Author: astherainandsnow

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving… at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:1-4,8-11

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.” Philippians 2:14-16

We are different from the world in fact, because we are God’s beloved children, yet though we own this distinct spiritual identity, we are called to live it practically so others can see the proof that it is so. Our imitation of Christ has many manifestations that give obvious evidence to our other-ness.

While the list of Christ-like behaviors seems arduous, even impossible under the limitations of our frail flesh and the forces working against us, our Paraclete is Jesus Himself. He not only models how to live, but is in us the very power to live that way. He never demands what He does not enable. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

When our sensual inclination is to indulge self, the Lord says ‘offer yourselves as a living sacrifice,’ and enables us to renounce worldly passions. When our deceitful heart puffs us with self-importance and we deem others inferior or unlovely, Jesus says ‘love, lay down your life,’ and sheds His love abroad in our hearts. When we are bombarded with inane, degrading, or corrupt entertainment, we are called to choose differently and instead for what is noble and lovely. Jesus grants power, wisdom, and righteousness. When we are offered morsels of gossip that diminish others or harm reputations, it may be difficult to refuse the bait, to change the subject to what is pure and upbuilding. But God gives grace and courage to say no, to expose falsehoods and complaints, to be light penetrating dark places. (Jeremiah 17:9; John 15:13; Romans 5:5; 12:1; 1 Corinthians 1:24,30; Philippians 4:8; Titus 2:11-12)

In what instances and places will we dare to be the different people we are? Where can we infuse lofty ideas into vapid conversation? Where will we interject thanksgiving into the common drone of blame and complain? How can we speak spiritual blessing into the curse of negativity? To whom will we offer peace to allay anxiety, mercy to vanquish shame, loving interest to dispel loneliness, confession to dissolve bitterness, forgiveness to resolve fear? From what practices or temptations do we need to come out and be separate, in order to display God’s magnificent name? (John 17:14-16; 2 Corinthians 6:17)

Lord, may I bravely be different from the world, even as I dwell herein. May my life show that I am Yours and You are mine. (Song of Solomon 6:3)

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away,
for behold, the winter is past;
    the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
    is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripens its figs,
    and the vines are in blossom;
    they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
    in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
    let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.
Catch the foxes for us,
    the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
    for our vineyards are in blossom.” Song of Solomon 2:10-15

The winter of wet and storms is part of life’s seasons, and its bleakness sets the magnificent backdrop for the glories of song and blossom that follow. Just as the dawn after a thunderstorm rises with fresher air and brighter green, so the mercies of God appear lush and fragrant the other side of hardship and heartbreak. An upended life, misfortunes over which we have no control, cause wrangling and weeping that endure for a night, yet joy, and word of God’s unfailing love, come in the morning. We can with certain hope expect God to swallow the temporary dark in His blazing, glorious sun.  (Psalm 30:5; 143:8; Lamentations 3:22-23)

Would we recognize the intricacies of God’s mercies were it not for storms? Would our senses gasp at the rich colors of spring, the regal painted blossoms with velvety petals, were they not against dark soil? The Lover of our souls bids us come away from sloshing in grey despair to behold the varied hues of His deeper love and grace. See the blooms and smell their fragrance? Hear the birds’ melody? Taste the ripe figs? Ah, what a feast He prepares when we lift our faces to Him and eschew the little nipping foxes that would hold us back.

“We pray for blessings
We pray for peace,
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep;
We pray for healing, for prosperity,
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
All the while, You hear each spoken need,
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things…

What if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near;
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love,
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy?
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise?”  ~Laura Story (Blessings)

Loving Father, thank You for rain, from which You purpose to bring only unfathomable, divine good. Let me never settle for lesser things, from wallowing in coddling puddles. Draw me away from the pests of self-focus and pity to soar and sing and take full delight in You.

“The Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” “Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 10:3; 20:8; 22:31-33

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,.. but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began… By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” “He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin.” 2 Timothy 1:6-9,14; Hebrews 2:11

The theme of God’s sanctifying His people is woven through Scripture like a golden thread from Genesis to Revelation. Not as often is it mentioned alongside God’s own sanctification, or holiness, which actually is the key to ours. While our being made holy is led by the Almighty, it requires our yielding to the powerful refining work of the Holy Spirit, and we must begin with a high view of God, sanctifying Him in our hearts as Supreme King and Absolute, Holy Highness. From that vantage point, we are in a humble position to be sanctified by Him through every part.

