Tag: god

Posted on in Encouragement, Prayers

“Here For The Comments”!

Have you ever noticed on some social media posts people will often comment “I’m here for the comments” followed with a meme of someone eating popcorn? I must admit there are times I have gone straight to the comments, because I expected the comments would be interesting. The other day I started looking at comments on a particular post knowing I was not going to comment myself. I was just curious to see how people would respond. There are times, in my opinion, I will find comments to be rude, harsh, opinionated and disrespectful. These types of comments are becoming more prevalent no matter the content or humor intended behind an actual post.

Some months back, I commented favorably on a public post about the outcome of a college football game. My comment was not hurtful or demeaning in anyway, but someone decided they wanted to respond to my comment in a sarcastic way. I was tempted to go back and forth with this person that I did not know, but I chose not to respond. I actually deleted my comment, because had I left it up, I probably would have responded negatively to the sarcasm. I don’t think I took the “high road”, but I do know what was best for me at the time.

When I thought about “here for the comments”, I wondered how we would feel if Jesus, Himself, wrote I AM here for the comments. I would hope He is pleased with some of our comments, but I would think a good portion of them are very disappointing to Him. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” This means there are consequences in what we say to each other and even what we say about ourselves. Most often, in these posts where people may choose to comment, they don’t know the person making the post and they don’t know those who are commenting. However, they are comfortable stating opinions in a disrespectful way. Some people have become comfortable engaging in very demeaning conversations trying too hard to get their point across or to make a shameful attempt at being humorous. There are some who are not phased by the comments, but what about the person who may take it to heart? What about the one person who may feel shamed based on the comments made? What about the person who may be lead to be just as negative or just as spiteful? Just because we may be thinking it, does it mean we have to make the comment?

I have to repeat this verse from Psalm 19:14 as a prayer to myself on a regular basis: Father, Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, You are my Strength and my Redeemer. I try to be mindful of what I say or write to others and I try to be mindful of the tone of my voice when speaking. I would hope I am being more encouraging to others and not tearing them down. I would like to think I will most often choose to take the high road and not get pulled into a pit of insults with someone I don’t even know. I would rather speak or write life giving words of affirmation and not words of discouragement.

So if you know Jesus is “here for the comments” and He is, would you choose your words more carefully?

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Dear Father, thank You for today. Thank You for choosing to wake me up this morning and guiding me through another day. LORD, thank You for being mindful of me and helping me to be a better person than I was yesterday. Father, I pray the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart will be acceptable to You. I pray the words I speak or write will encourage others and not cause hurt or harm. I pray my spoken and written comments will come forth from a place of love, respect, grace and compassion. Father, forgive me when I have chosen to say or write anything that has not been good to others or pleasing to You. Forgive me when I have hastily responded out of a place of anger or frustration. Dear God, thank You for another chance. I pray You will continue to remind me that You are “here for my comments”! In Jesus’ precious name, amen!

All Things Beautiful

Can you believe we have made it through the 1st quarter of 2024 and spring is here? I haven’t started any yard work yet mainly because the temperature has not really warmed up enough for me to do so. However, there are plenty of visible weeds to pull and pollen is covering everything it can possibly cover. In the past week I have looked over my yard trying to decide what I want to plant this year and also to see which perennial plants are starting to peek through the ground.

Last spring I planted two rosebushes near where sections of my fence form a corner into my back yard. Although I have some petite roses, this was my first attempt to plant the standard size roses. During the summer one of the two rosebushes adjusted to where it was planted and actually produced some roses. The other rosebush seemed to struggle taking root, and I was not sure if it would survive in the summer heat. I noticed during the winter months both rosebushes were still in place along the fence, and the freezing temperatures didn’t destroy them. I have also noticed both rosebushes appear to have grown considerably in the past couple of months. Now this may be normal for roses, but as I said this has been my first attempt at growing standard size roses.

Today as I was standing at the back door, I noticed blooms on the rose bush that had appeared to struggle the most last year. Hopefully, by now you have noticed the picture above with the beautiful and vibrant red roses!  Yes, there are five roses I cut from that one rosebush!  As I started to cut each rose from the bush and marveling at how pretty they are, I thought about the scripture in Ecclesiastes that says God has made everything beautiful in its time.  

Both of these rosebushes were planted in close proximity to each other. They were planted in the same soil and they were exposed to the same weather conditions. Both of the rosebushes survived the summer’s heat and the cold winter temperatures and they survived the storms that came with each season. They even survived my novice gardening skills for roses. 

When we go through tough times and challenges in our lives, we have to prayerfully wait for changes to occur. As believers, we have to continually pray through our struggles as we wait for an answer from God. As I thought about the condition of this one rosebush, I thought about how we as believers should strive to grow closer to God even during our times of struggle. I thought about how we should gain strength from Him to keep holding on as we go through certain things. I thought about how God is mindful of us even when we appear to be giving up on ourselves or giving up on others.  I am so thankful I didn’t let my frustrations, impatience and gardening inexperience move me to pull up the one rosebush from where it was planted.  I am grateful the rosebush became more rooted in where it was planted and it didn’t stop trying to grow. I am thankful for the five beautiful roses.

