Devotional Song: Go to this link – Please take your time to see a video of images behind Steven Curtis Chapman singing the poignant song His Strength Is Perfect , which becomes all the more touching when one remembers that Chapman lost his infant daughter in a tragic accident when his teenage son accidently killed their adopted infant daughter.
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Highlight Verse – NKJV: Psalms 55: 1-4 [NKJV] …
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide Yourself from my supplication. 2 Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, 3 because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me, and in wrath they hate me. … 4 My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
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Highlight Passage: Psalms, Chapter 55 [NKJV] … Go to this link ...
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Reference Passage #1: Proverbs 3: 5-6 … [NKJV] …
5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your hear and lean not on your own understanding. 5 In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.
Reference Passage #2: Lamentation 3: 22-23 … [NKJV] …
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
Reference Passage #3: Isaiah 26: 3 … [NKJV] …
3 You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on You, because he trusts in You.
Reference Passage #4: Isaiah 41: 10 … [NKJV] …
10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
My Journal for Today: Everyone, at some time, has felt lost, as a ship at sea, with no navigation devices, … not a clue where to go or what to do? Steven Curtis Chapman, the popular, award winning, Christian singer, had to have felt like that after his teenage son tragically, and accidentally, ran over and killed their infant adopted daughter. And imagine what the teenage son must’ve felt like. And I’m sure many, if not most, reading here can remember a time when all seemed lost, … or when life was a confused mess, … or when all felt like circumstances were collapsing in on us.
King David had to have felt that way when his son, Absalom, was trying to kill him, mounting a coup against his father. And according to scholars, at that time, he wrote a song (i.e., Psalm 55) which reflected his feelings of being lost and his dismay at the time. And this shows believers that we need not try to hide our confusion, grief, or feelings of lostness from our God when things have gone all amuck in our lives.
No, … these are times when we need the rock solid truth of God’s word and His promises to lift us up when we’re feeling so weak … or to give us direction when we feel lost. Oh how Satan would love to use our circumstances to turn us away from God and His ways; … and when, because of our feelings, we are vulnerable to letting our fickle feelings turn us in grief, confusion, or dismay, away from the one source of strength and direction we have … and that is our relationship with God.
Friend, I don’t know where you are today or what you’re feeling. Perhaps you’re even in a place of strength, peace, or joy. But if not, or maybe you vividly remember a time of emotional/spiritual turmoil in your life, … take in the scriptures above [hopefully into your memory bank], truths which popped into my mind when I read my devotional today. And they are beacon truths which bring me back into more peace in the midst of turmoil or give me direction when I’m feeling lost. And I will pray that we all keep our compass focused on Christ when life takes us into dark places where we’re feeling so lost.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I pray that any reading with me here, including myself, remember, as Steven Curtis Chapman, sings, … "Your strength is perfect when our strength is gone!” … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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