Daily Devotion: April 26

Patience and Persistence

Nothing great is ever accomplished without persistence and patience because, in order to be successful, your dreams must translate into work.

The people who succeed in life are the people who are willing to do what they don’t feel like doing. They are not mastered by their moods, they are mastered by the Master, and they establish their goals and plans according to God’s will.

Eliezer was a great example of patience and persistence. We see his patience in choosing the right woman by making a detailed plan. He didn’t make a snap judgment. He wasn’t impulsive. The Bible says in Genesis 24:21 (NIV), “Without saying a word, [he] watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey succeed.”

If you are going to really reach your goals in life, sometimes you have to delay gratification. You have to do the tough thing instead of the fun thing, the right thing instead of the pleasurable thing.

Any goal that’s worth achieving is going to have obstacles in the way. You need to have a long-term view so, when difficulties come, you can persevere knowing that you are going to get past it.

God’s timing is perfect and ours is not. When you find yourself in God’s waiting room, just be patient and persistent. A God-given vision will always be fulfilled.

Scripture:
Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. (Genesis 24:21 NIV)

Rick Warren Daily Devotion

Day 9: Mourning

Mourning. When I hear the word mourn, I automatically think death. And I’ve had to mourn some great people. Death is one of those things that can truly shake someone’s faith. Especially when the death is someone too young. When I was 19 my cousin, who was 17) was in a four-wheeler accident and died. Her death rocked my faith. Why someone so young? What good can come from this? How is God good when he does such a thing? So many angry questions arose. It took me a very long time to let go of that anger. I still don’t have the answers to the good from her death. But I know God’s plan is always for our good. (Romans 8:28). So when I need to mourn whether it is death or the loss of anything important, I know that The Lord is near to me, He cradles my broken heart. Give your tears, pain and sorrow to Him.

Be blessed!
Faleesha

Giving My Utmost for His Highest

My Utmost for His Highest. “. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . .” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest—my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point—He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only—my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.

My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death—it makes no difference!” (see 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide—for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.

~As I read this devotion this morning, sitting in a rare moment of silence, on my parents couch (my current bed), it got me thinking about my current situation. My 3 kids and I are currently living with my parents. My husband is still in Minnesota searching for a job and a home we can afford. We have been in this situation or ones like it for almost 4 months now. It’s not an easy situation and almost the hardest one I’ve been in since marrying him. It’s hard because my almost 4 month old doesn’t like to sleep at night and my 5 and 6 year old are up all day. It’s tough because being 8 hours away from the love of your life everyday for two months now is no easy task. It is truly a great crisis in our lives right now. As I read my devotion for today all I could think of is “What orders from God did we disobey.” Was there things I wasn’t giving him that I was suppose to. Truth is, of course there was/is. I’m great at repeatedly coming back when times are really tough and laying it down, but I’m also a control freak and just as easily as I lay down my burdens and life at Christ’s feet, I turn around and pick it back up. So today, I once again laid it all down at the fee to the cross. I also laid my family there. I prayed that if God needed to break us more for us to give it ALL to Him that he does. I prayed for my husbands faith. Because when we got married it became us. We both have to be willing to give our utmost for His highest, it can’t be just one of us and the crisis goes away. It has to be both. Please be in prayer for my family, and I pray that you also learn to give your utmost for His highest.

Be Blessed

Day 8: Most Repeated

This is by far my most repeated scripture. I use it almost daily. I use it during the nights that the baby isn’t sleeping, during trying times. This is a favorite. 🙂

Daily Devotion: April 25

God Teaches Create a Step-by-step Plan

Eliezer designed a simple but well-thought plan to find Isaac’s wife. He took ten of Abraham’s camels with him, loaded with samples of the best of everything Abraham owned. He journeyed to Nahor and then made the camels kneel down outside the town beside a well.

Eliezer then prayed, “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.’ If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,’ let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.” (Genesis 24:42-44 NLT)

Now this was a big deal because camels can drink a lot of water. So that meant the woman would have to draw 20, 30, maybe 40 buckets of water. That’s a serious commitment. And that’s the kind of woman Eliezer was looking for – a woman who was kind, generous, had a servant’s heart, was willing to help someone in need and would go the extra mile.

And you know what? His plan worked. A woman named Rebekah offered Eliezer a drink of water and then she offered to water his camels also.

