Psalm 30:8 “To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:”

[This is the proper response in difficulty,

to seek you and your mercy,

to recognize my weakness and your strength,

to trust you, not myself.

I praise you, Lord God, for your goodness and graciousness and for how you answer us in such situations, first delivering us from all our fears, then strengthening us with strength in our souls, then saving us out of all our troubles, whether through deliverance or through giving endurance, or through death (Ps. 34:4-7).

You are the God who is there, you are the God who hears, you are the God who answers. “…the angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear him and delivers them” (Ps. 34:8).]

Help me to utilize the times of security to deepen my walk with you, Lord Jesus, so that

I may rejoice in the times of difficulty,

offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

finding my rest and hope in you,

exalting you by living in Truth.

And I thank you now for how you will answer this prayer.

You, Lord Jesus, are my serene Security, my superb Stability, my unshakable Surety, my supreme Savior. With all that swirls around us in life, we could not make it without you as our firm Foundation, our strong Anchor, our great Shepherd, our powerful King.

Praise you that you are our impenetrable Shield, our impregnable Fortress, our intrepid Defender, our immense Stronghold.

In you and your protection there is no gap, no chink, no forgotten loophole for the enemy to come through. You are the great wall protecting us from evil, and you are the great and gracious gateway through which comes all that is profitable, helpful and positive.

Praise you that you protect and provide through your wide wisdom, your complete knowledge, your rich love and your perfect patience.

You are the One to be trusted, Lord God, Triune and Holy God. I praise you for what you will bring today in your wisdom and love, your purpose and plan. Help us to follow you well, joining you in what you desire to accomplish today–in, through and around us. May you be honored in all we do.

The Lord had a message for me today, “Do you really believe what you’ve written about recently. You know, having an attitude of gratitude?”

Today was one challenging day.

Yesterday, after uploading my new book, Canterbury CT Characters of the 21^st Century, Volume 2, Amazon messaged me that the pagination needed to be fixed. So I spent several hours trying to so that, to no avail. Looked at google info, YouTube tutorials, asked a professional and still came up empty. I’m trying to get these books here in the local store for Christmas shoppers, but one delay after .

So, this morning I plunged in again; still nothing. Then we were trying to set up our new Medicare supplement with multiple forms on line, which didn’t work, do again on phone, still no good.

Recently I changed our internet provider, lured by big promises—none of which turned out to be true; have tried several times to get this straightened out, but no good conclusion. Must work on it more, a time consuming task.

Long call from my cardiologist with instructions of prep for a procedure next week.

And I was unable to get into my business bank account online and credit card account, so went to the bank for help. As I arrived, I noticed that my battery light in my car was on and my power steering was gone. I knew  instantly what that meant: my serpentine belt was off. Into the bank for 20 minutes of tutorial, still no access to my credit card.

Limped home without full power in the car. Talked with my mechanic friend, he can’t help me until tomorrow. In the meantime we have no transportation.

Tried more on pagination. No results. Went to cook lunch and found the meat had gone bad; plan B frozen dinner.   After dinner called my pastor who had just finished his thesis to see if he could help me. He offered to come over and in 20 minutes solved my problem.

Uploaded the manuscript to Amazon, had to make some corrections and upload it 3 more times. Now we will see if they accept it.

A renter called with several things to be fixed. I had nothing to drive over with my tools, so gathered up a few and walked over in the freezing cold. Was able to fix them all.

Home to look at the solar panels agreements we’ve been working on. Page after page of legalese. Finally finished it, still have doubts about this being the right thing to do.

Back to working on the book, making some adjustments, uploading to my other publisher—5 times before getting it right.

And, all this time I’ve not been feeling well, having an infection being treated with antibiotics, but results are slow in coming.

But, in each happening the Spirit said to me,” Think of all the things you have to be thankful for; remember to live in gratitude, not complaining and dissatisfation.” So I chose to give thanks for each obstacle, hinderance, failure and discomfort.

It made an amazing difference, like walking  out of a dark room into the light, allowing me to shed the discontent, complaining and unhappiness that are so natural to me. And instead choose to live the truth that “Knowing Jesus is enough for joy!” Truly, when we know and live in the truth, it sets us free!

Psalm 30:4 “Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.”

[YES! This must be our response to you, Lord, singing and praising you for your marvelous character, which is displayed in your holy name, Yahweh. You are sinless, separate, and strong; you are glorious, gracious, and great; you are worthy of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of our surrender, love and obedience. To you be honor in song, glory in praise, exaltation in thanksgiving.]

Psalm 30:5 “For his anger lasts only a moment,”

[Praise you that you are angry with sin, that you move to justly judge and properly punish, that you don’t draw back from chastening us. And that your anger ends when your desire is accomplished.]

“but his favor lasts a lifetime;”

[You are the God of forgiveness, of grace and of goodness, pouring out your undeserved favor on us forever. As it says in Psalm 18:19, “He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because he delighted in me.”

Praise be to you that you can delight in your redeemed but still crooked children. We rejoice in your favor, we exalt in your goodness, we revel in your love, we bask in your grace. You are wonderful, you are marvelous, you are incredibly, unbelievably, beyond-conception-good!]

Psalm 30:2 “O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.” (This for me is quite relevant as I was again in the ER today with  painful plumbing problems! But because God came to my help, I could go home after a few hours. )

[You, O Triune God, are revealed in your names: you, Yahweh, are the final authority; you, Elohim, are the infinitely Powerful One; you, Adonai, are the absolutely Faithful One.

To you I can call in my distress, for I know that in your authority, power and faithfulness you answer in wisdom, goodness, and grace.

As it says in Psalm 46:11” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

And Psalm 34:6-8 add, “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles

And ıt ıs good to remember the ways he has helped us ın the past: Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

Although I don’t deserve it, in your wisdom you answer, you act, you help, you heal—immediately, or in time, or in eternity. Praise you that you are real, you are loving, you are present and you are powerful. I can trust you in all.]

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.