It’s impossible for us not to be filled with joy if we ever stop and think seriously about all that God has done for us.  And there might be some big things that comes to mind.  But there are so many little things that we often take for granted.  There are so many things that we experience and count as “normal events of the day” without assigning them to the category of graces from God.  And sometimes our prayers act as a blanket to cover those blessings we are aware of and those which have gone unnoticed.  But when we think about all of the things God has done, our hearts are filled with thanksgiving and rejoicing.  If we’re feeling especially blessed, we don’t shy away from telling others of all the things God has done for us.  It’s strange though that we usually reserve the sharing of our blessings about the big things.  And yes, from time to time we’ll make remarks about the daily blessings, but it usually takes something awesome for us to sing praises to God’s name.

         The issue, however, is not whether the blessings or big or small, whether we’re aware of them daily, or whether we’re aware of them when they come just when we need them most.  What matters is our praise and thanksgiving to God.  What matters is our recognition that God has done great things and small things for us.  What matters is that we recognize that when we need God to provide our blessings, we recognize that God is our strength, to provide all things, great and small at all times.  And it’s our recognition that God is our strength that compels us to give praise, honor, and thanksgiving to our God.

• What blessings has God blessed you with letting you know that God is your strength?
• What songs of praise would you sing telling of God’s goodness to you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, I praise you and give thanks to you singing your praises for all You’ve done for me, both great and small.

         Joni Eareckson Tada has not had an easy life.  Certainly not one in which rejoicing would become a product.  However, in the year 2000, in the magazine “Decision”, Joni wrote:

       Honesty is always the best policy, but especially when you’re surrounded by a crowd of women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women’s conference.  One woman, putting on lipstick, said, “Oh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair.  I wish that I had your joy!”  Several women around her nodded.  “How do you do it?” she asked as she capper her lipstick.

       “I don’t do it,” I said.  “In fact, may I tell you honestly how I woke up this morning?”

       “This is an average day,” I breathed deeply.  “After my husband, Ken, leaves for work at 6 A.M., I’m alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00 A.M.  “That’s when a friend arrives to get me up.

       While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, “Oh, Lord, my friend will soon get me up, give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door.  I don’t have the strength to face this routine one more time,  I have no resources.  I don’t have a smile to take into the day.  But you do.  May I have yours?  God, I need you desperately.’”

       “So, what happens when your friend comes through the bedroom door?”, one of them asked.

       “I turn my head toward her and give her a smile set straight from heaven.  It’s not mine.  It’s God’s.  And so,” I said, gesturing to my paralyzed legs, “whatever joy you see today was hard won this morning.”

       I have learned that the weaker we are, the more we need to lean on God; and the more we lean on God, the stronger we discover him to be.

         How often do we have to acknowledge that our weakness is a direct pipeline into the strength of God.  If we could, as Joni Eareckson Tada learned, that leaning on God is not a sign of weakness, but is an acknowledgement that in our weakness, God is our strength, we would all be much more likely to lean on God’s strength than to work from our own weaknesses.

• How are you able to find joy in recognizing that God is your strength on your most difficult days?
• What do most recognize about God’s strength that causes you to find joy in your life?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Almighty God, help me to realize that when I am at my weakest point, it is Your strength that can save me, even from myself.

         We all live between the beginning and the end of life.  That’s where our days are spent — all of life’s experiences — the joys; the sadness; the evil; the good; the bad; the ugly; the injustice; and everything that touches us happens between the beginning and the end of life.  It sounds like a helpless and hopeless existence, except … except that’s where we also have an opportunity to encounter God.  It’s where we can come to know the reality and truth of God — the God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who has power over the heavens and the earth and who is known as the Alpha and the Omega — the beginning and the end.  And this is the same God with the power to destroy the earth created by Him, but also to offer salvation that extends past the end of the earth’s existence to those whom He created.  And while it seems odd, the ending of the earth — according to Isaiah — is directly connected to God’s righteousness.  God doesn’t bring an end to the earth to for evil purposes, but because God’s righteousness will never fail.  God’s strength guided by God’s righteousness is a factor of eternity that exists and orders the beginning and the end for everything.  And though the heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth will erode, and it’s inhabitants will meet their end, God’s righteousness and salvation will be eternal.  Such is the strength of our God who saves us.

• In what ways have you considered the power and strength of God’s righteousness to prevail even in death?
• What does it mean for you to be in awe of God who has that kind of power, but who loves you enough to save you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, in the midst of all of Your power, thank you for allowing Your eternal righteousness to be my salvation.