Time Out! Devotions

(By Dollie Meredith Eckols, Mexia, Texas from Guideposts.com)

Scooping up one-year-old Jason, I grabbed my keys from the counter and called to five-year-old Robert: “Time to go!” We were running late for a doctor’s appointment.

The Texas summer heat beat down on us when we stepped outside. Robert kicked off his shoes and made footprints in the sandy driveway all the way to the car.

“Mommy will crank up the A.C., guys,” I promised, buckling Jason into his car seat. I locked and slammed his door and reached for the handle on the passenger side so Robert could hop in. Now where did I put those keys? My eyes darted back to Jason, who was waving my keys in his hand.

In a panic, I tried all the doors. The car was locked tight. Little Jason wouldn’t last more than a few minutes in that heat. I had to get him out! I grabbed a hoe from the garage. “Move back, Robert!” I shouted. I swung at the rear window, but the hoe glanced off the shatterproof glass. Jason started to cry, his face red. “Oh, God, please help us!” I called.

“Mom, look,” Robert said. A young man in blue jeans stood behind me in the driveway. He took the hoe, broke a side window with a single blow, reached in and unlocked Jason’s door. I gathered him in my arms and pulled Robert close. “It’s okay, boys. We’re all okay.”

“Where did that man go?” Robert wanted to know. I looked around. The street was empty, and our sandy driveway showed only two sets of footprints—mine and Robert’s.

When I was about six years old I was outside playing on a beautiful sunny day. An older neighbor decided to trick me into entering an old wooden storage shed at the far end of our yard. I went in according to his plan, then he shut the door, padlocked it securely, and went home laughing.

The darkness that enveloped me was immediate, as was my fear and helplessness at being trapped inside. Obviously, I pounded on the door repeatedly as hard as I could and yelled loudly to anyone who might hear. But after many minutes of silence went by I realized I had to calm down and wait until I was rescued.

It is unsettling how quickly and unexpectedly shadows of darkness can invade our lives. They can be black clouds of temptation that roll in just when we are determined not to react out of our weakness in that time. It may be the cold, penetrating blackness of discouragement that is so hard to ignore.  It may be a dark specter of doubt and uncertainty as we are bombarded by threatening or unyielding circumstances. Recently, for me, it was the onslaught of chronic health problems rendering me inactive and seemingly useless for ministry. But for others it may be something far worse and foreboding during which God seems to be, not only silent, but disinterested.

Now back to the boy in the shed. My fear and preoccupation with the darkness and the unknowns in that shed continued to dominate my thoughts until I noticed a small beam of light coming in through the wood slats of the door. There in the distinct ray of light I saw thousands of tiny dust particles drifting, circulating – yes, almost dancing within the light! For what seemed like a long time I sat observing their joyous display as if the dust was oblivious to the darkness.

There is a wonderful application of truth here. The Bible says that the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground. (What a good thought to meditate on when we are tempted to applaud our own significance outside of Christ!) So whether God shines His light rays in a darkened shed, across a hospital bed, or in a lonely, forsaken room – or even down the halls of the church itself, we can be like the dust and dance in the light.

Regardless of the dark circumstances or testing we face, no matter how dark the night or grim the news, we can reflect God’s light in that particular situation. We can express praise and joy, and dance as we are carried in the warm current of His love and truth! We can be assured that regardless of the trial or how bleak the future seems, He is always present, always involved, and fully committed to completing His marvelous work in us!

Oh, yes, about the boy in the shed. My grandparents came home, heard my cries, and found one tremendously relieved boy as they unlocked the door and let me out. Okay, so I cried again, but that was a long time ago and I am just a dusty old grandpa myself now. Yet, I am still determined to find God’s purpose and grace in all things – regardless how dense the darkness! I want to focus on His illuminating presence and always be in the light. Oh, that I would continue to follow the Great Shepherd of my soul and fulfill His plan by bringing honor and glorify to Him in all things!

Romans 8:31-33 (NIV)

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Psalm 9:1-2 (NIV)

¹ I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. ² I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

It was a beautiful spring day, and a sense of peace stayed with me as I left the cathedral on Easter Monday morning. I paused for a moment on top of the steps leading to the avenue, now crowded with people rushing to their jobs. Sitting in her usual place inside a small archway was the old flower lady. At her feet corsages and boutonnieres were parading on top of a spread-open newspaper.

The flower lady was smiling, her wrinkled old face alive with some inner joy. I started down the stairs—then, on an impulse, turned and picked out a flower.

As I put it in my lapel, I said, “You look happy this morning.”

“Why not? Everything is good.”

She was dressed so shabbily and seemed so very old that her reply startled me.

“You’ve been sitting here for many years now, haven’t you? And always smiling. You wear your troubles well.”

“You can’t reach my age and not have troubles,” she replied. “Only it’s like Jesus and Good Friday . . . ” She paused for a moment.

“Yes?” I prompted.

“Well, when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, that was the worst day for the whole world. And when I get troubles I remember that, and then I think of what happened only three days later—Easter and our Lord arising. So when I get troubles, I’ve learned to wait three days . . . somehow everything gets all right again.”

