Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you! This is party day here and we are going to Costco to get the Birthday cake for celebrating 9 birthdays in September. Our son from N.C is also arriving today for a week and will be at the cabin part of the time and with us the other half.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
It is quite likely we have all gone through heart-wrenching experiences in our lives and felt like our hearts were crushed. It could be in the death of someone we love or feeling betrayed by a close friend etc. I read two Psalms today and in Ps. 34, David escaped from Abimelech and is praising the Lord with a heart full of thanks. He tells how God met him in his desperate situation and shares in verse 18, “If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there. If you’re kicked in the gut, He’ll help you catch your breath.” He had been in many tight situations in his life but had experienced God listening to him and delivering him. If you feel like that today, know that God not only listens to you, He will rescue you.

The second Psalm I read today was Psalm 77 that Asaph who was one of David’s chief musicians wrote on a night he feels very upset and faint. I noticed the Psalm is full of “I’s” as he tells how he can’t sleep all night and says, “I cry aloud to God… I think of God and I moan; I meditate and my spirit faints…I am so troubled I cannot speak etc. But then I notice things change as he switches the focus from himself to the Lord and begins worshiping Him. He goes from asking if God has forgotten him to recalling all of God’s wonderful deeds and His goodness during the difficult times. He starts meditating on the Lord and how He led His people through the Red Sea and worked wonders.

God can help us shift our focus as we also go through desperate times. We can share how we feel but then remember how faithful He has been and all that He has taken us through before. Listen for God’s voice as He will lead us through our own Red Sea to see His mighty hand and work His miracles.

Challenge for today: In those times of discouragement, meditate on God’s Word and also the works that He has performed and give thanks.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy