Thursday Devotional - Faithful God as a Faithful Guide (6/15/23)

Does your GPS ever send you to the wrong location? We were travelling this weekend and were sent to a wrong parking lot. Thankfully, we realized where we really needed to be was one road over.

God doesn’t ever send us to the wrong place. He is a faithful guide!

Jeremiah 2:5-8        This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
    and became worthless themselves.
⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
⁷ I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.
⁸ The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
    the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
    following worthless idols.

God faithfully led the Israelites through the Dead Sea, the wilderness, the desert, and darkness. How well did they remember that and look to Him to navigate their lives going forward? Not well, according to this passage.

It’s easy to see how foolish the Israelites were, but what about you and me? Are we quick to forget about God’s faithfulness in the past? Or, do we continually remember and look to Him for guidance each day?

Thursday Devotional - Feeling Helpless

My Dad is home from the hospital! He is on high doses of a diuretic and an arrythmia medication. He has a ways to go to recover and regain strength, but he’s glad to be home!

Last night, though, James had another asthma attack. It seems like it has been one health issue after another all Fall (two almost week-long hospital stays for my Dad and several weeks struggling with asthma for James). We’ve done lots of praying for wisdom and direction. God’s the ultimate healer and the only one we can always turn to for help. He’s always listening and always available. 

Psalm 34:1-5, 19-22           

 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
² I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
³ Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame…
 

¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰ he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

As verse 19 says, not even the righteous are promised an easy life, but we are promised God will hear and help us through any trouble. Last night, I prayed several times for help and guidance. At different points, I felt helpless and that there wasn’t anything else to try. After several breathing treatments (medication and steam) over the course of a couple hours and a hot shower to try to help James, God did bring to mind a couple more things to try (Motrin and a humidifier). Finally James was able to fall asleep. Then, I finally started breathing better myself (and was able to sit down to write the devotional for today)! 😊

Where are you feeling helpless? Will you turn to God for help, listen for His answers and then give Him the glory? The book of Psalms is a great place to go for encouragement. Many of the Psalms that David wrote were while he was helplessly hiding from Saul and fleeing for his life (over the course of several years). He praised God in the midst of it all and knew Who to go to for help!  

Alice