And she smiled good-bye. Her words still follow me whenever I think I have troubles. Give God a chance to help . . . wait three days.

(devotional from OurPrayer.org)

For reading & meditation: Job 21:1-9
“Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21:7)

[Let's examine] the question with which the psalmist struggles in Psalm 73: Why is it that the wicked seem to prosper while the path of the righteous is beset by so many difficulties? Look now at how the psalmist views the condition of the ungodly: “They suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men. Therefore pride is about their neck as a chain; violence covers them as a garment – as a long, luxurious robe” (Psalm 73:4-6, Amplified Bible). What a graphic description this is of the person who has no time for God, yet goes on from day to day with few troubles. It is probably the most perfect picture in all literature of the so-called successful man of the world. Note that the psalmist begins his description of the ungodly with a reference to the way they die: “They suffer no violent pangs in their death.” Throughout time the notion has been universally present that a good life ends in a good death, but the psalmist makes the observation that in his experience the reverse is true. Have you not struggled with these same feelings whenever you have heard of a Christian dying in great agony while a non-Christian passes away peacefully in his sleep? What do you do with those feelings? Ignore them? Deny them? Repress them? Remember, it is only exposed problems that can be resolved. I say again, if you are not willing to face a problem, how can you go about getting it resolved?

Prayer:

O God, save me from denying the difficult problems and feelings I encounter in life. Help me understand that it is easier to deal with things when they are up and out than when they lie buried within. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

For further study: Luke 12:15-21

For reading & meditation: Psalm 19:7-14
“Clear me from hidden and unconscious faults.” (Psalm 19:12, Amplified Bible)

We said [previously] that exposed problems are the only ones that can be resolved. Is this just an interesting theory, or is it something that can be supported from Scripture? Let me see if I can convince you that this statement has a biblical basis. Come back with me to the Garden of Eden and think again about the questions which God put to the first human pair: “Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:9-13). Does anyone believe that God needed to ask those questions in order to gain information for Himself? Of course not; being omniscient (that is, having all knowledge), He already knew what they had done. Then why did He put those searching personal questions to them? Surely the answer must be that the direct questions encouraged them to face something that they preferred not to look at. God knew that before the problem could be dealt with it must be brought out into the open. Some people may think that by far the best way of dealing with unacceptable thoughts and feelings is to push them back into the unconscious but, as we are now seeing, that is a fallacy. Problems that are buried inside us rather than brought out into the light work to drain us of spiritual energy. It takes a lot of emotional energy to keep things repressed. This is why people who repeatedly use the defense of repression end up feeling overtired. Healthy people are those who, like the psalmist in Psalm 73, bring their thoughts and feelings into awareness – no matter how “unspiritual” those thoughts and feelings may appear to be.

Prayer:

Father, I now begin to see why You bring me face to face with so many disturbing questions, for You know the havoc that is wrought within when issues are ignored or denied. Help me face anything and everything. In Your Name. Amen.

For further study: Lamentations 3:40

PSALM 92

¹It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High!

²It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are.

³I enjoy praising your name to the music of harps, ⁴because everything you do makes me happy, and I sing joyful songs.

⁵You do great things, LORD. Your thoughts are too deep ⁶for an ignorant fool to know or understand.

⁷Though the wicked sprout and spread like grass, they will be pulled up by their roots.

⁸But you will rule over all of us forever, ⁹and your hateful enemies will be scattered and then destroyed.

¹⁰You have given me the strength of a wild ox, and you have chosen me to be your very own.

¹¹My eyes have seen, and my ears have heard the doom and destruction of my terrible enemies.

¹²Good people will prosper like palm trees, and they will grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

¹³They will take root in your house, LORD God, and they will do well.

¹⁴They will be like trees that stay healthy and fruitful, even when they are old.

¹⁵And they will say about you, “The LORD always does right! God is our mighty rock.”

Throughout the Psalms, we are reminded and even commanded to give thanks to the Lord. Thanksgiving Day should never become a substitute for the daily expression of gratitude to God for all that He has done.

Because our culture is largely characterized by ingratitude, we need to work at developing a grateful heart. Even in prayer, we can become self-centered and drift from one petition to another without a word of praise to God. Giving thanks refocuses our attention onto the Lord as we remember His love and faithfulness and praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

Thanksgiving refreshes our souls as we spend time with God, concentrating on His goodness and grace. Anxiety is replaced with peace, and despondency with joy. If you wake up each morning and thank the Lord for deliverance from the power of sin, provision for all your needs, and guidance for the day ahead, what is left to cause worry or discouragement?

Gratitude to God for His faithfulness in the past increases faith and strengthens trust in Him for the future. Remember how He carried you in times of pain, helped you in periods of weakness, and supplied all your needs. You can trust Him with whatever lies ahead.

To establish a habit of thanksgiving, recall God’s lovingkindness in the morning, and recount His faithfulness at night. Thank Him for blessings—and also for the deep work He is doing in you through difficulties. As you start to see situations from His perspective, your gratitude and trust will grow.

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from the November 2009 issue of In Touch devotional magazine)