II Timothy 1:7; James 1:2-4; Philippians 4:13; Nehemiah 8:10 - "Way Maker"

II Timothy 1:7

When I awoke during the night, I asked God to encourage me. As I prayed for Doc, I asked Him to heal him. It has been a week today that he has been sick and in bed with the exception of part of the day Thursday and part of Saturday. It's starting to get to me emotionally. Yesterday my favorite Walmart greeter asked, "Are you doing ok today?" It was then I realized how ragged I must look. I don't want to look that way. Even when I am drained in my physical and emotional beings I don't want to look like it. I want people to see Jesus in me. Maybe people will see Him in me when they see I'm worn but I haven't given up. Maybe they will see Him in me by seeing His strength keeps me going on the 'tough' days. His answer to encouraging me came in the form of Him telling me to ponder on Psalm 41. David wrote about how God cares for His people in this Psalm. Praise His Holy Name for that. I do not know how people get through life without Him. That is one of the reasons I need to get better at sharing Him with others, so they don't have to do life without Him. As I read Psalm 41 in different translations I was reminded that He provides what we need, when we need it. Matthew Henry wrote, The people of God are not free from poverty, sickness, or outward affliction, but the Lord will consider their case, and send due supplies. God knows what we need and He knows the perfect time to bless us with it. We cannot allow our circumstances to take us into sin. We cannot allow the enemy any open door into our lives. When we complain, that is an open door for the enemy to play havoc. Instead we must rejoice. James 1:2-4 tells us in the New Living Testament:

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Yes! Our faith will grow as we trust Him through trials on this earth. Those trials will bring us deeper in relationship with Him as we lean into Him. We will be empowered by the Holy Spirit as we allow Him to guide us in His love as II Timothy 1:7 tells us. His strength will be our strength as Philippians 4:13 reads. Nehemiah 8:10 reads, The joy of the Lord is my strength. Woo hoo! The way to have His joy is to put Jesus first; Others second; and Yourself last. That means we must walk in obedience to His will, loving with His love, and standing strong against the enemy. We must not depend on others but instead depend on the Lord. David knew he needed God to be in his life. He knew he needed to confess his sins before Him. We need to do the same daily. We need to ask Him to cleanse us so He can fill us with the Holy Spirit. When we do, He will bless us. We will live in His presence as we allow Him to direct our lives 24/7. Woo hoo! There is no better place to live. I love the way David ends this Psalm:

Everyone praise the Lord God of Israel, always and forever!
For he is from eternity past
and will remain for the eternity to come.
That’s the way it will be forever.
Faithful is our King! Amen! (NLT) 

Yes! We need to praise Him for all that He has done and all that He will do for us. I love how this translation brought out Faithful is our King! I had never read it before but that is what the word Amen means. Every time we end a prayer we are saying Faithful is our King! Wow, God! That is so cool! We pray with expectancy that He will answer our prayers. We must remember He answers every prayer but it may not be in the manner or the timing we desire. But His answers to our prayers are always what is best for us. Woo hoo!

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the encouragement from Psalm 41 this morning! Thank You for the way You care about me so much! Thank You for knowing what I need when I need it! Father, cleanse me today so You can fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit! Empower me to stand upon II Timothy 1:7 and love instead of fearing. Empower me to stand in Your strength as Philippians 4:13 speaks of. Empower me to have Your joy as Nehemiah 7:7 speaks of. Plain and simple. Empower me to live as You so desire throughout this day. Lord, I continue to pray for healing in Doc's body. May You bless him with a 'better' day physically today. I pray He will be in Your Word seeking encouragement. May he be filled with Your Holy Spirit today in a new, different way. Lord, I pray this morning for: Charlie whose mother is now with You; Spencer who is waiting on a liver transplant; Ward who is in ICU; many battling the flu; many battling cancer including Amanda's Daddy, Little Richie as he draws near to his last chemo, Holly and Amanda with new diagnosis, my pastor friend, Mike, June, and so many others; those battling Alzheimer's or dementia and their families and caretakers; those in rehab or going into rehab Angela, Corey, Sharon's Daddy, Linda, Craig, and others; and so many who need You to be their King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Father, may Your love show through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today. May You be greater than the circumstances of our life right now. Thank You Jesus for being My Way Maker! Amen.