The rosebush which appeared to struggle after being planted didn’t seem to adjust to or take root where it was planted. Whereas the other one took no time to adjust to its surroundings after it was planted into the ground.  Have you seen that happen in your life or someone else’s life; perhaps at work or in school? Some may receive what is perceived as better opportunities and/or receive quicker blessings. They got the promotion, but you didn’t. They had better grades and you were struggling to pass the class. I know we should not get hung up on comparisons, but there are times you can’t help but to notice certain things. This is when we have to dig deeper to trust God for His answer and to trust His timing. This is when we have to hold on to our faith and stay rooted in God’s Word. This is when we should see growth in our prayer life. God’s Word tells us:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV

“I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.”  John 15:5 NIV

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 NIV

“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”  Psalm 126:5 NIV

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

In the picture above there are five beautiful red roses that I have in a glass and placed on my dining room table. Today these were the only roses on the one rosebush for me to cut. The number five symbolizes God’s grace toward us; His unmerited favor. I am so thankful that we are saved by God’s grace and He has made everything beautiful in its time.

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Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for being our Creator, our Protector and our Provider. Thank You for seeing us through another day. Thank You for being so good to us and for showing mercy towards us. Forgive us of our sins and help us to live better and more righteously each day.  Father, please give us strength to press on when times are hard. Bless us to grow closer to You and to become more firmly rooted in our faith journey.  We thank You for being our strength when we are weak. We thank you for holding on to us when we feel like letting go. Precious Father, we thank You for making all things beautiful in its time.  In the wonderful name of Jesus, amen! 

Leaning The Right Way

Life is. . . 

So many extra words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, or chapters that can be added to the phrase “Life is”. One minute life is good and the next minute life may not be so good. What should we as believers do to help us navigate through these moments? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 ”Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (NKJV)

This scripture has blessed me and comforted me in so many ways and so many times. I will often share this scripture with others when they are seeking answers. There are times in my own life where I just don’t understand the why, but I do know God has a plan for me. I have to remember to trust Him when the times are not so good just as much, if not more, as I trust Him when times are good. I have learned over the years not to try to figure things out on my own. It took me some time to get here in my thinking and in my prayer life, but thankfully, there has been progress. 

When the not so good moments occur, I have to go to God for Him to comfort me and to give me the peace I need. He can do that better than me phoning a friend or posting my circumstances on social media. He can comfort me better than retail therapy or eating too much of a favorite dessert. No one understands me better than God understands me. No one understands you better than God understands you. Remember, He is the One who created you and knit you together in your mother’s womb. He is the One who knows your thoughts even before you think them or speak them (Psalm 139).

Perhaps this is why  Proverbs 3:5 starts off with ” Trust in the LORD with all your heart”. We have to trust Him because He is the One who gave us our hearts. He loves us just as we are and He knows how we are feeling about certain issues in our lives. Then we have to lean not unto your own understanding”. God is saying I may not need you to understand right at this particular moment, but in time you will get some understanding out of your circumstances. God is saying if you trust Him and don’t try to figure things out on your own and also acknowledge Him, then He will set you on the right path. We have to lean in the right direction at all times and in all of our ways. The right way to go is to lean towards God.

There is a hymn we sang in church when I was a young girl titled “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms”. Hopefully, some of you know this song and/or remember it. Back then I had a hymn book in my hands and I would sing along with the rest of the congregation.  Here are a few lines in this song:

“What a blessedness, what a peace is mine.

Leaning on the everlasting arms. 

Leaning, leaning;  Safe and secure from all alarms.”

Safe and secure from all alarms! In other words, acknowledge Him in all our ways, then we will be safe and secure. Life is full of surprises. Life is full of ups and downs. How we manage to get through each day is key. Do we try to figure everything out and keep asking why? Or, do we turn to God and trust Him to lead us the right way. John 10:10 says ”The thief does not come except to steal and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” When we are leaning the right way, we are trusting God and trusting His plans for our lives. Life is better when we come to know we can trust God and don’t have to figure things out on our own. The right way to lean is to trust God and to acknowledge Him.

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Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for the blessing of life you have given us this day. You woke us up this morning. We are grateful that You are protecting us and providing for us right now. We thank You, Father, for being merciful and loving towards us. Please forgive us of our sins. Forgive us for when we try to understand things on our own without trusting You and acknowledging You. Help us, Father, to be more intentional in seeking You for direction and clarity in our circumstances. Thank You, Father, for directing our paths and for Your word being a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. Thank You for being the Everlasting Arms we can lean into at all times and be safe from all harm and dangers. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen and amen, again.