A shield

18 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

All God’s words are tried and true; a shield for those who take refuge in him. ~Proverbs 30:5

 

In reading what I scheduled to be posted for the day after my father in laws funeral, I have thought more about walking through life acting like we have it all together even when we don’t.

In my post for this day I had talked about knowing a truth with your head but not feeling it in your heart yet. God knows we need places to hide. Not the masks of “I have it all together” but a shield of “I know I don’t have it all together but I know the One who does”. It seems the psalms are riddled with poetic lines that sing of safe place of rest, shields from the troubles that surround at all sides.

But you, Lord, are my shield! You are my glory! You are the one who restores me. ~Psalm 3:3

God is my shield; he saves those whose heart is right. ~Psalm 7:10

The Lord is my solid rock, my fortress, my rescuer. My God is my rock— I take refuge in him!— he’s my shield, my salvation’s strength, my place of safety. ~Psalm 18:2

God! His way is perfect; the Lord’s word is tried and true. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. ~Psalm 18:30

You’ve given me the shield of your salvation; your strong hand has supported me; your help has made me great. ~Psalm 18:35

The Lord is a sun and shield; God is favor and glory. The Lord gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things to those who walk with integrity. ~Psalm 84:11

God will protect you with his pinions; you’ll find refuge under his wings. His faithfulness is a protective shield. ~Psalm 91:4

God is my loyal one, my fortress, my place of safety, my rescuer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, and the one who subdues people before me. ~Psalm 144:2

This Shield protects us while we figure out how to move on in our journey. It protects us as we try to move on in our lives. Life happens, someone dies, tragedy strikes, illness occurs, a court decision doesn’t go the way we think it should, a spouse falls back into addiction, a child has been arrested. God wants to provide us with a safe place while we struggle with questions of why and how to continue on. God gives us a resting place in him while we struggle with learning the Truths and until we are able to embrace them

How do you continue forward when your heart is breaking? I have asked this a lot… Maybe it is in the little things: a smile at my son when I feel like crying, a walk with my husband though I want to be alone, a laugh with my daughter when there is so much to do, a cup of coffee with a friend despite a busy schedule, reading my Bible even though I am mad at God… Maybe it is in the daily tasks: of doing laundry when I’d rather stay in bed, fixing my hair when I’d rather put it in a ponytail, cooking a meal when I’d rather not eat, dusting when I’d rather just read… It amazes me how much better I feel after doing these simple acts of life.

God shields my heart wile I go through the act of living until it feels right again, one smile at a time, one task at a time, a gift of normalcy not meant to be a burden but a way for us to carry on. We are supposed to ever move on. It is the nature of living.

Heavenly Father, shield my heart this day as I take this day one step at a time. I thank you for Your love and peace that passes my present understand. Be with me in all I do and say this day, may it ever be a reflection of Your love to those I meet. Amen.

Out of control

03 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

I will instruct you and teach you about the direction you should go. I’ll advise you and keep my eye on you. ~Psalm 32:8 (CEB)

 

Life can be overwhelming. Ultimately the only thing I can control is my own life and what will happen to me. And even that is limited. The easiest thing would be to live in a guarded, safe, controlled way, to stop taking risks and to be ruled by my fears of “what might happen”. Turning inward is one way to respond to life’s uncertainties. The other is to acknowledge my lack of control and to reach up for God’s help.  Knowing that I cannot control my circumstances is important.

If life was stable, I’d never need God. Since it isn’t stable I reach out to God often. It can be difficult to be thankful for the unkowns in life. It is scary to think I have very limited control but these situations cause me to run to God. A spirit of fear can immobilize me and enforce my want of a more guarded and safe life where variables are more controlled. God does not want me to live this way. He wants me to be adventurous.

Last Easter since we have no family in town my husband, son and I set out after church just to see what we could see. We had no real plan except to spend the day together. We got in the car and headed out over the Foothills parkway. We stopped at every overlook and got out to see each view of the mountains. We stopped at a stream and threw rocks into the water. Then when we made it to the other side of the parkway we decided to turn left onto hwy 129 and head toward North Carolina. Still no real plan, just not ready to head home we followed Hwy 129 through all its switches back and forth, over and around the mountains. We enjoyed the views and the beautiful day. After we crossed over the state line we were close to Fontana village and since my husband had worked there one summer while in college he thought it would be fun to look around. While we walked around we stumbled across an Easter egg hunt and my son was invited to join in.

