I’m sitting on the porch this morning and I willed myself to be still for a few minutes and just watch and listen to the world wake up. I watched as the colors of the sun peeked through the clouds for a ew minutes and then I watched as the fog rolled in over the lake. I love fog over the lake. It is a beauty all it’s own. Oh I’m always a sucker for a good sunrise, but watching the shimmery, silvery clouds settle in over the lake is a beautiful sight as well. I sat here for a few minutes and prayed for my people. My son, who is on a mission trip and will be returning to the states tomorrow. I prayed for my daughter in law and grands. I prayed for my other son who is looking for direction from the Lord for decisions. I prayed for my friend who called me yesterday with a broken heart. I prayed for my community, my church, my work friends, my state, my country and the world. I have done my Bible readings this morning and I pray that the words are penetrating my heart and not just being words on a page. And I am grateful that I know He hears me, He hears my requests and I know that what concerns me concerns Him.
I have a Lenten devotional on podcast that I am listening to every day from Ann Voskamp. It was a free gift available to you if you pre-ordered her latest book ~ Waymaker: Finding the Way to the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of. In the podcast today Ann quoted something I have heard some version of before many times, but it definitely bears repeating again.
“Jesus will either calm the waves or He will let the waves come and He will come and calm His child.”
I wrote that down in my journal this morning and I thought of the many times in my life I have prayed for answers and instead got His presence. There have also been times I have prayed for answers and I received them. Some of the answers I liked, some I didn’t. But writing that statement down and quoting it here serves as the reminder to me that whether I like the answers or not, or whether I even get the answers or not, coming to Him in prayer, I always get Him. My relationship with Jesus gives me the courage and the strength to go another day. It gives me the courage and the strength to say to Him, “I know You have carried me through in the past and I know You will carry me through in the future, but today I will just walk with You.” Life is full of uncertainty, isn’t it? I have already shared that sometimes I think I would like to have a glimpse into the future so I can be prepared. But truthfully, it’s much more satisfying to just walk with Him, with my Jesus every day. I know me too well and if I knew what was ahead, I might become too self-sufficient and think I was the one who had it all figured out.
So today, I ask the Lord to calm my friends broken heart. I ask Him to give my son the direction he so desires and if not the direction for the next year, or the next month, or even the next week, to give him the direction for today. I ask for traveling mercies for my husband and I ask for lives to be changed by my son and his team who are on mission for Him! I praise the Lord for the sun rising over the lake this morning and I pray He will direct my hands and my steps to honor and glorify Him today. I love that verse in Lamentations that reminds us that His mercies are new every morning. I love to remember that as long as I have walked with Him and as long as I continue to walk with Him, I may have good days and I may have bad days but I will always have Him.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
I pray you are finding new mercies in Him today as well. If you are having trouble finding them, if the winds and waves in your world seem to be swirling all about you, please take a moment, be still, and ask Him if He can’t calm your storm if He will at least calm your heart.
Restore 