trusting God

Praying on Purpose

March 4, 2024

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me— God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. Psalm 57: 1-3 NIV

Words fascinate me. (Yeah, I am a “word nerd!”) Take the word “purpose” for example. It can be both a noun and a verb, a thing and an action.

Purpose can be a noun, a thing. Ex: My PURPOSE (thing) is to read and understand the Bible better.

Purpose can also be a verb. Ex: I PURPOSED (action)to read my Bible every day.

David used purpose as a thing and an action, because he wanted and needed God.

David’s THING of purpose? Help. He wanted help from God because he was hiding out from enemies.

David’s ACTION on purpose? He purposed to pray. ( to get that help from God.)

It dawned on me while reading our verses for today, that David prayed on purpose. Don’t we all, though? We do not accidentally pray. We pray because we know who we are praying to has the power and faithfulness to help us.

In verse one, David cries out to God (on purpose) because he trusts God.

In verse two, David cries out to God (on purpose) because he knows God does all things for Him.

In verse three, David states what he knows God will do for him. All three of these verses speak to God’s intentions for us…to let Him be God and for us to trust His plan while we trust in Him, knowing how good and perfect He is.

GOD IS ALWAYS ON PURPOSE. HE NEVER MAKES ACCIDENTS.

It’s so encouraging to know that God designed us for a specific reason. His plans for our lives are not random or accidental, because He is perfect and makes no mistakes. We all have a holy purpose to act on, for God’s glory. That’s an amazing show of His love for us!

Dear Father, Please teach me to be more aware of Your perfection and my imperfection. Help me to be more prayerful in all I say and do. Direct my thoughts to pray in all situations, knowing You have my best in mind. Thank You for Your purpose for my life. Please light the way and lead me in Your perfect way as I seek You with all my heart. I love you! Amen

With love from the Father to you, have a great day!

Christina

God, What Do You Have Planned?

March 22, 2022

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:16-17

I do not have time for, nor do I plan for trials, but they happen anyway! Funny how that works! It’s a good thing we have trials, seriously, as awful as they are. That’s how we learn to trust God, among many other benefits. That’s what I learned four years ago…

My husband and I were coming home from a beach vacation and life was glorious. He was sleeping and I was driving and belting out gospel tunes, having the time of my life. (Yes, he can sleep through my singing, lol!) Then…BAM!!! Yep! Someone t-boned us! I don’t remember how I got off the road and missed steering us down the steep embankment while also avoiding traffic coming in from the right and oncoming traffic. This was not how I saw our day going. I wish I could say I rejoiced in my trial but I didn’t. In shock, I did thank Him that we were not seriously injured!

Long story short, I had lots of questions for God about timing and trials and how to get back home with a totalled car. The contradiction of the beautiful day and the ugly accident eventually taught me something cool about God’s timing though…He has HIS own reasons and HIS own timing. HE made me and HE made time. He knows me, so He knows what trials will teach me and how much time they need to take. He loves us so much that He has it all figured out, even though we don’t! And that was, and is still, a comfort to me. Thank You, Lord!

Have you ever felt that way? Bewildered, unable to figure out the reason for a trial, have you begged God to end it? That’s when I feel like asking, “God, how much longer?” It’s like saying, “I trust You, God and I know YOU know what You are doing, but I am a bit anxious.” It is not unlike a child in the back seat of a car asking, “How much longer, Dad? or “Shouldn’t we be there by now?” I am reminded of David asking God to take away his trial…

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Psalm 13:1-2

David may have been frustrated with his trials, but he knew, deep down, that God loved Him:) He trusted God’s plan.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. Psalm 139:5-6

Friend, He has your life in His loving hands. May you find comfort in the fact that He is with you and has your best interest at heart. Have a wonderful day:)…Tina