Devotions

[Lost Soul]

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In Case of Emergency
August 22, 2024
by Tracie Braylock

“The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the LORD, And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].” Psalm 37:23 (AMP)

Hospitals have emergency codes every employee must be aware of. As a nurse, I’m familiar with how these codes are announced, either within one department or to the entire hospital, depending on the situation. For example, “Code Red” indicates smoke or fire while “Code Blue” indicates a medical emergency like cardiac or respiratory arrest.

When the code is announced, a series of steps are followed so hospital personnel can keep patients, visitors, employees and the general public from undue harm or panic.  In a Code Red, for instance, staff are to complete the R.A.C.E. procedure:

R: Rescue those in immediate danger.
A: Activate the nearest fire alarm.
C: Close all doors and windows within reach, and turn off fans and air conditioners.
E: Extinguish small fires with a fire extinguisher.

As a believer in Jesus, did you know you also have emergency codes you can use in dangerous, dire or discouraging situations?

They’re found within the Scriptures!  God has given us the counsel of the whole Bible to guide, bless and teach us but it is also helpful to know some key verses for encouragement and prayer in hard moments. Here are some examples:

    When you feel alone, you can pray Deuteronomy 31:6.
    When you feel fearful, you can pray Isaiah 41:10.
    When you are in danger, you can pray Psalm 91.
    When you have sinned, you can pray Psalm 51.
    When you need courage, you can pray Joshua 1:9.
    When you are seeking peace, you can pray Isaiah 26:3.
    When you are heartbroken, you can pray Psalm 34:17-19.

God offers the safety and support you need to navigate whatever situation you’re facing.  Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the LORD, And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].”

Not only do we have steps we can follow, but God redirects our attention away from the pain of our problems and toward Him as our Protector and Provider. God orders and establishes our steps and guards us as we go.  My friend, isn’t it wonderful to know that in times of stress, struggle or stumbling, the Lord still holds and sustains you?

God is right there with you every step of the way as your ever-present Guide, helping you navigate both everyday and emergency situations.  Call out His Word, follow the path He’s established for you, and trust Him with each new step. Your safety and deliverance are found in Him.

[heartbroken]

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The Refill of Rest
August 23, 2024
by Jackie Smith-Bell

“.... [Jesus] said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” Mark 6:31 (NIV)

As I was driving along the highway, panic set in I realized I had five miles until my gas tank was empty.  Running on fumes, I coasted into the nearest filling station, reflecting on the similarity between my soul and my fuel tank, both needing to be replenished. Life had been moving at a breakneck speed, leaving me emotionally drained, and I hadn't slowed down to recover.  Exhausted by my mounting to-do list, I longed for moments of rest to refill my soul with peace and joy only God could provide. Initially, I convinced myself I'd find time later that day, after finishing dinner and laundry, or the next morning. However, I kept making excuses, focusing on other things instead.  Do you ever make excuses about why you haven’t spent time with God?

Do you ever wonder why your relationship with Him is “low on fuel” and rest feels nonexistent?

You aren’t alone, friend.  We live in a world where busyness and excuses are commonplace and quiet time with God feels optional. If we aren’t careful, life's demands can easily have us speeding toward an unsustainable pace that drains our senses. Prioritizing rest is essential to replenishing our souls.   Even Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, embraced rest (Luke 5:16; Matthew 8:24). And just as our Savior welcomed rest, we need it to recharge and reinforce our well-being, enabling us to show up as the best versions of ourselves in service to God and others.  In Mark 6, Jesus sent His disciples out on a ministry assignment. After completing this assignment, preaching, healing people and spreading the gospel, the disciples returned home emotionally, physically and spiritually exhausted.  Jesus, the ultimate source of rest, said: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31).

Jesus’ request was not just casual but was a command to prioritize spiritual replenishment and soul care, leaving no room for excuses. He tells you and me to do the same in our assignments as wives, mothers, friends and more within our spheres of influence.  We often coast through our days and try to sustain ourselves with tasks that were never meant to fulfill us then wonder why we aren't experiencing abundant life. Sometimes our souls’ emptiness indicates our need to spend quiet time in the presence of Jesus, our true Sustainer. His presence is the place where grace flows and life’s pressures lighten.  Resting in Jesus enhances our day. We can start small, like waking up 30 minutes earlier for prayer or taking a 15-minute walk outdoors to appreciate His creation. The outcome is the same: He restores the joy and peace we thought were lost.  Jesus loves to fill our emptiness with His presence.

[heartbroken]

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Prioritizing Our People and Our Projects
August 27, 2024
by Karen Ehman

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 (AMP)

I settled on the front porch with my iced tea and my laptop, hoping to make the task at hand more pleasant: renewing my driver’s license online. Just then, my phone began to buzz with a text from a friend who wanted to talk.  I had a decision to make. Would I stop my task to call this person?

Since I knew the conversation might run long, I decided I’d call when my online work was finished.  We all have obligations and people in our lives that need our attention it’s a balancing act that won’t ever go away. So how do we navigate spending time on both our work and our humans?

The letter of Philippians is full of advice for living in harmony with others by humbly emulating Jesus. The writer of the letter, Paul, urges, “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

It is a simple sentence yet a significant truth.  The verse doesn’t say to look out only for the interests of others, neglecting our own needs. Nor does it say to watch out only for ourselves and ignore the needs of those around us.  Paul used the Greek word skopeó, translated as “look out for,” which means “to keep an eye on, to consider, to contemplate or to scrutinize carefully and then act.”

When it comes to our tasks, activities and daily responsibilities, we do well to keep a watchful eye on them to make sure they get done. However, we can also mindfully observe the relationships in our lives, knowing there are times when others need us and when we need them.  Think of wearing bifocal glasses: Sometimes you look far away at what’s happening in the distance, but other times you focus on what is right before you. Similarly, we can toggle our focus between our people and our projects.  What does this look like?

Maybe we put our phone in “do not disturb” mode when we are at work, allowing messages from family only and returning texts and calls to others later.  Maybe we teach our kids that when we have an important online meeting, we’ll have the door shut, and they are only to knock in case of emergency.  On the flip side, when we hear that our widowed neighbor needs help weeding her yard, perhaps we ditch our plans for an afternoon of shopping and help her instead.  God empowers us to love our people well without neglecting the duties He has called us to perform. May we love others deeply and perform our work diligently, trusting God to help us creatively find the bandwidth to do both.

[PippaJane]

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Perfect Peace Is Possible
September 3, 2024
by Lysa TerKeurst, President and Chief Visionary Officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries

 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)

Looking to our feelings instead of Truth to steady our souls is dangerous ground.  I saw a vivid depiction of this several years ago when we remodeled our house. I invited a friend over and asked for his expert opinion. But when he started staring at the ceiling with a look of grave concern, I knew something was wrong. One of the major beams had been poorly repaired and wasn't able to provide enough support a point proven by the sagging floor upstairs.  Seeing those broken boards barely hanging on, I felt like God was giving me a glimpse of the unstable places inside of me. It was a loving admonition to stop assessing His goodness based on how my life felt at any given moment.  Why?

Because feelings are fragile props. Only Truth is solid, unchanging and stable. The beliefs we hold should hold us up even when life feels like it’s falling apart.  Which brings us to our key Bible passage for today. Isaiah 26 focuses on the strength God gives His people so they can accomplish His purposes.  First, we need to know that one of the keys to understanding Isaiah 24-27 is realizing that the prophet Isaiah was looking ahead to the end of all things. Isaiah knew while things may not look good right now, God promises us His plans are good. God is moving us toward that day when death will be swallowed up and He will wipe every tear from His people’s eyes (Isaiah 25:8). He has ordained our peace (Isaiah 26:12).  But we aren’t just promised peace in eternity. Isaiah tells us how we can experience and walk in strength and peace today:  “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4, ESV, emphasis added).

The Hebrew word for the phrase “stayed on” means “to brace, uphold, support.” In other words, those with minds fully braced, upheld and supported by trust in God and His Truth will be kept in perfect peace. This means an all-embracing peace. It comes from God, by the power of His indwelling Spirit, giving us the strength internally to face whatever comes our way externally.  This doesn’t mean that our circumstances will feel peaceful, that all our relationship troubles and hardships will suddenly get better, or that all the prayers we pray will suddenly get answered. But our minds can be steadied with God’s Truth instead of overrun with thoughts of fear, anxiety and worst-case scenarios.  The God who rescued David from Saul (1 Samuel 23), who split the Red Sea so the Israelites could safely pass through (Exodus 14), and who promised strength to His people through Isaiah is the same God you can trust with your life.  God is always doing more than you know, working toward a good you’ll one day rejoice in.