Time Out! Devotions

Psalm 25:15-21 (NIV)

¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.¹⁷ The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.¹⁸ Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.¹⁹ See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me!²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.

I know the pain of loneliness. I was the only child of a single mother who had to work long hours to support us. My adult life has been marked by periods of emotional isolation as well. However, God has never abandoned me to these feelings.

The Lord desires that all people feel connected to Him and to each other. And in fact, we can be quickly comforted when we respond wisely to loneliness.

The first step is to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Believing He exists is not enough. The Lord created mankind for fellowship, which is why a relationship with Him gives people a sense of oneness. The love of Christ squeezes loneliness out of the lives of God’s children.

Second, we must admit that we’re lonely. Some Christians incorrectly think they shouldn’t be susceptible to normal human feelings. But nothing in the Bible says we won’t endure emotional isolation. Not only men like David and Paul, but even the Lord Himself knew the ache of feeling deserted (Psalm 25:16, 2 Timothy 4:16; Matthew 26:40; 27:46).

Finally, we ought to develop godly friends. These are the Christian brothers and sisters who will laugh, cry, and empathize with us. Above all, believers need friends who will continually point them to God and pray over them.

We can’t deny feelings of loneliness, nor can we run from them. A person who seeks ways to escape those feelings only broadens the gap between the Lord and himself. There is just one way to close the chasm and conquer loneliness—by drawing near to the Lord.

(devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley from the May 2010 issue of In Touch magazine)

Psalm 17 (NCV)

¹ Lord, hear me begging for fairness; listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, because I speak the truth. ² You will judge that I am right; your eyes can see what is true. ³ You have examined my heart; you have tested me all night. You questioned me without finding anything wrong; I have not sinned with my mouth. ⁴ I have obeyed your commands, so I have not done what evil people do. ⁵ I have done what you told me; I have not failed.

⁶ I call to you, God, and you answer me. Listen to me now, and hear what I say. ⁷ Your love is wonderful. By your power you save those who trust you from their enemies. ⁸ Protect me as you would protect your own eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings. ⁹ Keep me from the wicked who attack me, from my enemies who surround me. ¹⁰ They are selfish and brag about themselves. ¹¹ They have chased me until they have surrounded me. They plan to throw me to the ground. ¹² They are like lions ready to kill; like lions, they sit in hiding.

¹³ Lord, rise up, face the enemy, and throw them down. Save me from the wicked with your sword. ¹⁴ Lord, save me by your power from those whose reward is in this life. They have plenty of food. They have many sons and leave much money to their children.

¹⁵ Because I have lived right, I will see your face. When I wake up in heaven, I will see your likeness and be satisfied.

Was David saying that he was sinless? David’s claim was not a proud assumption of purity. It was an understanding of his relationship with God. In Psalm 14:3, David said, “All are rotten with sin.” He realized that he had indeed committed sin, as all people do, but his relationship with God was one of close fellowship and constant repentance and forgiveness. His goodness, therefore, came from seeking to know God intimately. By contrast, the fools (Psalm 14:1-3) are wicked because they have rejected God and thus have not repented or received God’s forgiveness.

David called on God to value him as much as one would value his eyes, and to let that measure of value also be a measure of protection. We must not conclude that we have somehow missed God’s protection if we experience troubles. God’s protection has far greater purposes than avoiding pain; it is to make us better servants for him. God protects us by seeing us through circumstances, not by helping us escape them.

We deceive ourselves when we measure our happiness or contentment in life by the amount of wealth we possess. When we put riches at the top of our value system, the comforts of today overshadow the eternal value of our relationship with God. We think we will be happy or content when we get riches, only to discover that they bring nothing but transient pleasure. The true measurement of happiness or contentment is an eternal one. You will find true happiness if you put eternal riches above earthly riches.

No matter how hard I tried,

I struggled to feel God’s presence in my life…

By Suzanne S. Pluhar, Frankfort, Indiana

My practical nature served me well in running my own business, but when it came to my faith it was an impediment. I went to church every week. I read the Bible. I believed in God. Yet somehow I just didn’t feel him in my life. Certainly not the way my husband, Ed, and others I knew did. They didn’t need any tangible proof to trust God was always with them.