His is the holiness, His the potent persuasion. God it is who crashes His might into our personalities and proclivities, who washes pure our intentions and resolve, who ignites in us His holy calling. We then, in an act of our transforming will, begin to live out His power, love, self-control, boldness, and grace. With each act in the flow of His Spirit, we grow in Christ-likeness, we build stronger immunity against sin impulses, we are being ‘sanctified.’ Truly, as practice makes perfect, following in the Lord’s steps makes us increasingly holy in this life, though we are not fully like Him until we see Him face to face. (Matthew 5:13; 1 John 3:2)

Where do we need His Spirit’s wash today? Will we hand Him the reins of our decisions, mouths, cravings, activities, for consecration and sanctity?

“Cleanse and refine our earthly parts, inflame and sanctify our hearts; our frailties help, our vice control, submit the senses to the soul.”  ~John Dryden (1631-1700)

Holy Lord, guard me against an evil, unbelieving heart, from being hardened by sin”s deceitfulness or falling away from You. Sanctify my deepest parts from which all else flows. Captivate me with Your holiness until, with every fiber of my being, I desire to be holy too. (Hebrews 3:12-13; 1 Peter 1:16)

“God thunders wondrously with his voice;
    he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
    likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.
From its chamber comes the whirlwind,
    and cold from the scattering winds.
By the breath of God ice is given,
    and the broad waters are frozen fast.
He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
    the clouds scatter his lightning.
They turn around and around by his guidance,
    to accomplish all that he commands them
    on the face of the habitable world.
Whether for correction or for his land
    or for love, he causes it to happen. ” Job 37:5-6,9-13

“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
    and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

The Lord is good,
    a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.” Nahum 1:3,7

A storm brewed heavy and strong, and after turning midday to ominous dusk, thrashed its whirlwind torrentially across our view, lashing at trees, whipping rain, tearing huge branches from their trunks. God thunders.

God is a God of peace. He gives comfort and rest. But to think ‘easy street’ is the constant theme of the Christian life is to have a short-sighted view of how Mighty God works. His way is in the whirlwind. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen. Sometimes His cause is manifold; we can always trust it to be good. From the place of trouble we know His very present help. From the storm, He speaks, and His word goes forth to accomplish His meaningful purposes. (Job 38:1; Psalm 46:1; Isaiah 55:10-11)

He who separated waters from waters and earth from sky; He who caused the fountains of the deep to burst forth and opened the heavens to forty days of rain to flood the earth; He who parted the Red Sea so His nation could walk through it, and held back the rushing waters of the Jordan so His people could cross; He who split open the earth to swallow rebellious Korah and his family, He moves in the whirlwind. He has every right and all power to reveal His providence and work His divine charm in the midst of upheaval and stormy trial. (Genesis 1:6-10; 7:11-12; Exodus 14:16-22; Numbers 16:31-34; Joshua 3:14-17)

This God shakes off branches we have allowed to rot in self-indulgence and idolatry, and cracks off others in full fruition to reveal our true first love and how masterfully He heals and comforts. He halts the power sources we rely on– the economy, man-made light, adrenaline from busyness– to remind us Who really fuels our lives. His storms wash clean the grey fog in our thinking, the foreign affections that nestle in our hearts, the clouds of rebellion or independence that envelop our will. Would we not welcome God’s tempest if we understood its end?

Father, disentangle me from fearing the storm and resisting Your way in the whirlwind. Turn my penchant to complain or fret to expect lasting good, and give thanks for what I cannot yet see.

“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid.” “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Leviticus 26:3-6; Psalm 23:1-3

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness… Those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land… The meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace… Those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land… The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever… Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land.” Psalm 37:3,9,11,22,29,34

Specific land was promised to Israel, and there is a land of plenty promised to us, God’s children. In Psalm 37:3, “befriend faithfulness” can read “feed on faithfulness” or “find safe pasture.” Trusting the LORD and befriending faithfulness to Him and His ways assures security, rest, and bounty we know nowhere else. (Genesis 15:18-21)

Every day we awaken to a new land of possibilities, of hours given and provision supplied. As God ordains the earth to spin and the sun to shine, we have free will to order how we spend ourselves and what He’s entrusted to us. How well do we dwell in the here and now of God’s pasture?

Every morning we can establish our stake with the Lord, taking rest in His green pastures and tapping into His living water. We can ask Him to till the soil of our heart, plant His life-giving truth, and sow His character deep. As we trust, and He leads, His active power engages our energy and all our faculties so we can bear fruit, exhibiting His extravagance (“out of the land”) to those around us. Dwelling well becomes us, and glorifies the Owner of the land. (John 4:14)

What does befriending faithfulness in God’s land look like today? What, and where, should I be planting? Before sowing, how must I prepare the soil in my mind, in my agenda? What old resentments or resistances need to be turned up and discarded? Are there areas in my life where I bear little fruit: gifts that lie fallow and unused, resources that I waste? When comes reaping, have I taken time to thank God for the harvest, and then generously share? (Matthew 25:14-30)

And in my place of dwelling, how well am I caring for those that belong to me? What bounty from God’s faithfulness to me do I offer to them? Whom do I invite to partake of my indescribable inheritance?

