Month: March 2021

We want to do good.  We try to do good.  We think about doing good.  And then we fail.  It can feel like we are all alone in our struggle.  We wonder what is wrong with us.  We don’t always understand our path.  We know God is good but we, if we are honest, we are not always good.  This can feel defeating.  But we are not alone.  We do not struggle alone.  God understands where we are.  He sees how we try.  He knows our hearts, our inner desire to serve him.  He gets how we struggle and he loves us anyway.

The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture is there.  This is where he finds himself.  He has nearly fallen, slipping along in life, trying to find a foothold.  He knows what is right.  Yet, he finds himself looking around.  He sees how other people prospering.  He is looking around and feels like those who do not follow God seem to be doing better.  It can feel disheartening to look around.  Comparison is an enemy.  In the end, he comes back to the fact that the only place to be is near God.  If you are near God, you do not need to worry about what is going on around you.  God will take care of us.  He will love us.  He will watch over us.  He is our refuge and strength when we find a place in him.  

Maybe the key isn’t trying to do better or feeling like we always have to do it right.  Maybe the key is location.  Maybe we focus on getting closer to God and pulling from his strength.  We cannot do it alone.  But the closer we get to God, the more we have all we need – and become all we were created.  Today, move closer to the only One who can provide a refuge and a strength.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 73:1-3; 28

¹ Truly God is good to the upright, 
    to those who are pure in heart.
² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
    my steps had nearly slipped.
³ For I was envious of the arrogant;
    I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

²⁸ But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    to tell of all your works.

  Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

It seems we are given a reprieve with the weather.  When we are going through cold and rainy continual days, a few days of warmth and sunshine are even more impactful.  They offer an extra bit of joy, a welcome change from the cold, dreary days.  We might not appreciate the really good days if we didn’t struggle through the tough ones.  It is in the struggle we learn to look for the good.  

I don’t know about you, but the last two days of sunshine have been a like one loving, warm hug on my weary soul.  I have been reminded better days are coming.  I am not foolish enough to think winter is over.  There will be cold and dreary days.  But for a few moments, it was great to simply soak up what was offered.  Worrying or concentrating on what is to come is unhelpful.  Taking in what is offered right now is the key.

What in our lives are going really well?  What have we taken for granted or missed because we have only focused on the difficult?  What struggles have we tackled which have opened our eyes to the joys of living?  Don’t miss the beauty of a reprieve.  It is given to us to learn to enjoy today.  Today is enough and so are we.  

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 74:15-17

¹⁵ You cut openings for springs and torrents;
    you dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you established the luminaries and the sun.
¹⁷ You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
    you made summer and winter.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery