From Despair to Peace

By Janet Morris Grimes –

Have you ever noticed the difference between 22 and 23? In the book of Psalms, I mean. As many times as I’ve read through those passages, I never considered putting the two of them together. What a sharp contrast they bring to each other.

The twenty-second Psalm begins like this: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?”

And then there is the twenty-third Psalm, perhaps the most well-known Psalm of all. The Psalm that calms the soul. “The LORD is my Shepherd. I lack nothing.”

Both are psalms, or devotional songs, written by David. Both exposed the depths of his heart in the truest of ways. And both demonstrate one of the key traits of a deepening relationship with God–the ongoing conversation.

I don’t know what transpired between the 22nd or 23rd Psalm. How much time passed between them? Were they written one after another, chronologically? Or were they just placed in that order by happenstance?

It really does not matter. What matters is that they represent two extremes of the bond between David and his God.

David doubted. He begged. He pleaded. He laid his fears and longings on the altar, releasing his anger along with them. He wondered what was taking so long, or if God was even listening at all.

These are feelings each of us can relate to; at times, we all feel that God is more distant than ever.

So, how did David get from the depths of his despair to the place of peace, beside the still waters mentioned in Psalm 23?

In order to reach that same destination, we must follow the path left by the rest of Psalm 22. David first reminds himself of who God is, and who He has always been. In verse 10, he says “from my mother’s womb, you have been my God.” In verse 11, David recognizes that no one else can help him; “trouble is near, and there is no one to help.”

He then begins to cross over the bridge that leads to the place of peace—the place we most desire. David claims the victory God was already providing, even before he saw the evidence. In verse 31, David rejoices, “they will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn, ‘he has done it!’”
PRAYER: Dear God, help us find your path to peace. Thank you for allowing us to ask the tough questions, and thank you even more for answering them. Lead us beside the still waters; to the place where we fully understand that we truly lack nothing.

“He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3 NIV).

The Proverbs 31…Man?

By Kathi Woodall –

Many of us are acquainted with the Proverbs 31 Woman. Not to get into name-calling, but sometimes she goes by Noble, and some people call her Virtuous. I prefer to call her Chayil Woman because that’s her name in Hebrew. When her name comes up in conversation, we think, “Oh no, not her again.” I know that’s how I felt until I took the time to get to know her. Then I saw the side of her most people don’t see; a valiant woman protecting and defending her home and her children from the invading evils of the world.

Although she is primarily known as a child of God, she is also widely seen as a wife. Her role as a wife makes me wonder, have any of us ever met her husband, the Proverbs 31 Man? How would we recognize the Chayil Man?

In Proverbs 31, our proverbial sister is introduced in verse ten, and her husband puts in an appearance in the very next verse. “Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:11-12 NIV). The Chayil Man is confident because his wife is strong, capable, faithful, and generous. Her actions add goodness to their life together rather than distress or misery. He has confidence and a sense of security in knowing his wife takes care of issues with wisdom.

Like many men, the Chayil Man is quiet for several verses and appears again in Proverbs 31:23. “Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.” The Chayil Man is respected. His wife doesn’t ridicule or criticize him to his face, to her friends or to her mother. She doesn’t subtly or overtly manipulate and control him. Just as he loves her as Christ loved the church, she submits to his authority (Ephesians 5:22-25). Her private and public respect not only increases his confidence, but also enables others to recognize him as a man worthy of respect.

Finally, the Chayil Couple is mentioned in Proverbs 12:4, “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.” The Chayil Man is crowned. In the culture in which these verses were written, a crown or a wreath was a sign of joy and honor. The Chayil Woman adds joy and honor to his life which he displays for the world to see. She isn’t known for disgraceful behavior that is like decay in his bones, or, in other words, a shame he hides deep within himself.

Proverbs teaches the Chayil Man is confident, crowned and respected. The rest of Scripture presents him as a mighty warrior, a strong and powerful man of valor. Maybe you recognize him or maybe this is the first time you’ve been introduced to him. For us as women to become who we are created to be as chayil – Hebrew for noble or virtuous – women, we need to start recognizing our men for who they are: confident, respected and crowned men of valor.

Dash Days

By Elaine James –

My mother’s tombstone reads, “August 4, 1936 – June 13, 2009.”
The birth date and death date are important to remember, but what about the dash days? The dash is the mark between the two dates. Jesus was born and died and those dates are celebrated, but his dash days are very important for us to examine.

We know that God is watching us all the time. He sees all of our dash days. Let your mind grasp the reality of that. Say this statement with me: “All our days are numbered and written in His book” (Psalm 139:16 NIV). If God offered to provide for you, in advance, the day you were going to die, would you want to know that date? Maybe your response to God would be, “No, but I would like to live out my days with your guidance.” Maybe your response would be yes, in which case would you upgrade your availability for your loved ones? Perhaps you would take control of your life and if you choose that, then Christ died in vain.

