Happy Fall! I hope everyone had a blessed weekend serving the Lord. This week’s devotional is by Debbie Moore. I know she addresses Pastor’s wives, but the principles in her devotional came apply to anyone. Please take time to read as I know it can be an encouragement to us all. I hope you have a fantastic week.

The Lord is With Us – Danielle Moore

As I began to think about what I should write about, I really struggled.  I kept praying about it, but the Lord just hadn’t given me peace about anything. Well last night while listening to my husband preach he made the statement that our world needs to be reminded that “The Lord is with us.” When he made that statement, I knew that was what the Lord wanted me to do this devotion on. 

Matthew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, low, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. “

     

      I know many of us in this group are pastors/preachers wives; I have been one for over 20 years. With that comes many times of having to try and council women, or just encourage them when they are discouraged. With all the things that have transpired in our country over the last two years, we hear so much about social distancing.  In many cases people are just scared to be around others, even at church.  I am not saying this to start a debate, but rather to make the point with all the changes in our country has come a feeling of loneliness, and even fear.

     I know personally that I have felt many different emotions over the last two years including loneliness and fear. So I began to think, if I was counseling another lady who was going through these same things, what I would tell her.  The passage from I Samuel 30:6 came to mind where it talks about how David encouraged himself in the Lord. I am not saying by any means that we should not go to others when we are down and discouraged, but there are times when we just can’t. It is during those times that we must learn to encourage our self in the Lord, and realize that The Lord is with us. 

Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

    Over and over in the Bible we are reminded that God is with us, and that He hasn’t given us the spirit of fear. However, there is a difference between having head knowledge of something and heart knowledge.  As Christian ladies many times we know exactly what we need to do to encourage ourselves in The Lord, but we like to wallow in our own little pity party. We can give the best advice to others about how to handle the same situation, but we just don’t want to take our own advice. It’s easier to give the advice than to follow it.  

     So let me challenge you to make a list of ways to encourage yourself in the Lord, or maybe just a list of verses that you know are special to you. When we are in those times where we need to be encouraged in The Lord, it can be difficult to think about what we should do. So here are some ideas that are on my list, I hope that they will be a help to you. These are nothing new that you haven’t heard before, but it is simply going back to the basics that work every time.

1. Bible Reading – So many times when we are going through hard times we tend to pull away from our alone time with God. Our alone time with God is when He so often speaks to us and can show us things through His Word to help us. Don’t be afraid to have quiet time. 

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

2. Prayer – There are so many ways that God can speak to us, but we need to be sure we are taking time to talk to Him. He wants us to come to Him with our needs, our burdens, and our concerns. 

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 

      I love this verse because He doesn’t just tell us to cast some of our cares, but all of them. He wants us to take everything to Him in prayer. He cares about everything that we are going through. No matter how big or small it is. 

3. Music – Sometimes when things are quiet, we tend to think more about our problems, and focus on the negative. Listen to some good Godly music. Sometimes we just need to be reminded about how good God is, and music is a great way to do that. 

Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”

4. Church – When we are down one of the worst things we can do is layout of church. That is when we need the fellowship of other Christians the most. Sometimes God can use another person to say something to encourage our hearts. The Bible tells us that as we get closer to His return, we need to exhort/encourage each other even more.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

5. Service to others – Take time to focus on others, and do something to be a help to someone else. Usually when we focus on doing for others, we forget about our problems and we end up getting a blessing in return.

Jude 1:22 “And of some have compassion, making a difference:”

     We all go through discouraging times in life and times when we need to be encouraged in the Lord. There is no shame in it; it just shows that we are human. Make you a list of ways to encourage yourself in The Lord, and take time to see what God might be trying to teach you. Everything comes to us for a reason, and He has a purpose for everything. Take time to learn the lesson He has for you. Focus on how big our God is, instead of how big our problems are.

https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/the-lord-is-with-us-danielle-moore