This blog is designed to create community for believers and provide support for seekers. I encourage all readers to share their faith in an effort to lift and encourage one another.
“Sovereignty is a weighty thing to ascribe to the nature and character of God. Yet if He were not sovereign, He would not be God. The Bible is clear that God is in control of everything that happens.”
-Joni Eareckson Tada.According to Dictionary.com, “sovereign” means “a person who has supreme power or authority.”Don’t you think it is reassuring to be reminded that our God has supreme power and authority, and He is in control of everything that happens?Lord, when I worry or I am afraid, remind me that You are sovereign, and You are in control.
I Peter 4:8-11Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.Father, I am so thankful that you are stronger than the enemy. I pray for those who are struggling against his power. May they rely on your power to evict him from their lives. For each of us, I pray for Your strength and steadfastness to keep the enemy away.I challenge you to pray this scripture over others, especially those who struggle.
After an unusually difficult two months—several lingering illnesses that left me constantly fatigued, my father-in-law’s serious stroke, caring for my mother-in-law—I was feeling tired, stressed, and discouraged.
Driving to work, I shed a few tears of self- pity. As I turned to the east, a gorgeous sunrise greeted me. Thin clouds created a golden pink wash against a pale blue sky. Nearer were several larger, thicker clouds. The light behind made them appear black.
Thank you, God, I whispered, for the gift of a beautiful sunrise.
The darker clouds, God whispered to my heart, represent your trials, troubles, and fatigue, tiny compared to the splendor around them. In the midst of your trials I am all around you, surrounding you with my light and my glory—loving you through the hard times.
As I continued to drive, the sun rose higher, casting its light on the darker clouds in the foreground, turning them a brilliant pink, far brighter than the background clouds. This too shall pass, the Lord whispered to my heart. Brighter days are ahead.
God is with us, through good times and bad. We only need to open our eyes to see him.
“Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b
Lord of all creation, help us keep our eyes focused on You. May we acknowledge the beauty of your creation and remember that you are in control, even in the midst of our trials..
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”Colossians 3:12-14Oh, Lord, I pray that we all could dress this way every day. Allow us to show such wonderful qualities: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Lord teach us to be patient with one another and to easily forgive. And most of all, Lord, teach us to love. When we clothe ourselves this way, Lord, may others see You at work in us.I challenge you to pray this scripture for others this week.
I sit at the edge of the amphitheater where the rangers give their nightly talks. Early in the morning I’m the only one here. The sun has just risen above the mountains, and I stare at the beauty all around me. Everywhere I look, the majestic Rocky Mountains raise their granite peaks skyward. Even in July they glisten with a heavy winter’s snow fall. High above even the highest of the nearby peaks, Long’s Peak raises its humped back 14,259 feet into the bright blue sky, the tallest mountain in the Colorado Rockies. The Eastern face of Long’s Peak looks as if it has been sheared off like a butcher slicing a large piece from a gigantic roast.
My eye travels down just below the lofty peak to a long expanse of grassy tundra still dotted with snow in its ravines. Farther down, a pine-covered peak reaches for the morning sun. Still lower, and much closer to the amphitheater, a long, pine-covered green ridge displays a smattering of the rusty brown color caused by voracious pine beetles destroying the tall trees.
Far below that ridge and about a quarter of a mile below where I sit lies the sun-drenched Fern Valley. At 6:30 in the morning, the sun bathes the flat green valley in a soft yellow glow. This valley spans the distance between Long’s Peak, the lower mountains, and Moraine Campground where I sit. The meandering path of the Fern River cuts through this verdant valley. It rushes so rapidly I can hear its scurrying from my perch high above. Heavy snow melt hastens Fern River’s current and causes it to spill out of its banks, flooding large patches of meadow.
On the near side of the river, elk, 17 of them, graze on the green valley floor. Five of them seem to have eaten their fill, for they lie in the grass, enjoying the early morning sunshine. Others step slowly and gracefully across the meadow grasses, and then lower their heads, ready for breakfast.
I watch the elk grazing for a while and then close my eyes and breathe deeply, enjoying the early morning air. Distant rushing water, the echo of a crow’s caw resounding down the valley, and nearby bird call, “chitter, chitter, chitter” echo in the morning stillness.
I open my eyes and drink deeply from the cup of beauty surrounding me. I breathe in the fresh, pine-scented air. Like the early morning, I’m still….I listen….And then I hear it…the silent shouting of nature all around me. “Glorify God, creator of all heaven and earth! Praise the great I Am! Praise His glorious name!”
I bask in the beauty for a few more moments and then head to our campsite, ready for a new day.
Isaiah 55:12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Father, thank you for your creative gifts all around me. Keep my eyes open to your glory through the nature you created.
Growing Our Faith Together 