I had an aunt who faced many challenges in life dealing with a severely retarded son and the loss of her husband at a very young age. Her faith helped her to realize that being happy didn’t mean she wouldn’t have problems. It just meant that she chose to be happy anyway. My memory of her singing, joking and always smiling is forever written in my heart. The absence of good destroys us, yet God promises good will come out of things for those who love Him.

The key to fighting for these dash days is summed up in one little word: rest. Think about it. If your children are hungry, sleep deprived or on overload, what is their response to life like? My kids can get pretty ornery.
When Jesus says that he wants to give us rest for our souls, he also states in Matthew 11:29 to “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble at heart.”

When someone suggests that you get some rest, try to take Jesus’ advice for rest which is “learn from me.” Jesus taught with the attribute of being gentle and humble in heart. Attributes are our evidence of abiding with Christ.

Don’t dash through your life or it will become a blur. Rest, slow down and enjoy your dash days.

PRAYER: Father in heaven you are gentle and humble in heart I want to learn from you. Give me the fight to learn and rest. Thank you for all my dash days.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV).

Green-Eyed

By Jane Thornton –

My sister is disgusting. I’ve told her this fact numerous times—in the most loving, Christ-like manner possible. Allow me to enumerate: As a gifted artist, she is planning her third year of art school in Florence, Italy. She majored in music, has written several beautiful melodies, and sang in a Christian band during college – and at my wedding, by the way. This year when she joined my family for Easter, she brought a gorgeous yellow pantsuit, perfectly tailored, which she whipped up the day before.

In spite of the fact that at the age of three she trimmed her eyelashes to nubs, she has lush, long lashes that frame deep chocolate eyes. She’s smart, athletic, and she weighs less than I do.

Throughout our lives, the only claim to superiority over her I had was my year and a half lead in age. That sad truth is no longer a benefit.

The demon of jealousy has plagued me sporadically through the years. Fortunately, as a rule, I managed to roll along content with my lot—mostly because we were blessed with loving parents who highlighted our varying strengths. In fact, they took pains to treat us all equally.

However, in a family of modest income, this equilibrium was not always possible to maintain. I remember clearly the summer before my senior year gritting my teeth as I admired the five new shorts outfits Nancy received in order to go to cheerleading camp. (I was too chicken to try out). That ugly monster had me firmly in his grip, and I’m pretty sure I gave in to some whining about how unfair her luxurious increase in wardrobe was.

I will say, my jealousy slash envy did not quite edge into covetousness (thin line, I know). It’s not that I didn’t want Nancy to have bright new clothes. I just wanted them, too.

You’d think thirty years later, I would have matured beyond such pettiness. And, again, I would say on most days, God has taught me to be more than content with my very blessed life. Yet this year, in the middle of my sincere rejoicing over the publishing success of two friends in my writing crit group, Satan stirred up an ounce of dissatisfaction. I want success, too.

I imagine God cringes at the whine in my thoughts.

He continues to help me be like Paul who said he had “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12b NIV). And how many times must I remind myself that God has a perfect plan fashioned for me? The confidence in His fulfillment of this promise allows me to genuinely “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15 NIV).

Dog Gone Wealthy

By Cheri Cowell –

When I was growing up, we had a huge collie named Happy. Happy was the perfect dog for children; he was protective, playful, gentle, and a lot of fun. We often dressed him up like a doll, and he loved to play in the Water Wiggle with us in the back yard. It was my job to feed happy at night, which meant filling his water bowl, scooping a big cupful of dry food into his dish, and then topping it with table scraps. The bowl would almost overflow, but it didn’t take long for it to disappear. Every once in a while my father would stop at the butcher to get meat for our family, and while there, he always got a box of bones for Happy. Once a week, my sister and I would go into the freezer and get one of those bones for him. You would have thought he had died and gone to heaven. Today I believe he is enjoying a doggie banquet in heaven, where even the lowliest of us here on earth will one day sup with God.

The term ‘dog’ is the same word the Jews used to demean gentiles. In the scripture listed below, it tells a story of a woman used to approach Jesus while he was eating. Jesus was not demeaning the woman by using this term; He was showing the hypocrisy of those around her. She saw in Jesus someone whom she could trust so she offered to eat the scraps from His table if He would heal her daughter. This woman, a Canaanite enemy of the Jews, was then offered the best meal in town, for her faith brought her the very thing she wished. All of us are equal in God’s eyes, so one day we should not be surprised by who is seated next to us at His large banqueting table in heaven.

PRAYER I thank You, Lord, for the privilege of even allowed the crumbs from Your table, yet You have offered a seat of honor there. Help me treat others the way You see them – valuable, worthy, and to be honored.

“The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment” (Matthew 15:25-28 NIV).

« Previous Page — Next Page »