Faithful Through All Generations

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. – (Psalm 100:5, NIV)

The Lord is good! There is no end to His faithful love. We can trust Him forever and ever! – (Psalm 100:5, ERV)

Because the Eternal is good, His loyal love and mercy will never end, and His truth will last throughout all generations. – (Psalm 100:5, VOICE)

 

God has been overwhelmingly faithful throughout the generations. Between my mother and her mother before her, (and so on) there have been incredible examples set before us of God’s loving kindness and faithfulness that have been made tangible. Today, we celebrate the gift that is my mom. For seventy years, she has graced the earth with her goodness, life, and light. Though this past year has likely been her most challenging, (particularly the last four months) she has risen to every challenge and is persevering with strength, faith and fortitude, trusting in Him to be her Healer. Where some would grow grumpy and lose their graciousness, mom has remained loving and kind, full of humor and grace, willing to laugh at the humor that comes with the obstacles we all face in the midst of life’s challenges. I know that I would not be the woman, mother, wife, friend, teacher and human that I have become, without the leading and influence of my mom. Her guidance has taught me that I can be tender and tough, sweet and strong, and extend kindness to all. She models each of these through her very existence. May we all trust in the Lord and the goodness of His love, for His faithfulness endures through all generations.

 

God’s blessing to us,

Is like no other;

In the treasured gift,

That is our mother.

No matter what comes,

Her presence is near;

Prayers tangibly felt,

Strength to persevere.

She models the way,

To love and to live;

May we do the same,

And of ourselves, give.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the treasured gift that You have given us in our mom. Thank You for Your grace and protection that spared her life and that is granting her strength and hope and courage to recover what was lost four months ago. Thank You not for the stroke, but for the blessings that have come from it – the time together that far exceeded what we would have ever had otherwise. Lord, bless our mom with the desires of her heart in the coming year. Forgive us for our impatience with Your timeline. Thank You that You know best and that You have a plan and a purpose, and that You bring beauty from all things. Teach us to trust You more when we cannot see the next step, or feel discouraged in the here and now. Show us how to love and encourage all those whom we encounter. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we follow the example of love and joy that mom offers to all as we navigate each day. Amen.

 

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

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. – 1 Chronicles 16:34

Ask. Seek. Knock.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV)

Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them. – (Matthew 7:7-8, ERV)

 

In this passage, Jesus was reminding His followers to be persistent in their pursuit of God. Just because we don’t see answers right away, does not mean that we are to give up and let go of the very thing we are asking. Often it is a matter of us continuing to seek faithfully, trusting that the One whom we seek, hears and will answer in His perfect timing. God is never late, yet again and again, we grow impatient and quit asking or seeking before He is done developing our resolve to persevere. This is where being rooted in the body is so important. We can come alongside one another and encourage each other to continue in our quest for answers, wisdom and open doors. May we rise up with resolve to keep asking, searching, seeking and knocking, so that we may continue to find direction and answers according to His good and perfect will.

 

We must first choose ask, 

For answers to come;

Our God is faithful,

The All-Knowing One.

Each time we seek Him,

The Lord we shall find;

He’s always ready,

With our hearts in mind.

When we choose to knock,

He opens new doors;

Shows us the new paths,

We’re meant to explore.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that when we ask, You hear our prayers and provide answers. Thank You that as we seek You, we find You. Thank You for Your faithfulness to open new doors as we knock, and make Yourself known in our pursuit of You. Forgive us for not persevering in our quest to discover more of You – be it answers, wisdom or direction for our lives. Teach us to trust You in the process, so that we will persevere, no matter how long it takes to discover the answers we seek. Show us how to love and come alongside those who are in need of knowing You or Your will, so that we may encourage and lift one another up to persevere. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we ask, seek and knock all of our days, so that we may always pursue the path that follows Your ways. Amen.

 

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

 

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. – 2 Corinthians 3:5