Month: April 2022

Devotional

Psalm 71-Part One of Five

kathrynhugheswriter

In You, O LORD, I Put My Trust

In You, O LORD, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; Psalm 71:1-3 NKJV

I often put my trust in myself, not wanting to be disappointed by others letting me down. When I fail, I beat myself up for it. Trusting in things like cars, finances, or jobs doesn’t work either. Cars break down, finances fluctuate, and jobs end.

How much better it is when I put my trust in the LORD! There is no shame in Him. The LORD is my strong refuge to which I can continually go, knowing God welcomes me.

I’m learning to trust God more. One lesson is that God is faithful to provide. My husband, Cliff, was laid off from jobs as cell phone manufacturing and other technical jobs moved out of the United States. In 2008, Cliff was training his replacements in another country, so we decided I needed to rejoin the work force after years as a stay-at-home mom. Cliff was laid off a few months later. With the 2008 economic crisis, companies weren’t hiring. As unemployment stretched from weeks to months, our hope drained as fast as our savings. We both worried. Cliff applied to about 470 jobs, but only two companies interviewed him. I wondered if I should leave the teacher’s aide position I enjoyed and find full time work, but our high school aged son was not driving yet and we were his transportation. Our daughter was in college. The job search and financial situation seemed hopeless.

We were praying, but it took awhile to realize that God was answering our prayers differently for a reason. In the eight months that Cliff was unemployed, God was teaching us to trust Him to provide. Sometimes His provision was a meal or financial gift from a friend or from our church. Other times it was an odd job of house repair, or extra hours at my school. We rejoiced when Cliff was hired! Trusting God to provide was a lesson that we’ve reviewed. Another eight-month period of Cliff searching for a job in 2013 found me at peace, knowing that while it was difficult, I could trust the Lord to provide as He had done before.  A job loss doesn’t mean that God stops caring for me and my family.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Let’s trust God in our situations. Let’s rely on Him and not on ourselves. He has the best plans for each of us. He loves us. He hears us when we pray or cry. He delivers us in His righteousness.  As we recognize that, we can release our grip on our lives and allow the LORD to be in control. Even when life seems to be spinning faster than the washing machine spin cycle, we can choose to remember God’s faithfulness in our own life. Reading through the Bible passages will show us the Lord’s faithfulness to those in Bible times.

Dear LORD, help me to trust You instead of myself. When I rely on myself, my foundation is sinking sand that shifts with my moods and insecurities. Help me remember that You are my firm foundation. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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Thank you for joining me and for reading my devotional blogs. I hope and pray that you will be touched by God in a special way each time you visit. Blogs usually post every other Thursday. Past devotionals are archived for your convenience.

Top photo Image by Lisa Caroselli from Pixabay 

Devotional

Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday – Part Two of Two: A Journey from the Cross to Christ’s Resurrection

kathrynhugheswriter

Jesus said to the disciples, “Thus it was written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24:46-48 NKJV

Imagine the disciples’ dismay as they saw the Lord Jesus go to the Cross. Their leader was gone. They expected He would set up His earthly kingdom. Instead Jesus wore a crown of thorns. Killed between thieves, Jesus lay dead in a rich man’s tomb, as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 53; Matthew 27).  

They didn’t understand Jesus’ words that He would die and then rise again in three days. They saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, but had anyone ever raised themselves? How hard it was for the words to be real to them.

Then Sunday morning came. Resurrection Sunday! The faithful women who went to anoint Jesus’ body discovered the empty tomb! An angel of the Lord told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell the disciples that He is risen from the dead…” Matthew 28:5-7 NKJV

The disciples thought the women’s words were idle tales. Jesus appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus, to Simon, and to the disciples in the upper room before they believed Jesus was alive! (See Mark 16; Luke 24; John 21)

Believing in the risen Lord changed the disciples’ lives! No longer fearful and hiding from authorities in a locked room, the disciples became courageous for the message of Jesus, making disciples and teaching people to obey Jesus.

Would I have believed the women? Would I have been like Thomas and doubted all of the reports? Thomas did not believe until Jesus came saying “Reach…look…Do not be unbelieving but believing.” John 20:24-29

I believe that Jesus is God and that he died and rose again. It is the day-to-day living I struggle with. Sometimes I forget that Jesus’ promises apply to me. Remission of sins…My head agrees, but how quickly I listen to the devil’s accusations that I am not good enough or obedient enough for God.

Jesus promised “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20. When things are going badly, it is hard for the words to be real to me.

  If I lived like I believed Jesus was always with me, would I be fearful when facing difficulty? Should I instead trust Him in all things? Yes, in all things.

How about you? Do you believe that Jesus is the risen Lord? Do you doubt like the disciples did? Or do you stand firm in God’s promises?

Let’s bring our doubts and fears to Jesus. He triumphed over the grave! Is there anything too hard for Him? Jesus can change us!

Dear Lord Jesus, Please help me to trust You in all things. When trials come, help my heart and my head to both say “I believe in You, and that You keep Your promises.”  Forgive me of my doubts and attitudes that reflect me and not You. Help me be a witness for You. Amen.

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Thank you for joining me and for reading my devotional blogs.  Blogs post every other Thursday. Past devotionals are archived for your convenience. The previous devotional follows this one on the web page.