Ask yourself two questions: 1) How do I intend to get there once I know what my goal is? 2) How long will it take?

You can either drift through life or you can be directed through life by taking the time to think through where God wants you to be. Is your future worth the effort? Yes, absolutely!

Scripture:
“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘ Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’ (Genesis 24:42-44 NIV)

Rick Warrens Daily Devotions

Day 7: Helped Me Through

Verse: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)

Every time I go through a rough time, it wears me down. I get tired, depressed and just weary of life. But it seems that every time I am at my lowest God puts someone in my face to push this verse back at me. God works for the GOOD of those who love Him. Every struggle I go through, every rough time I have is for the overall good of me. It’s not always easy to remember. But I know I have a great purpose for all the bad things I’ve been through.

Daily Devotion: April 23

Patience and Persistence

Nothing great is ever accomplished without persistence and patience because, in order to be successful, your dreams must translate into work.

The people who succeed in life are the people who are willing to do what they don’t feel like doing. They are not mastered by their moods, they are mastered by the Master, and they establish their goals and plans according to God’s will.

Eliezer was a great example of patience and persistence. We see his patience in choosing the right woman by making a detailed plan. He didn’t make a snap judgment. He wasn’t impulsive. The Bible says in Genesis 24:21 (NIV), “Without saying a word, [he] watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey succeed.”

If you are going to really reach your goals in life, sometimes you have to delay gratification. You have to do the tough thing instead of the fun thing, the right thing instead of the pleasurable thing.

Any goal that’s worth achieving is going to have obstacles in the way. You need to have a long-term view so, when difficulties come, you can persevere knowing that you are going to get past it.

God’s timing is perfect and ours is not. When you find yourself in God’s waiting room, just be patient and persistent. A God-given vision will always be fulfilled.

Scripture:
Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. (Genesis 24:21 NIV)

Rick Warren Daily Devotional

Day 6: Repentance

Verse: I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:7 NIV)

God rejoices when we repent of our sins. He’s happy when we come to him for forgiveness.

Daily Devotion: April 22

Sorry for the absence. It’s been a really busy couple of days. I’m just going to pick up where we left off.

God Teaches Create a Step-by-step Plan

Eliezer designed a simple but well-thought plan to find Isaac’s wife. He took ten of Abraham’s camels with him, loaded with samples of the best of everything Abraham owned. He journeyed to Nahor and then made the camels kneel down outside the town beside a well.

Eliezer then prayed, “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.’ If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,’ let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.” (Genesis 24:42-44 NLT)

Now this was a big deal because camels can drink a lot of water. So that meant the woman would have to draw 20, 30, maybe 40 buckets of water. That’s a serious commitment. And that’s the kind of woman Eliezer was looking for – a woman who was kind, generous, had a servant’s heart, was willing to help someone in need and would go the extra mile.

And you know what? His plan worked. A woman named Rebekah offered Eliezer a drink of water and then she offered to water his camels also.

Ask yourself two questions: 1) How do I intend to get there once I know what my goal is? 2) How long will it take?

You can either drift through life or you can be directed through life by taking the time to think through where God wants you to be. Is your future worth the effort? Yes, absolutely!

Scripture:
“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘ Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’ (Genesis 24:42-44 NIV)

Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional

Daily Devotional April 19

What’s Keeping You from Your Goal?

Ask yourself, “Why haven’t I reached my goal already?” What are the barriers, obstacles, and road blocks in your way?

It may be a financial problem or a relational problem or an educational problem holding you back. For some people, it’s an emotional barrier. A lot of people sabotage their own success because they think they aren’t worthy of it. Whatever your barrier is, you need to identify it before you can move forward.

In Genesis 24, Eliezer had a number of barriers to his goal of finding a wife for Isaac. He had to figure out how to get to a country he’d never been to, then he had to find the right woman he’d never met. And then he had to convince her to go back with him to a country she’d never been to and marry a complete stranger. Oh, and he had to convince her parents to let her go! Most people would call that “mission impossible.”

Today I have an assignment for you. I want you to write down on paper what your goals are and then I want you to list the barriers. Why am I having you do this? Because you can’t remove an obstacle until you first identify what it is.

Scripture:
The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” (Genesis 24:5 NIV)

~Rick Warren Daily Devotional~