Praises Rise in Trust

In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? – (Psalm 56:4, NIV)

I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me! I praise God for His promise to me. – (Psalm 56:4, ERV)

What harm could a man bring to me? With God on my side I will not be afraid of what comes. The roaring praises of God fill my heart, and I will always triumph as I trust His promises. – (Psalm 56:4, TPT)

 

As I sat at the kitchen table and watched the sun rise over the hills that surround us, I pondered the application of this verse. It goes far beyond “what can mere mortals do to me,” and really leaves us with our own space for filling in the blank. What can sickness, disease, fear, unknown, heartache, disappointment, obstacles, strokes, etc., do to me with God on my side? God is greater. I must allow His praises to fill my heart so that I allow trust to fill me, for His promises are “yes” and “amen”. He is good and His word endures forever. No mountain is too high, nor a valley too low, that His hand cannot reach to rescue, and hold us up.

Yesterday, there was a space of uncertainty as we navigated our first full day home with mom. After a bit of a startling beginning, as mentioned in yesterday’s post, we smoothed out the wrinkles a bit and began to learn a new sort of normal in her space. We knew we wanted to get mom outside, and Meg had work that had to be done. Mom was easily convinced to “supervise” me pulling weeds and shaping shrubs in the backyard from the deck, as I have limited experience in the finer art of gardening. (I was the heavy-hitting job girl growing up, as I preferred to mow the lawn and continued that track into adulthood) Any way, mom was an excellent tutor, patiently pointing out what were weeds and what were not, as I pulled and dug and collected and shaped. She was all smiles as she soaked in the warm rays of the morning sunshine and breathed in the familiar fresh air. A short while after lunch, mom had a follow up appointment with her new primary care physician. We had to make a change, as she needed a physician who specializes in working with stroke patients. This was a nervous unknown, and we were a little leery of the new. Her fabulous new physician set us all at ease from the moment she walked in. It was clear from the start that her purpose and intent for mom is the same as ours, and she got to work orchestrating all of the necessary hoop jumping and paperwork to set mom’s in-home care and therapies in motion. The appointment was not drawn out, but thorough enough to make sure that every question was answered, and we all left feeling as if we could breathe a bit more easily. We detoured to the grocery store on the way home so that one of us could run in for a few things for dinner, while the other of us waited in the car with mom. This time, Meg went in and I waited. Mom was exhausted after all of the anticipation, transportation, transfers and the new. By the time we arrived home, she was ready for a rest. We shared a wonderful dinner together, followed by a sweet movie before we all retired for the night.

Praises rise as we continue to trust, regardless of the unknown that lies ahead.

 

It is in the Lord,

Whose word I will praise;

Who I choose to trust,

And not be afraid.

No person or thing,

That comes against me; 

Is greater than God,

For in Him, I’m free.

Each new day I’ll choose,

Place all in His hands;

Trust Him to be God,

And His righteous plan.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness, even when we feel fearful. Thank You that Your goodness and love know no end. Forgive us for fearing anything that stands before us that seems beyond our own abilities. Teach us to trust You more, as the end of our own strength is the very space where Yours begins. Show us how to love those around us in ways that exhibit Your faithfulness and grace. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we trust in You and give praise to You forever. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

Those who know Your Name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You. – Psalm 9:10

Love and Patience that Endure

May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. – (2 Thessalonians 3:5, NLT)

May the Lord bring you into an even deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ. – (2 Thessalonians 3:5, TLB)

May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God’s love and Christ’s endurance. – (2 Thessalonians 3:5, MSG)

 

The love of God and the patient endurance of Christ are two things for which I am eternally grateful. When I am at my least loveable, God still demonstrates His love for me in tangible ways. I am shown patience that is willing to endure, despite the difficulties. In twenty-seven days, I will have the privilege and blessing of marrying the man whom God brought me, who shows me again and again and again, how fully I am loved, no matter how I come. He has patience and kindness toward me that seems to know no end. The more I pursue the Lord, the greater my understanding of His love and patience for us all. May we ever seek Him and grow in our grasp of God’s great love and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

 

May the Lord’s great love,

Photo by Dee Jones of Open Door Photography ❤

Surround and sink in;

True understanding,

So peace may begin.

Let His patience too,

Come and overwhelm;

As goodness is grasped,

In God’s loving realm.