We enjoyed exploring Fontana village. Again we found that we were not ready to call it a day. Since we would be passing Fontana dam our way back home, we thought we would check it out too. Before getting to the dam we stumbled upon Fontana Lake and took a few minutes to explore the boat dock there before continuing on to the dam. Slowly we meandered our way to the dam where we found that the views were glorious. We wandered around, walked over the dam and around the little visitor’s center.

It was a wonderful day. We had nowhere to rush of to, the weather was beautiful and we were not expecting certain things out of our day out. We just took it all as it came. I told my son who exclaimed what a great time he had had that we could never have planned that day. A day like that day just happens. A day like that cannot be controlled and still have the same enjoyment. It was the spirit of exploring that made that day special.

An adventurer never knows what treasures will be stumbled upon and those precious moments can never be planned. Although an adventure seems risky the rewards are always worthwhile. With God at my side the risks of living are never too great and I often prize those things God has done when I live my life. With my eyes on God I can have the confidence to step out on faith to see in the world what there is to see, one little treasure at a time.

Heavenly Father, grant to me this day an adventurous heart to bravely go out into the world a little out of control for You. Help me to store all the treasures I find deep in my heart to be pulled out and shared with others along the way. May I never be so self-controlled that I miss out on the joy You have in store for me. Watch closely over me and guide me in the way that I should go. I thank you for Your love. Amen.

Perfect love casts out fear

19 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 1 John 4:18 (NRSV)

God and I had a conversation a few months back. He had called me to step up to what He has been planting in my heart for several years. I accepted what He had asked me to do but in our conversation I told Him He needed to help me where I was weakest. I admitted to Him that I had no self-confidence and even though I knew my confidence should be centered in Him I felt that this was a real stumbling block for me.

For about 3 or 4 weeks now, every time I turn around I have heard messages about the “spirit of fear”. 1 John 4:18 tells me that love and fear cannot hang out together. In fact perfect love (God’s love) casts out fear. The Bible tells me that fear does not come from God: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. ~2Tim 1:7 (KJV). I love how the King James Version says that God gives a SOUND MIND. When my heart is anxious there is no soundness to my thinking!

 
On Saturday I heard a wonderful speaker/author, Jana Spicka, give a message on relationships. What kept jumping out at me was how the destroyer of many relationships is fear. Fear leads to self-loathing, doubt, indecision, fear of outcome, exaggeration, control… but perfect love casts all these things out.

Now this morning I open my email to read the daily Henri Nouwen post I subscribe to and find these words: “The world enslaves us with fear; the Spirit frees us from that slavery and restores us to the true relationship.  That is what Paul means when he says:  “All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons [daughters] of God, for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, ‘Abba, Father!'”  (Romans 8:15).”

God will equip me for His good work (Heb 13:21) All I must do is remain in His love. To remain in His love I simply need to allow myself to be guided by the Holy Spirit remembering to whom I belong. Not to the world, but to God. Perfect Love will cast out my fears.

Heavenly Father I thank You for surrounding us with words that speak straight to the places where fear lives. I thank you for sending Jesus into the world to conquer the world so that we do not have to be defeated and enslaved but instead can be confidant, living as a child of God.  I thank You for the spirit of power, love and sound mind that You instill in me. Amen.

Bigger than me

05 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength. ~Philippians 3:14
Once again I find myself sitting in a “bigger than me” problem. It’s enormous. I want to say I am dealing with it beautifully. I can’t. Last night as I struggled to calm my mind down enough to sleep, I felt God’s reminder that the problem didn’t occur in one day. It would also take “time” to correct things. Somehow I managed to finally get to sleep.