For a long time I struggled to find that same assurance. But it never seemed to come, no matter how I worked at it. Maybe I’m not meant to believe the way God wants us to, I thought dispiritedly. I used to enjoy the quiet Sunday-morning fellowship at church. Now going to services began to make me uncomfortable. Worshiping among people of “true” faith, I felt a little like I didn’t belong.

I confided my doubts to my husband. Even his encouragement didn’t soothe me. Lord, I know you’re there, I kept praying, but I just don’t feel your presence like I should.

At church one Sunday the pastor spoke about Thomas, the doubting apostle. I paid particular attention because I could identify with Thomas. He too needed tangible proof of Christ’s presence. What would it take for me?

Halfway through the sermon I felt a firm, comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked at my husband, grateful for his understanding. Then I saw his hands folded in his lap. I turned to the man on my right. He was holding a hymnal.

Puzzled, I glanced at the people in the pew behind me. They were all sitting back; not one of them was touching me. But the gentle pressure remained on my shoulder. Warmth enveloped my entire body and I felt strangely reassured.

Then I heard the pastor reciting words from the Book of John: “Do not doubt but believe.” Suddenly I knew whose hand was on my shoulder.

(from Mysterious Ways on Guideposts.com)

(from Crosswalk.com)

Seven-year-old Mencia Abreu and her brothers, Alex—age five—and Ricky—age two—slept wherever their parents laid them down. Sometimes on the streets of Queens, New York. Sometimes in a shelter or a grimy room in a cheap hotel. They played in alleys, parking lots, and dark hallways that smelled of stale liquor.

But one day, the Abreu children’s fragile world was shattered when Jose, their dad, was arrested on drug charges. Suddenly they were fatherless as well as homeless.

In jail, Jose was devastated. Overwhelmed by guilt, he had no hope that he could ever make things right again.

Then, in his most desperate moment, Jose met the God of mercy and forgiveness. Jose accepted Christ as his savior.

He grew rapidly in his new faith and eagerly shared it with his wife, Mayra. But Mayra was hopelessly addicted to cocaine and wanted nothing to do with her husband’s Jesus.

But God had other plans.

On Christmas Eve, the Abreus heard a knock on the door. “There was a UPS guy with a big box,” Mayra explains. It said, “from Jose Abreu.” But how could that be? Jose was in jail. Then Mayra remembered Angel Tree.

The kids were ecstatic. There were gifts from Dad!

As Mayra recalls: “I cannot describe to you the joy that my children and I felt when we opened [the presents]. I thanked God right there. I cried, and went on my knees. This is when I knew that God loved me, and I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my life.”

She also prayed that God would free her from her addiction to cocaine. And He did—believe it or not—on the spot.

That story took place 16 years ago. But even more amazing is what happened afterward. Reunited after Jose’s release, Mayra and Jose devoted their lives to serving prisoners and their families through Prison Fellowship and its great program Angel Tree. They even took children of prisoners into their home while their mothers were in prison, adopting numbers of them.

Jose went home to the Lord in 2008, but Mayra continues her work of love.  And it all started with a knock on the door—because someone cared enough to send Christmas gifts, and the Gospel, through Angel Tree.

This year, we need you to be part of the next miracle in someone’s life. We have an extraordinary challenge ahead of us. Churches across the country have committed to reach more than 300,000 prisoners’ kids with gifts and the Gospel this Christmas.

But as of right now, we have 50,000 children signed up for Angel Tree who live in remote areas of the country where there are no churches. And we need your help to reach them.

But you can help. Please go to AngelTree.org. For each donation you make of $35.20, we will send a prisoner’s child a Christmas gift, an age-appropriate book containing the Gospel, and actual greetings from their parent in prison.

When you go to AngelTree.org, you can even specify the age and gender of the child you’d like to reach. And of course, you can reach more than just one child if you are so led. It’s so simple, but so important.

And, like the Abreus, it can even bring a whole family into the kingdom of God.