By grace let us seek,

So we come to know;

Love and endurance,

As in Christ we grow.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness and grace and for the love and patient endurance that You demonstrate to us in tangible ways. Thank You for the people that You place in our lives to show us Your loving kindness and the depth of Your care for us all. Forgive us for not seeking You to understand more fully the depth of Your love and the patience and endurance that come from Christ. Show us how to love those around us with Your love and patient endurance. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we pursue the path that leads us to knowing You more and more. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence. – Acts 2:28

Grow the Good

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – (2 Peter 1:5-8, NIV)

Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; to your devotion add kindness towards your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. If all these things in you are growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – (2 Peter 1:5-8, ERV)

 

We should never stop striving to grow in the good to which we are called. Every avenue of growth in God grants room to grow further in the next. Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love all multiply as we dig deeper in our faith and pursue our Heavenly Father and all that He has for us. As we grow, His goodness shows, and others gain from that which is being developed deeper within our hearts. May we ever seek the Lord to grow us in our faith, so that He may increase within us, allowing that which flows from us to be a reflection of Him to the world.

 

Please grow our faith Lord,

Photo by Dee Jones of Open Door Photography ❤

So we may reflect;

All good that’s from You,

Love, honor, respect.

As our faith does grow,

So too, does the good;

Knowledge and wisdom,

Restraint understood.

With perseverance,

We start to reflect;

The heart of Jesus,

Who loves and accepts.

Affection given,

And also returned;

Increases our love,

With practice, we learn.

So, keep on growing,

In faith and in love;

This is effective,

As God’s placed above.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that as we seek to grow in You, You increase all that is good within us. Thank You that as our faith grows, so too does our goodness, knowledge, self-control, capacity to persevere, our likeness to Your nature, our affection for others, and our ability to love as we are loved by You. Forgive us for not seeking You to grow in us all the good that You have for us. Teach us to trust You more so that we would rely on You to grow us more like You. Show us how to navigate our days, growing more into who You are calling us to become. Help us to love others in the same way that You love each of us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek Your heart so that we may be effective in giving the good that You so lavishly give to each of us.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence. – Acts 2:28

Praise All of Our Days

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your Name forever. For great is Your love toward me; You have delivered me from the depths of the grave. – (Psalm 86:12-13)

 

Fire has always frightened me to my core, ever since I was a little girl. In fact, when the fire department did a fire safety talk at my elementary school, I would not sleep at night until my parents installed smoke detectors in our home. Right now, we are experiencing an unusually hot and dry summer in Washington State. On the eastern side of the state, in Wenatchee where my Mom resides, their first big fires of the season just hit yesterday. Typically, they are far from where my mom lives, so all that is observed is the constant flying of helicopters to the river to fill giant containers that are then flown over the flames, and poured out to douse them with water. Unfortunately, yesterday evening the fires were crawling closer and closer to where my mother lives. Her neighborhood was on voluntary evacuation, but she and her neighbors decided to stay and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Late into the evening, flames burst forth from the ravine on the far side of her vacant lot. Suddenly her home was surrounded by firefighters and her exit blocked by fire trucks. Even if she had wanted to leave, there was no way out, as the fire was burning too near the only road out. For hours, I watched, waited, and prayed. I imagine she did much of the same.

 

This morning’s Psalm really resonates as to how I feel on behalf of my Mom and the many in her housing development whom are dearly loved friends. His love has been great as He has delivered and protected them from what could have been catastrophic. My heart is overflowing with praise, for He is good and His love endures forever.

 

No matter what comes,

Image from my Mom’s driveway…

I will give You praise;

for You are my God,

help all of my days.

With all of my heart,

to You, glorify;

forever, always,

hope to testify.

You have delivered,

me from the great depths;

and spared me the grave,

of unrighteousness.

Though we walk through fire,

You lovingly keep;

us in Your safe hands,

as You tend Your sheep.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that Your love for us is so great, that You sent Your Son to deliver us from the depth of an eternal grave. Thank You that You are worthy of our praise, with all of our heart, for all of our days. Forgive us for losing sight of the truth when storms rage or fires burn. Teach us to trust You more, so that we will glorify You in every circumstance, as You are worthy of our praise forever. Lead us to love others in such a way, that they may see Your heart for them through us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we offer our praise until the end of our days. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence. – Acts 2:28