Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Steven Curtis Chapman singing His Strength Is Perfect … powerfully singing of how we can rely on God’s strength when we’re feeling weakened or frustrated by the circumstances of life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 4:13 [ESV] ... 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
… Paul shows us the key to contentment and handling the multiple frustrations of life.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 4:10-20 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Writing from the frustration of prison, Paul, shows fellow Christians that His resting and waiting on Christ was the key to dealing with frustrating circumstances in life.
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Reference Passage : … Isaiah 26:3 [ESV] … 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in you.
… God’s song, thru Isaiah, of how we can find His peace … by focusing our thoughts on Him rather than ourselves or the world.
Reference Passage : … Romans 12:2 [ESV] … 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
… Rather than trying to conform our minds to the world’s values, when we pursue the mind of Christ [i.e., His will], we can find so much more contentment.
Reference Passage : … 1Timothy 6:6-7 [ESV] … 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
… Paul exhorts Timothy (and us) to hold on to walking a Godly life as a key to contentment, rather than trying to satisfy the world
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Anne Cetas, uses a parlor game to illustrate how life can be frustrating at times when we’re handling many issues at one time. … The ODB author wrote: You might know what it’s like. The bills keep arriving after a medical procedure—from the anesthesiologist, the surgeon, the lab, the facility. Jason experienced this after an emergency surgery. He complained, “We owe thousands of dollars after insurance. If only we can get these bills paid, then life will be good and I’ll be content! I feel like I’m playing the arcade game Whack-a-Mole” - [see photo] - where plastic moles pop up from their holes, and the player hits them wildly with a mallet.
My guess would be that many reading here can identify with “Whack-a-Mole” life experiences, where we’re trying to control one issue and another keeps popping up to create frustration. Peace and contentment in life are hard to find and hold onto, aren’t they?
Well, that’s what the Apostle Paul (in the highlight other reference passages above) was writing about to fellow Christians like us, … as he taught that humbly focusing on our relationship with Christ gives us the strength to deal with the frustrations which life can - AND WILL - present. And that’s what Steven Curtis Chapman sings about in the linked song; and so I hope, and pray, that we’ll drive ourselves to do all we can in life but take our frustrations to the Lord and focus on knowing Him more intimately to help us find more peace in this “Whack-a-Mole” life we lead.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for showing me the way to deal with my frustrations.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to get to know Jesus more thru His word today to help us take our minds off this “Whack-a-Mole” world. 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,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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