Devotional: A Mind to Work

Nehemiah 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah and the people rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem in the face of those who opposed them. They did this because they had a mind to work. This phrase stands out to me. Sometimes I have trouble having a mind to work. However, if I am to conquer the chaos in my home, that is exactly what I need~a mind to work.

What or who are the "enemies" that I have that oppose me in this endeavor? I'll name a few:

• procrastination
• fatigue
• flare ups
• face book
• mindless internet surfing without purpose
• clutter~my own and other's
• commitments outside the home
• laziness

Verse 9 tells us, "Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them." It reminds me of another verse:

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We need to set a watch on those things that would tempt us to not do the work that God has set before us. We need to pray that God would help us to resist the temptation to give in to these things and allow them to take away our mind to work.

Devotion: O God Strengthen My Hands

Nehemiah 6:9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem when his ememies came to him with false accusations about his motives. Nehemiah responded to them saying, "There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart."

The enemies of Nehemiah and the people were trying to make them afraid by saying that they would weaken their hands that the work would not be done. Nehemiah prays, "Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands."

In a sense, I can identify with Nehemiah. The walls were in chaos because Israel had been in captivity and they weren't maintained. When I have flare-ups, I am in captivity to my health and my home does not get maintained as it should. It becomes chaos. When I start to feel good again and begin to work at getting things under control, there are the enemies of fatigue and discouragement that come along, telling me to give up, "You'll never get it under control again!"

Do you see yourself in this circumstance too? This is when we need to run to our God and pray for Him to strengthen our hands for the work that we need to do. He loves to show Himself strong in our weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me

I love the outcome of this story in Nehemiah 6. Verse 16 says, "And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God."

Be encouraged! When we rely on God to strengthen our hands for the work, then those around us, including our enemies will see that the work is of God.

Progress on Overwhelm Talk--Story of Jehoshephat

Yesterday I was having my Quiet Time, reading my Bible and I read the passage in 2Chronicles 20 where Jehoshephat is overwhelmed when he is told there are armies coming to fight against him. It was really neat how it all played out.

First he feared, then he set himself to seek the Lord. Called the people together to fast and pray. He prayed and in his prayer he appealed to God's power and character.

They were told that they did not need to fight this battle because the battle was the Lord's. Set yourself, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord were the initial instructions. They were then instructed to go the battle, with the choir in the front singing and praising the Lord. They all worshipped the Lord and praise the beauty of holiness as they went to battle. And the enemy was defeated.

Isn't this a neat passage to apply to the subject of overwhelm? When we are discouraged, overwhelmed and feeling defeated by our circumstances, God shows us this isn't our battle to fight...we need to be still, look backward and forward and see God's provision in the past and know that He will be faithful in the future. We need to begin to praise God, put on the music and the enemy of defeat, discouragement, fear and overwhelm will be defeated.

What God is Teaching Me in My Circumstances

God brings many things into our lives to shape us and mold us into the people He wants us to be. Sometimes those things are not comfortable, sometimes they are inconvenient and other times they represent a profound loss to us.

I've gone through three months of intense pain in which I was losing hope that I would ever get past it. But God showed me that He is faithful to give me the strength I need for each day. He taught me to be more mindful of what I do and how I do it. He taught me to slow down and say no to too much activity.

The day I finally felt like I was coming out of the flare and was seeing hope again that I would have pain free days ahead, my physical therapist told me he was moving away. This was a huge blow since he has been there for me for 8 or 9 years now, whenever I had flares and needed treatment. He has become good friend. But God has been teaching me through this that I need to hold more tightly to Him than to my friends or health care providers. People leave. People move. People change. People eventually die. God never changes. And so I learn that I need to hold my friends and loved ones with loose grip and hang onto God with all my might.

And now, my little computer that I got for my birthday back in August, is having issues with a very noisy fan. Tonight my husband will take it to be shipped to TX for warranty repairs and I will be without it for a couple of months. I love messing around on Facebook, writing blog posts, checking my email, etc. But I've spent way more time at it than I should over the last few months and things have sort of gotten out of hand around the house. This inconvenience would normally make me very irritable, but God is showing me that this is a good way for me to establish better habits here at home and get more done. I will still have limited access to the main computer when the kids are not using it, but my time will have to be scheduled in just like theirs is.

God's ways are not always my ways, but His ways are higher than my ways and He does all things with wisdom. My job is to rest in His Providence, be it good or bad from my perspective. When I complain, I am complaining against His wisdom and providence. He does all things well, I just don't have all the details to see that.