Upon awaking the panic crept back in. Since I obviously was not going to sleep anymore I picked up my phone to see if the blog I scheduled a few days back posted correctly today. If I had been in a laughing mood I would have laughed out loud. The post that I had written several days before was on anxiety. God’s way of preparing a message that He knew I needed to hear today. When I wrote the blog I was just reflecting. Today I needed the reminder to take each day at a time.

So today I am just practicing my breathing skills, trying to wait on God’s wisdom and I am taking to heart once again that I CAN endure all things through Christ who gives me strength. I have no great wisdom today. I am just an ordinary woman just trying to take life one day at a time. Breath by breath.

With every breath of air I take this day Lord, may I be reminded that Your Spirit lives in me. I know that You are bigger than my problems and that You in time will reveal the wisdom I need. I thank You for the strength you hide in me to endure each day. Amen.

Be Strong! Don’t Fear!

02 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , ,

For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. ~2 Timothy 1:7 (NRSV)

 

I have never really thought before about fear being a spirit. It certainly can influence me. Fear keeps me from doing a lot of things. Fear makes me realize my limitations, my ignorance and all my short comings and that there are so many. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells me that these feelings are not from God. Instead God gives me a spirit of power, a spirit of love and a spirit of discipline. From Romans 8:15 I learn that fear leads to slavery and bondage. Paul wrote, “You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as His children. With this Spirit, we cry, Abba, Father.” As a child of God my Father wants me to live in freedom knowing He has given me strength and power to overcome my fears.

“Say to those who are panicking: Be strong! Don’t fear! Here’s your God, coming with vengeance; with divine retribution God will come to save you” (Isaiah 35:4) “Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) “I am the LORD your God, who grasps your strong hand, who says to you, Don’t fear; I will help you.”(Isaiah 41:13)

So, I am empowered because “God is our refuge and strength, a help always near in times of great trouble. That’s why we won’t be afraid when the world falls apart, when the mountains crumble into the center of the sea, when its waters roar and rage, when the mountains shake because of its surging waves.” (Psalms 46:1-3) No matter that my life may feel at times that it is crumbling around me, God wants me to stand strong. Even though I feel that I am overwhelmed and that I am drowning, God has His hand out to grasp me and to keep me from going under. So I should not trust my “feelings”. I should not be afraid. This is a discipline that God wants me to learn. He says these words throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is a message that He has repeated over and over again. He says to all of us “Do Not Be Afraid”.

Lord, I know that the spirit of fear is not from you. Help me to use the spirits of power and discipline to stand strong in times of trial. Amen.

Endurance

29 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , ,

I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world. ~John 16:33 (CEB)

There are several things that I know but have not conquered. Anxiety is one of them. I manage to keep anxiety at bay until about 3:00 in the morning, then those anxious thoughts that I managed to ignore during the day come slithering in under the cover of night. Just when things are at its quietest, anxious thoughts slip into the corners of my mind. And wake me up.

If I turn in my Bible and look up anxiety or worry, the Bible has a lot to say. Matthew chapter 6 talks quite a lot about worry and that God doesn’t want me to worry. In fact verse 34 says, “Who among you can add a single moment to your life?”  Worry does not bring me answers. I know that anxiety can raise blood pressure and cause other health issues that can actually shorten a life span. Chapter 6 of Matthew tells me that I should not be anxious. I should know if God feeds the sparrows and dresses the flowers that He will take care of me too.  Even though I know these truths, it is hard to keep the panic at bay when a lot of financial things come up at once making money tight. I know in my head that God will see me through but it is still hard to practice the truths that I know.

Even though I cannot stop my worry completely I do try to put into practice verse 34 from chapter 6, “Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I know that I can’t have all the answers immediately and that answers will reveal themselves in time but it is hard to put into practice dealing with things just as they come. Another verse that I tuck away in my heart is from Philippians 3:14, “I can endure all things through the power of the One who gives me strength.” Psalms 29:11 says, “Let the LORD give strength to his people! Let the LORD bless his people with peace!” I want to live a life of peace so I try every day to practice believing that God will give me strength and endurance.

Lord, I know that You will give me just what I need for this day. Only in You can I have enough strength and endurance to get through this day. I thank you for all that you do. Amen.

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