Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
March 10, 2024
Psalm 118:15-25
15 The sounds of joyful songs and deliverance are heard in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s strong hand is victorious! 16 The LORD’s strong hand is ready to strike! The LORD’s strong hand is victorious!” 17 I won’t die—no, I will live and declare what the LORD has done. 18 Yes, the LORD definitely disciplined me, but he didn’t hand me over to death. 19 Open the gates of righteousness for me so I can come in and give thanks to the LORD! 20 This is the LORD’s gate; those who are righteous enter through it. 21 I thank you because you answered me because you were my saving help. 22 The stone rejected by the builders is now the main foundation stone! 23 This has happened because of the LORD; it is astounding in our sight! 24 This is the day the LORD acted; we will rejoice and celebrate in it!
Good Morning! This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Each new day is a gift. I believe that as we get older, we are more appreciative of the gift of life. As youngsters, we take this gift for granted, and we are quick to complain and wish away days or even years. Remember saying that you wished you were a certain age?
Along with this goes the need to take charge of our lives. When we move from childhood to being an adult, we can’t wait to make decisions for ourselves. We want command of everything that affects our lives. At some point, the balls that we believe we keep balanced in the air come crashing down, and all we want is for someone to clean up our mess and tell us everything is going to be okay.
This is often our first adult encounter with God. Despite being raised in the church, we often go through a period of rejection of God because we didn’t want to feel obligated to do anything that we didn’t choose for ourselves. When our world disintegrates before us, we start to long for simpler times and there is God waiting for us to turn over our control.
God does not admonish us or even shake his head at the mess we have created. God simply reaches out a hand and embraces us as if we were the beings that he created in us so long ago. We submit and say Thank You as we allow God to lead the way at least until our confidence returns and we try it all again.
The Good News is that no matter how many times we must run this scenario of taking charge, God is always ready to pick up our pieces when we are ready for help.
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. Oh my, what a mess we can create. Thank you for giving us a way to survive our messes. We thank you! In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Give thanks to God for the gift of each day.
Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart! Pastor Liz
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