Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. The weather has been gorgeous and the walks on the trail so beautiful. Today I plan to go Aldi’s and my exercise class and do some cooking and baking.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We all have times when we have hurting hearts due to pain or sorrow and we tend to get more serious about God. It may be in a sudden moment that we know we can’t go on without Him for our need is great, and we say, “Lord, I need you!! I can’t do life on my own, I need you!” Whatever circumstance it is that drives us to the Lord is really a gift, for it puts us in position to receive God’s grace and healing power as we depend on Him.

Perhaps we have been going merrily along in our life and everything is good, and suddenly we hit a wall. It could be a circumstance that will change everything, or it could be hurtful words that pierced our heart, but whatever it is, we feel helpless and needy. God specializes in using those circumstances to draw us to Himself and it is a time He displays His power, for it says that “His power is perfected in our weakness.” (II Cor. 12:9). We come to realize in a deep way that our need for the Lord is great!

There are secondary benefits, for our pride gets crushed. Such times drive us to the Word where we hungrily read scripture to claim verses that sustain us.  We also may become more sympathetic to others and slower to judge them, for we know what it is like to feel like being in the pit. Hopefully we come to realize that life is very brief and discover what is really important and can come to rest in Him.

When we are delivered from our circumstance and pain, we may be filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise. Hopefully we see that God was producing fruit in our lives and now we have become more patient, understanding and loving toward others… more like Jesus. May our hurting times produce growth in each of us, for we need the Lord all the time.

Challenge for today: When trying times come into your life, run to the Lord for His help and respond to all that He would teach you.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy