But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. While at a visitors center on our recent trip to Yellowstone National Park I learned that there were trumpeter swans at a place along the Yellowstone river. I had never seen a real swan and I so hoped to see one. As we came to a pull off I noticed a couple of photographers with long lenses sitting in the grass so we stopped. There they were, these two beautiful swans. I watched them in awe. They seemed unaware that we were there.
These beautiful swans are just two of the many creatures God has created. And in his hand are not only these swans but every living thing. There is a peace that can come only from the security of a loving hand holding you. When we face hard times, sad times, times when we have no idea what to do or how we will handle our circumstances, we need only be still and remember our great God holds us and every living thing in his hand. Prayer Loving Lord Thank you for holding me in your hand. Teach me to be still and trust your hold on my life. Amen
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The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; One thing about being at the top of a mountain is that you can look out and see mountains that seem to go on forever until finally melting into the horizon. While the mountains do come to an end either in rolling hills, fertile plains, or a rocky shoreline, the love of God never ceases and his mercies never come to an end.
Prayer Great and Faithful God Thank you for a love that never ceases, and mercies that we can experience new every morning. Amen But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”-- What is on the other side of the door?Dare we open it to find out?
Our senses and even our imaginations and intellect can only reveal attributes of God’s character, but to really know God we must open the door into our hearts. We must ask him to dwell in us and we must dwell in him. It takes discipline and it isn’t easy. We don't know what is on the other side of the door. We only know that God has prepared something wonderful for us if we open the door to him. Prayer Holy Spirit Take us into a deeper relationship with God. Give us courage to open the door to the way that God has prepared for us. Amen Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I have taken very few pictures of the night skies mainly because I haven’t developed the technical skills I need but also because to get a good image of the stars you need to be as far away from the lights of civilization as possible. And being this far away from city lights means being alone at night, in the darkness, afraid. Night and darkness are common metaphors for fear, sadness, and loss. To face times of darkness in our lives we must trust God and lean into his strength. Take hold of his hand and then, even in the darkest night, you will see the stars.
Prayer Lord of the Night When we walk through the nighttimes of our lives, remind us to reach out and take your hand. Take away fear and discouragement and replace it with your strength. Show us the beauty of the stars. Amen For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. I love a sunset in the mountains. Since I have lived close to mountains all my life, they have come to symbolize steadfastness and endurance for me. We got to the spot where I thought I could get a good sunset and we waited. I have found that photography involves a lot of waiting - for the right time of day, for the wind to stop blowing, for the sun to get in just the right place in the sky, for the fog to move in or out, and for the people to move into or out of the frame.
While waiting for a sunset doesn’t always yield results, waiting on God always does. It is hard to wait for anything in our instant gratification culture, much less to wait in silence. This is something that we need to learn, to cultivate, for it is only when we are silent that we hear God, the source of our hope. Prayer My Rock and Salvation, Teach me to wait in silence for your voice. Open my ears to your words and my eyes to your beauty. Amen You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Early in the morning on a calm day, before the boats move onto the lake, the water is so still it becomes a mirror. Paul wrote to the members of the Corinthian church that they were to be like the reflections on the lake that morning. They reflected the Gospel that Paul had delivered to them. Now they, like we, have the love of Christ written on our hearts, open for the world to read. We need to remind ourselves each day that we are to be reflections of his love. We can only do this when the waters of our lives are calm because we are depending on his strength and grace.
Prayer Christ Jesus, Calm our worried souls. Make our lives a reflection of the love and grace that you have written on our hearts. Amen For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, It was late afternoon, the busy dock was closed, and the lake was calm, quiet, and still when I took this picture on our walk around the lake. There was such a sense of rest and peace. But there was no sense of rest or peace when the prophet Isaiah spoke these words to a rebellious people.
Rest is something that can be very hard to find. We want to do a good job and work hard to seek perfection. So many times I hear people call themselves perfectionists and there was a time when I would have called myself the same thing. But I have learned that perfectionism is a burden that I no longer want to carry. When we seek perfection we are seeking to save ourselves by the quality of our work instead of trusting God to save us. We need these words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Isaiah today. We need to return to God when our work becomes our way to salvation and then in quietness and trust we will find true salvation and rest. Prayer "Father, help me to use the gospel on myself to weaken the perfectionism that makes my work a burden. Give me the deep rest of soul that comes to the degree I remember I am saved by faith in Jesus, not by the quality of my work. Amen." Taken from Timothy Keller’s Book, God's Wisdom for Navigating Life Trust in the Lord and do good; With its beautiful, wide-open fields surrounded by mountains, Cades Cove must have been a good place to create a home. The early settlers farmed the land and built fences to keep themselves and their animals safe. How do we find safe pasture? King David, in this Psalm, gives us three things to do. The first is to trust the Lord. Only in him do we find the confidence and strength to make our homes and build our fences. We are to do good, a simple imperative that is much easier to accomplish when we trust the God that gives us good things. Finally we must dwell in the land, not just visit occasionally. Spend each day with God. Make him a part of your life and your home.
Prayer, Good Shepherd, Creator of Safe Pastures, When my heart is afraid help me to put my trust in you. Give me eyes to see places today where I can do good. Remind me of the beautiful safe pastures you have created for me. Amen I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? When one sets out on a journey there can be a sense of excitement but also fear. We look through the open gate that has kept us safe in the past and see the mountains that lie in front of us. We see the beauty of the mountains but know that mountains can be hard places filled with clouds and storms.
In this Song of Ascents, one of a a set of Psalms used by pilgrims on a journey, the Psalmist sees the mountains and must face his fear. He questions how he will face the mountains in front of him and finds his answer in the Lord, his source of help for the journey. He puts his trust in the one who is stronger than the mountains, the Lord who made heaven and earth. When you face your mountains of fear, put your trust in the Lord. Accept his authority and let him be your keeper. With his strength you can face your mountains. Prayer Lord of the Mountains Keep us in your care as we face our mountains of fear. May we look to you as our source of strength and place our trust in you. Amen |
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Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan