"I will extol You, my King; and I will bless Your name FOREVER and ever...everyday I will bless You, and I will praise Your name FOREVER and ever” Psalm 145:1
FOREVER begins today. Today; praising today, in the midst of the ordinary, mundane, in the midst of suffering and pain. In the midst of the gray clouds. Today.
David knew of praise. He knew of God's faithfulness. He knew his King. He knew his King was worthy of all praise each and every day. Four times he says, "I Will". How David looked for God's people to encourage one another in praise. How David understood the importance of an older generation pouring into a younger generation to praise His name and to learn of His mighty acts. Praising Him with intention and for who He is, not out of feelings of mere emotion. How God invites me to bring to Him the blessing of the sacrifice of praise-in times when it is easy and in times when it is hard, “That one generation shall praise His works to another and declare Your mighty acts" Psalm 145:4
As I pray as to what the LORD would have me write, I continue to pray for each of you. With so much to share, I share my heart as God shares His with mine. I hope that the faithfulness of God is revealed through His words. That as I share eternal truths through His Word, you are encouraged. His Word does not fail and it is the only thing that is never out of date as we live in a world that is constantly changing. I love this quote by C.S Lewis, “All that is not eternal is eternally out of date”.
Often I pass this building on the back country roads and I am always captivated by the cross I see hung on this rickety rackety old building that is so seemingly 'out of date' but yet so very beautiful as the message of the cross is never old and out of date and truly brings beauty out of ashes. As I drive by it's message speaks powerfully as it brings a message of hope to every car that passes by. I thank God each time I pass it, for sending this reminder to me of His love and despite what things can look like, the cross makes all things new.
I pray this new day as I ask the Lord to invite me into His will. So many ask what God's will is. His will is right before me, placed upon my lap. It is in this new day. It is seeking Him and serving Him in my circumstance this day. How quickly our thoughts desire to run so far beyond where we are standing. I remember and reflect as the LORD helps me to sift through my thoughts - all our many thoughts can run like “vain imaginations” as the scriptures tell us....but how we must “bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and think upon Him”....To live in this moment where His presence dwells.
Friday marked the sixth month since Randy left his earthly home to enter into His eternal Home with His Father. Perhaps that is why the sorrow of missing him wants me to notice the grayish skies, and begin this day in sorrow's unwanted grip. But how I cling to the assurance of the cross, to the glory where Randy is and the many wonderful memories I have been given and allow my mind to remember them. Yes, he is missed in everything, and I recall him in everything; in our worship together, our service to the Lord together, in our family together, and in our many beautiful relationships with others together...A place of emptiness, greatly missing his presence and a place that will never be replaced by another human being but how in each void left, God alone promises to fill..and I must remember because in our memories we are reminded of God’s faithfulness, goodness and of His favor upon His children.
Yes, FOREVER begins today. Today His mercies are new. Today God is with me and He walks with me and talks with me. Today I meet Him and today He speaks His Truth. Give Me Your Word Lord, my eyes are on You as I surrender to Your will. "Come to Me” He says... “all who are weary and I will give you rest”. Such a beautiful promise. Rest is promised in Him as I come and bend my neck and bow my heart, setting aside a place and time to spend with Him, to listen to what He wants to say.
All of FOREVER begins today. We “KNOW that all things work together for a pattern of good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”..... I love this beautiful promise...ALL THINGS He works together for our good...And WHY?.... the answer is in the next verse.... "to confirm us into the image of His son”. Romans 8:28-29. Such hope for today. I am struck by the words “to be conformed...to me made” into Christ’s own image! I can hardly grasp the beauty of this verse and the love He has for us as I think of this, that His perfect work in us is to make us into His image. I truly see the beauty of His image in so many of those who love Him and His beauty radiating in each of their lives as He works all things for their good. As we give our suffering, our past, our failures and mistakes to Him - He uses it all for good — An image that is made out of nothing requires tools and He uses His tools (all things) to hammer and chisel us into His beautiful image when we give to Him our very lives and He uses ALL to then conform us into His likeness....all the past God turns into good...forever...and forever begins today. This is our promise in times of affliction, our calling and our responsibility in these times — TO KNOW.
