Psalm 16 - "Don't Lose Heart"

Yesterday's sunrise was beautiful. Once again God spoke to me through the beauty of His creation. He reassured me He is with me every step of the way in life on this earth. He also reassured me as I allow Him to be in control of my life on this earth I will reap the blessing of eternal life with Him. He took me to Psalm 16 this morning to remind me of a few things. Verse eight reminds me to keep my focus on Him. We talked about this last night in Bible study. When we keep our focus on Him, we do not give the enemy an open door into our life. We also will be more apt to live as God desires as we focus on Him. In Psalm 16:8 David wrote of being at the right hand of God. This means God is close to David. He is always there for him ready to provide whatever is needed. That is exactly how God is for us today as we allow Him. He is here for us in 'good' days and in 'tough' days. He is here for us no matter what is happening in life. Matthew Henry wrote of this verse, Nothing will shake me or disturb me from my trust and confidence. That is the kind of life I desire to have with God. No matter what happens I want to stand strong in Him knowing He is with me. I reflected last night in Bible study about what all my Daddy went through in life while on this earth. He is my hero for standing firm in his faith through sixty plus surgeries, multiple battles with cancer, getting hit by a train, getting shot, etc. When I feel like giving up, I think of him and am encouraged to continue on. I love the part of verse eight where David wrote of having joy in Your presence. One cannot have true joy without having God in the center of their life. Living in His presence is where peace is found in the midst of the storms of life. I am reminded this morning of a song Steven Curtis Chapman sings called "Don't Lose Heart"...

Don't lose heart
Don't you dare let go
I've been where you are
You are not alone
I know it gets dark
I know it gets hard
But we're gonna make it home
So don't lose heart

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead today! Thank You for loving me so greatly and for the way You speak through nature to me! Thank You for being with many going through 'tough' days. May they experience Your peace in a new way today. Cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. May You flow from my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts in a mighty way today. May You be so close to: My Momma; my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Pete and Delores; Steve; Cait; Beth; Mike; Norma Hall; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; a young man out of rehab who needs strength in his daily walk; Rhonda; Mary Lilley; a husband/father separated from his wife; Brooklyn; Kristen Batten; Amber; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Sandy; Rick; Cyndi; Serenna and her husband; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many who are dealing with 'c' and/or going through treatments...Sharon's daughter Ashley; Chrissy's cousin; Shirley Jones; Preacher Bill Watts; Cait's friend with leukemia; my pastor friend with daily chemo; Little Ivy; Little Judson; Alex's niece; a young girl in our community; a lady whose breast cancer has returned; a lady diagnosed with stage two breast cancer; a friend with thyroid cancer; and Sue Danhoff's husband Harv. I pray for: the Long Family, Vickie and her son Jim, Becky, Ken, and Russ. Thank You for continued strength for Baby Henry! I pray for Elizabeth's mother who had another fall and a father with a prodigal daughter. Thank You for being My Joy! Amen.