Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
August 5, 2024
Psalm 139:13-24
13 You are the one who created my innermost parts; you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb. 14 I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart. Your works are wonderful—I know that very well. 15 My bones weren’t hidden from you when I was being put together in a secret place, when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my embryo, and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me, before any one of them had yet happened. 17 God, your plans are incomprehensible to me! Their total number is countless! 18 If I tried to count them—they outnumber grains of sand! If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you. 19 If only, God, you would kill the wicked! If only murderers would get away from me 20 the people who talk about you, but only for wicked schemes; the people who are your enemies, who use your name as if it were of no significance. 21 Don’t I hate everyone who hates you? Don’t I despise those who attack you? 22 Yes, I hate them—through and through! They’ve become my enemies too. 23 Examine me, God! Look at my heart! Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts! 24 Look to see if there is any idolatrous way in me, then lead me on the eternal path!
Good Morning! We are loved by the one who created us!
God blesses us abundantly. As we navigate our earthly walk, we experience joyful times, and we endure challenges. For most of us, our journey resembles a river that ebbs and flows. Along our way, we move from calm waters that allow us to float along comfortably to facing obstacles that churn up the water.
It seems idyllic to wish for the calm waters to last forever, but consider what happens. When everything is calm, we sit down to rest. If there is no need to get up, how long would we sit resting? It is easy to sit so long that it is hard to get up and rejoin the game. God created us to be an integral part of the world around us, not to be a spectator.
While inactivity leads to weakness, struggles make us stronger. God promises that working and serving as Jesus taught us is worth the effort. In answering God’s call to love and serve others, we move towards our rewards in heaven. Don’t become a couch potato, joyfully serve God.
Loving God, Thank you for creating us. We imagine the joys of an uneventful existence, but you help us see that you did not create us for this. You created us to lead others to Christ. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Embrace challenges as a way to grow!
God is with us! Pastor Liz
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