God’s Sleep Aid

By Cheri Cowell –  

We are a nation of insomniacs. This conclusion comes from a recent survey showing how many Americans are taking some form of sleep aid. Advice abounds for non-medication solutions. From forming a bedtime routine to removing the television from the bedroom and lowering the temperature, there is a long list of things one can try. If you’ve worked through this list and are still tossing and turning, perhaps it is time to look for an underlying reason.

God’s sleep advice doesn’t begin when we are readying for bed, but rather at the start of the day. We are to order our steps to walk uprightly, to walk in such a way that we can hold our heads high. When we walk this way we can rest assured that as our heads hit the pillows and our minds review the steps of the day, we will be at peace. God’s sleep aid will help us fall into peaceful sleep because our waking steps were godly.

“He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright way” (Isaiah 57:2 NASB).

Prayer: May my steps throughout the day bring peaceful sleep when I lay down at night.

How Do I Get There?

By Susan Dollyhigh –  

Directionally challenged when driving to unfamiliar places? Oh yeah, unbelievably so. My left brain’s inability to get me from Point A to Point B was once a source of embarrassment, but after becoming a writer I found this anomaly is common among creative types.

Katelyn, my eight-year-old granddaughter, recently caught me off guard when she asked me for directions of a different kind. “Nana, how much longer will you live?”

“Well, I don’t know, Katelyn. Only God knows the answer to that question.”

“I don’t want you to die. I want you to stay here. With me.”

This was a special moment. I wanted my granddaughter to understand that our separation would be temporary, but later on we would be together forever. “I know you’ll be sad, I’ll be sad to leave you, too. But when I die, I’m going to Heaven, and I’ll be there waiting for you.”

“But, how do I get to Heaven? How will I find you?”

Thankfully, I know how to get to Heaven. “Jesus will come for you, and He will take you there.” Katelyn scrunched her forehead, so I explained further.

“In the Bible, Jesus’ disciples were worried about finding their way to Heaven, too. But Jesus told them not to worry because He was going to prepare a place for them, and this promise is meant for us, too.”

Katelyn looked at me like she understood, but I had even more to say. “When my mama and daddy, your great-grandparents, were dying they both told me that Jesus was in the room with us. They saw people they loved waiting for them in Heaven. So don’t you worry, Little Girl. I’ll be waiting at Heaven’s gate, ready to give you a great big hug.”

I gave her one of those hugs right then.

Yes, I’m often uncomfortable trying to find my way to a new place while driving a car. But I’m not disturbed about the road to heaven. Jesus has mapped that out in the Bible. He will see me safely there. He will see safely there each of us who have Jesus in our hearts.

Jesus tells us in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (NIV).

PRAYER: Father, thank you for telling us in Your Word that we don’t have to worry about finding our way to Heaven, and that we can trust You to see us safely there. Amen

Blame Game

By Cheri Cowell – 

The devil gets a lot of blame. ‘The devil made me do it’ is a common refrain. Some people say this teasingly, but they don’t really believe it. However, some truly believe Satan is to blame because he is the ruler of this world. He tempts, he snares, he sets traps, and he is indeed conniving. On the other hand, some blame God. They say if God is all-powerful and nothing happens without His approval, then God is ultimately to blame when things go wrong.

Humans make plans and they make choices; that is true. It is also true that the devil is the ruler of this world, and God is the Ruler of All. But the Bible also makes it clear that if men and woman plan evil steps, God will turn them over to those evil ways. Likewise, if they choose the ways of God, God will order their steps and bless their efforts.

“People may make plans in their minds, but the LORD decides what they will do” (Proverbs 16:9 NCV).

Prayer: God, forgive me for playing the blame game when things go wrong. May the plans I make be ones that bring blessings from You.

Oh God, Help Me!

By Charlotte Riegel –

I left in plenty of time for the meeting, allowing for possible challenging road conditions on this cold, yet sunny winter day. The wind had picked up causing some drifting. It became increasingly difficult to see the center line or the edge of the road where drifts had filled in the ditches making the division between road and ditch impossible to determine.

“God bless the person who invented the life-saving rumble strips for the center of the road,” I muttered while driving on them whenever there was no oncoming traffic. I passed one vehicle being assisted out of the ditch. Mental note – ‘The roads are icy.’

Slowing speed, I put on the flashers to caution vehicles behind me. After turning onto a more prominent and better maintained highway I soon began sliding around. The road was covered in ice and I was severely challenged to keep control of my vehicle. When my truck began a fancy dance all over the road I realized I had lost control. A quick glance up the hill ahead indicated no traffic. Meanwhile I fought a losing battle on the ice. Spinning around and heading toward the opposite ditch I said, “Oh God, help me.” It was not a panic-filled shriek but rather a simple resigning of my fate to God.

The vehicle came to a stop with one tire resting in the snow just off the road. Breathing a sigh of relief and regaining composure, I decided to abandon my planned trip to town and head back home since that’s the way the truck was now facing. ‘Rocking’ the vehicle was out of the question as it would send me into the snow packed ditch. I was facing downhill with gravity and ice teasing my ability to get the vehicle onto the road. Each little attempt at backing up eventually got me fully onto the road and I carefully headed home.

Once safely in my driveway, I allowed my body to take over and ‘crash’. I did not cry, but felt very shaky and exhausted for nearly an hour, all the while pondering if God sent an angel to stop my vehicle from going fully into the ditch and then to help push me back onto the road.

‘Oh God, help me.’ Such an easy, simple phrase. No hype, no hysteria, just a calm plea for help.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for showing me anew how easy it is to ask You for help. May I never forget. May I also be diligent to give you praise and thanks for help bestowed. Amen.

“Every time I’m in trouble I call on You, confident that You’ll answer” (Psalm 86:7 MSG).

Trust Does Not Come Easily

By Rachel Indihar –

If there’s one common issue in most Christians’ spiritual lives, it would be trust. Trusting that God will provide, trusting that God will come through in a problem, and most importantly…trusting that God really is enough.

I’ve struggled with trust for most of my spiritual life. Having gone through challenging situations including depression, the death of a parent, and job concerns, I sometimes ask God, “Do you really understand what I’m going through? Are you really there for me? Will you help me?” Sometimes I receive an answer to a prayer, and other times I don’t.

God is greater than our circumstances and greater than our doubts and fears. I understand this and accept this, but in my daily life I have trouble living it out. Most of us aren’t living radical Christian lives because fear and anxiety are eating us up inside. We struggle to contain the dozens of fears that fester at the edges of our minds. We can’t escape the lies and whispers of Satan who asks, “Can you really trust God? Is He really all you need?”

I hate to admit it, but there have been several occasions where I have struggled with these lies. It’s only been recently that God has led me to a powerful truth: sometimes you must act on God’s promises before you can fully start to believe them.

What do I mean by this? Simply that if you wait to experience the emotion of complete trust, you may be waiting a long time. But if you repeat to yourself the promises of God in His Word, even when you mentally have doubts and fears, you will find that those fears are quenched when you live out the promises in the Bible. Soon you believe what you are telling yourself.

For example, many Christians love Psalm 37:3-4: “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (NIV).

But remember what comes after that: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:5-6 NIV).

The reward for trusting and delighting in the Lord is righteousness and receiving your heart’s desire (which is Jesus). But these rewards come after you trust. Trust is a decision of the will and sometimes is made when your emotions don’t support that decision. However, act on your desire to trust the Lord and soon you will find that trust comes more easily.

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