Devotion: Courage

2Chronicles 6:1 ¶ Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

When the Lord came down and filled the house Solomon built, the house was filled with a cloud and 2 Chronicles 5:14 says, "the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God."

The next verse, (6:1) says that the Lord would dwell in the thick darkness. This tells me this cloud that filled the house was no fluffy, whispy white cloud. It was thick and dark, perhaps like a storm cloud.

I find this particularly comforting. When darkness closes in on my life and I can't seem to get my footing or find my way, God dwells there. He is there with me and He will see me through the storm as I trust Him.

I am reminded of Joshua's charge to the men of Israel: "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9)

We are commanded to be strong and of good courage, to not be afraid or dismayed. Why? Because the Lord our God is with us!

I found a little bracelet at the pharamcy this week that has a simple little charm on it with one word. Courage. I wear it to remind me that God is with me and I have reason to face my storms with courage. God is there in the darkness with me. He is there for you too if you are one of His own.

When Your Hut's on Fire

When your hut's on fire The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, God! How could you do this to me? Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. We saw your smoke signal," they replied. The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God. P.S. You may want to consider passing this on, because you never know who feels as if their hut is on fire today. IN GOD WE TRUST!!

I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me

This is a really encouraging article for me. I think you'll find it an encouragement for tough times too.

A Good Day

This has been a good day. I had to grocery shop and since I was in that part of town I decided to drop in at the physical therapy office to pay a bill. I expected my PT to be there, since he said he would be working on Fridays now until his move is complete. I was disappointed to see he was not there. In talking to the receptionist, I could tell she is having a very hard time with this transition as well. She said what I was feeling. "It's just not the same with out him here. I'm going to miss him so much. It's just crazy. I can't believe he is doing this!"

I really thought it would be much harder visiting the office than it turned out to be. Yes, she and I talked about the situation and we are sad that he is moving away. But I wasn't feeling the same emotions of despair over the situation that I had been several days ago.

He had told me at my last appointment that he would only be in the office on Fridays. So I was sort of stressing over whether or not I'd be able to get scheduled on Fridays should I need a treatment. Well, his receptionist told me that he isn't even working there at all unless the schedule got too busy for just one PT. Then he will come in on a Friday if needed. So that told me I don't even need to stress about whether or not I can get booked in when he is there on a Friday, cause he probably won't be there anyway. Business has been very slow.

She did say that she would leave him a note to see if he would come next Friday just to treat me and either he or she would call me back and let me know. I'm not counting on anything.

For the way I have been feeling the past week and a half since hearing the news he was moving, this visit to the office and the realization that my last appointment could very well be my last appointment with him should have sent me over the edge again. But somehow it didn't. I actually walked out of there feeling like a load had been lifted from me.

There is the possibility of one last treatment but maybe not. I am not going to count on it. I guess the load that was lifted is the fact that this is a done deal. He is basically done here. There is a sense of closure in that whether or not he comes in just to treat me next Friday, he is gone and I will need to accept that fact and move on.

I so appreciate the link that will be posted tomorrow Titled: I Can Do All Things Through Christ Which Strengthens Me. I can accept this disappointment and transition in my life because Christ will strengthen me to do it.

So, anyway, I left the PT office feeling like a weight had been lifted. I have had a renewed sense of energy all day today. I know, I had a Starbucks Carmel Machiatto this morning...and I forgot to ask for decaf, so maybe that has helped a bit with the energy levels...maybe or maybe not. I just feel for today, anyway, that God has given me special strength to deal with this disappointment in my life. It's a light at the end of my tunnel, at least.

How Long?

Psalm 74

10 O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?

This is a question I ask too.

12 ¶ For God is my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun.

17 You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter.

I need to remember Who God is. I should never lose sight or perspective of the God I love and worship even in the midst of wickedness in high places within our nation.

18 ¶ Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.

19 Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast! Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.

22 Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily.

Prayer for God to deliver and to act in such a way as to bring glory to His own good name~to plead His own cause is appropriate. However, I need to remember that God doesn't always answer in the way that I think He should. His plans and His thoughts are far higher than mine and He may choose to act in a way that totally baffles me and that I don't understand, yet, He always acts in great wisdom and His plan will prevail in the end. It is times like these when the true essence of trust in God is made clear.

Encouragement

I received this pretty little heart from a friend who wanted to encourage me. This is what she said:

You are always one to share directly the love of Jesus. I've not stopped in for a while, but see that you are still up to it and so I've passed along a "True Heart Award" to you as you came to mind right away for being more deserving of this than me.

Thank you Jan Lyn. What an encouragement you are to me!