Such hope we have been given.... I surrender to this place where God can do His perfect work in me...where He can use me to accomplish His will...as it is my selfish desires to want my will....to want time to stand still and have him back with me. I thank God that He is still in charge, in the face of life’s worst pain, and that “this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18) and in this promise that God gives us all I am lifted up by the promise of that “weight” of GLORY, this heavenly perspective that this “weight of glory” is so far greater than the weight of sorrow that presses so heavily upon us...this promise that is sealed FOREVER begins today.
I will bless His name FOREVER and this begins today. This day brings quite the celebration as I thank God for our oldest grandson, Joshua, who turned 13 today. In Randy’s journal he penned on this day last year, January 7th, 2018, as He read of the call of God in 1 Timothy 1:12 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, for that which He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry”. Randy thanked God and believed in the calling each of us have and how God promises to fulfill that calling as we surrender our lives to Christ. He penned this quote regarding a man of God, “He will be a man of God first and everything else second”. This is truly a word he believed in and shared with other men. He prayed this over both our grandsons...his blessings for their life....the joy he witnessed in their salvation and such a stone of remembrance given through Randy of this word on this day.
All of FOREVER begins today....as today I remember the faithfulness of God in the past which enables me to take steps forward. As I bless His name over the display of God’s glory wrapped up in His character in each day of every year. I feed on God’s faithfulness in our lives. I am reminded of His hand at work in so many others....His hand restoring marriages, drawing people to Himself, bringing salvation, healing broken hearts, mending wounds, promised provisions, lives and families newly established in Him....in all His glorious working through salvation that's promised forever...with Christ, FOREVER begins today.
How God wants us to remember His faithfulness and proclaim His works to each other as David wrote and as we see in the book of Joshua. When the children of Israel crossed over the Jordan River they experienced God’s power rolling back the waters to enable them to cross over and take possession of the Promised Land. Joshua then commanded them to marked the spot on the shore with twelve stones...stones of remembrance... as Joshua used the stones to help God’s people remember His goodness. He commanded them to build a memorial of stones as a testimony to others of what God had done for them.
How God uses our testimonies of His grace in the same way. To display His glory as a banner lifted high. How God went before me and touched my heart today as I thought of this day, and was reminded of the past; of Joshua’s birthday marking his life as a young man, how Randys words brought a blessing, and of the faithfulness of God in our life....and in so many of yours. I remembered too just this past week of God faithfulness in so many lives who have waited and prayed....and how God has gone before each. How so many are still praying and waiting on God, to see how He will respond. Always in His timing, His will and His way, how He is responding to each.
God's grace is unending. As I prayed and began writing, I then opened my devotion and it read of Joshua 4, the reminder once again of the importance of our “stones of remembrance” - “stones” reminding us to keep praising Him. God's unending grace led a dear friend today to send me a beautiful message as she read too from Joshua 4 and wrote; "through such difficult times, and through the rivers we think we cannot cross He makes a way.....and then has us....set up a reminder for His glory” Joshua 4.
The hope of God always begins today, today is the day of salvation. I pray that this “sets up a reminder to you of His glory” ....a reminder that He makes a way when there seems to be none - and how in all that God brings into your life, you will have the faith and courage to give it back to God TO KNOW that He will use it all for good and then others will see the display of God’s glory displayed....every day and in every year....for your entire life.
May our gray skies be turned into praise; regardless. Forever begins with today. “I will extol You, my King; and I will bless Your name FOREVER and ever...everyday I will bless You, and I will praise Your name FOREVER and ever” Psalm 145:1
"I Will". Forever begins today.
Michelle A. Guerra
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