Lord, make faithfulness my friend in every aspect of dwelling in Your land. You give so much. May I return praise to you and abundance to others in Your gracious name.

“The Lord spoke to Moses… in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ‘Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. And there shall be with you a man from each tribe… who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.’

“Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves,.. [and] listed them. The people of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 46,500… of Simeon, 59,300… of Gad, 45,650… of Judah, 74,600… of Issachar, 54,400… of Zebulun, 57,400… of Ephraim, 40,500…of Manasseh, 32,200… of Benjamin, 35,400… of Dan, 62,700… of Asher, 41,500… of Naphtali, 53,400… So all those listed of the people of Israel were 603,550.”  Numbers 1:1-15,17-42,46

Why does God in His inspired word include these lists of names hard to pronounce? Why this exact accounting? If every word of God is flawless and proves true, it is purposeful in teaching us about the Author. (Proverbs 30:5)

The LORD who calls His people by name is the One who has known and loved them from the beginning by name, and assigns them to specific families and tasks. He counts us precious and honored, and has given us particular purpose. He has numbered our days as well as the hairs on our heads. We are each distinct, part of His unified yet diverse Body, bearing our unique shade of color and talent and personality to show forth the beauty of His glory. (Psalm 139:13,16; Isaiah 43:1,4,7; Luke 12:7)

Are there times we wallow in insignificance, feeling we are just a number in a wide sea of mankind? God counts us significant! Do we feel forgotten, not needed or special? Our Lord never forgets or forsakes us, and keeps us as the apple of His eye! God calls us to exchange our self-centered assessments for His divine accounting, to believe and live in the glory of what He says about our unique, eternal value. (Isaiah 49:1,16; Zechariah 2:8; Hebrews 6:10; 13:5)

Lord, may I bloom each day, to the full color You appoint, as Your loved and redeemed child. And may I value as precious every life You put in my path, doing all I can to affirm them as counted and known by You, too.

“But the Lord‘s portion is his people,
    Jacob his allotted heritage.

He found him in a desert land,
    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
    he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
    bearing them on its pinions,
the Lord alone guided him,
    no foreign god was with him.
He made him ride on the high places of the land,
    and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
    and oil out of the flinty rock.” Deuteronomy 32:9-13;

“He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous.” “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” Job 36:7; Psalm 33:18,22; 34:15-16

We cannot see ahead, except with speculation, tinged with hope. We know not what the future holds because all we thought we’d planned has been turned topsy-turvy and there are few tangible certainties in the weeks to come. We cannot discern what all God is doing in the cloud of chaos that has become our world as we knew it. When our sight is limited, we can take great comfort in knowing God’s eye is not only all-seeing and all-knowing, but it is on us, and that for good.

The Lord’s good might be defined differently now from how we defined good two months ago, but His is better and sure and longer-lasting. He looks on us lovingly, carefully, protectively, compassionately. His eye sees not only the inward churning of our hearts, the meandering pathways of our thinking, but also what He intends to make of us. He fixes His sight on us as His treasured children whom He is refining, transforming, and sanctifying. He sets His eye on His fixed word and His full plans to perform them on behalf of His people. (Psalm 119:89; 145:17; Jeremiah 1:12)

Could it be that our very life tossling, the upturn of employment, accounts, calendars, communication, is to make us aware of God’s vision for us, and to train in us a loftier perspective in and of everyday things? How is our own vision changing? Are there new ways we see and comprehend God’s will through His stirring of ours? In all our prognostications, are we applying a divine or eternal perspective, a higher cause and effect? Do we recognize the spiritual battle raging invisibly but powerfully above the daily fray? (Ephesians 6:12)

“Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?”  ~Joachim Neander (1650-1680)

My God, Your sight is perfect and You hold me in it. May I delight in knowing Your eye is upon me, and yield my vision to Yours for ultimate good.

“Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
    or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
    and who made him understand?
Who taught him knowledge,
    and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and are accounted as the dust on the scales.

To whom then will you liken God,
    or what likeness compare with him?

Do you not know? Do you not hear?
    Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain…
who brings princes to nothing,
    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
    and because he is strong in power,
    not one is missing.

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:13-15,18,21-23,26,28

“I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose.'” Isaiah 46:9-10

With no picture as guide, starting to work a puzzle begins with assembling and connecting what fits together. I like to complete the edge, know the boundaries, get a sense of the whole– but that is not to be! While I’ve finally completed large parts of a many-distanced view, I am still baffled at the outskirts, and large sections of the middle. What did the artist place here, and what is the overall picture?

When almost every aspect of our civil and commercial life has been disrupted and is changing daily, we understand parts of what is happening but cannot humanly grasp the big picture. The more information we gain, the wider spread the view: how far-reaching, how deep, will be the effects of this pandemic and the alterations to the world as we have known it?

I find myself on my knees, seeking the Master Puzzler who not only knows the whole plan, but created the masterpiece. He carefully shapes all the pieces of life and fits them together with beautiful precision. He made the foreground and the distant future as Lord of the beginning and the end, unfolding in increments as He sees fit. He made the carpet weavers, flower gardeners, architects and boat builders and sailors. He is active in the the convicting and cleansing of hearts, the research and discoveries of the mind, and the unseen spiritual battles that rage. He will bring to pass His good counsel and pleasure. (Isaiah 46:9-11; Romans 8:27; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 1:8;22:13)

Lord on High, teach me what all this means, reveal Yourself and how You would have me live. Revive my spirit and mind so nothing is wasted in Your glorious economy. I trust You to work in and through me as one tiny piece of Your holy, eternal purpose.

“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord‘s Passover… When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord… You shall count seven full weeks from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord… In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation…

“Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation… On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the Feast [of Booths to] the Lord seven days… And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. It is a statute forever throughout your generations… that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:4-5,10-11,15-16,24,27,39-41,43

Israel’s feasts, instituted by God, were to establish a regular calendar of remembrance of God’s faithfulness and bounty to them, and to illustrate His redeeming work in the future: His deliverance from death and slavery, His setting them apart as His chosen, His gifts of fruitfulness and multiplication. They were never to forget Him, never to slide into thinking they had achieved their victories or produced wealth on their own. (Deuteronomy 8:14-18)

We gathered with friends last evening (via computer screen) to enjoy friendship and share remembrances of God’s divine work in our lives. Stories of providential relationships, angelic protection, and practical provisions all pointed to the glorious hand of our creative, all-knowing, compassionate Sovereign. We were lost and He found us, we were destitute and He provided, we were helpless and He intervened, we were bent on our own agenda and He interposed His. Ours was a joyful fellowship and celebration, in many cases, years later, of God’s steadfast love, guidance, and grace.

Regular celebrations of the Lord’s goodness dissolve pride in gratitude and transform boasting (or complaining) to praise. They give credit where credit is due, turning our eyes from my importances (or miseries) to the Almighty’s worthiness. He wants us to remember who and whose we are. Our celebrating Him brings Him the honor He is due.

Lord, keep me regularly, gratefully, and joyfully recounting Your goodness and offering You sacrifices of praise. May my perpetual celebration of You enjoin others to share in the feast of remembrances, and give thanks to You forever. (Psalm 30:12; 89:1; 100:4-5; Hebrews 13:15)

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Psalm 16:5-6; Proverbs 27:1; Matthew 6:34

“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Luke 12:19-20; James 4:13-14

When today’s upheaval portends an uncertain tomorrow, we may find ourselves wringing our hands and minds with what-ifs and what-thens. To fret over tomorrow, though, is to take on the weight of something about which we can do nothing, and over which we have no control. To fret over tomorrow distracts from today’s duties and beauties and robs today of its purpose. To fret over tomorrow is to waste today’s God-given portion of manna and strength, leaving us bereft and lacking for the moments at hand. We are promised enough, and must not squander it. “As your days, so shall your strength be.” (Deuteronomy 33:25)

“Worrying is… is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ~Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983)

Jesus taught His disciples to pray the balance of leaving God’s responsibilities in His hands, and trusting Him for today’s provision. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.” We must think about tomorrow, but not fret over it. Our focus on what today brings and requires is the best preparation for what only God knows will arise in days to come. (Matthew 6:10-11)

The relationships we invest in today will carry us through rough patches in the future- focus on people today. What resources we tend today will bear fruit and supply for tomorrow- focus on today. The flower blooms and fruit ripened today may be faded tomorrow. Take and partake today. (Proverbs 27:18,23-27)

In what are we investing today with our time and attention? With whom are we sharing the loveliness of Christ and the feast of His word? What are we doing to enjoy the beauty, fragrance, and sustenance of God’s provision today?

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”  ~Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983)

Potentate of Time, help me live as a child of the day, this day. Keep me awake, sober, so connected to You and Your will that I spend myself only for your sake and others’ good. Fulfill each day Your every resolve for good and every work of faith You intend for me so Your name is glorified. (Colossians 3:17,23; 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8,11,14-19; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)