.

You, O Triune King, are worthy of worship and praise, even before we see what will happen,

for you are good and gracious, wise and wonderful, strong and sure, true and trustable.

May I be a glory-giver, by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, rather than a glory-stealer by complaining. May I hope in you.

May honor flow to you today from my attitudes and actions, my words and worship. Amen.”

Picture of the shield of God, from internet

Words to remember as we face difficulties.

“No king is saved by the size of his army,

no warrior escapes by his great strength,

a horse is a vain hope, despite its great strength it cannot save” (Ps. 33:16,17).

It is not the seen that saves, but the unseen, the invisible power of the living, loving God. His eyes “are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (Ps. 33:18,19).

You are the One who saves, Lord Jesus. You saved us from all forms of death:

–eternal separation from you,

–emotional separation from ourselves,

–social separation from others,

–physical separation from our bodies.

This is because you are:

–the Defeater of death,

— the Giver of life,

–the Provider of protection,

–the Shepherd of souls.

You, Lord Jesus, are trustable, you are wise, you are thoroughly good.

Therefore I surrender myself to you, and determine to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving in whatever  comes. You are leading me in the right path.

Tomorrow I’ll give an example of how Jesus orchestrates things to bring good out of things that look bad, for He always has light at the end of the tunnel for us.