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.
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
― Mother Teresa
If small bees didn’t fly from plant to plant, pollinating them so they could bear fruit, we couldn’t enjoy the bigger things like beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables to eat.
Lord, forgive me for neglecting the small things that draw me closer to you. Guard my heart and help me to be faithful in that little things, for they can make all the difference.
What little things do you do (or neglect to do) that draw you closer to God?
Lord, you know me inside and out. You know I put my trust in you…eventually. First, I often fret and worry and maybe shed some tears. Then, eventually, finally, I turn to you. At last, I put my trust in you, in your wisdom, and your strength. Teach me, Lord, to trust in you first.
How often do you get hungry or thirsty? My guess is you get hungry and thirsty several times a day, every day.
Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matt. 5:6). We long for food and water, but Jesus speaks of hungering and thirsting for righteousness! How do we do that? Isaiah 51:1: helps us understand: Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. When we seek God, we find righteousness too. How do we seek God? We seek Him in church, hearing messages from music and the pulpit. We seek God when we read, study and meditate on scripture. We seek Him in prayer, talking to Him and listening to His still, quiet voice. We seek Him whenever we enjoy the beauty of His creation.
If we need to eat and drink several times a day to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies, wouldn’t the same be true of our spiritual hunger and thirst?
Father God, thank you for giving us physical hunger and thirst so we may understand spiritual hunger and thirst. Teach us to seek You and your righteousness so that you may continually satisfy our spiritual longings.
God is not aloof. He says continually through the centuries, “I’ll help you, I really will. When you’re ready to throw up your hands, throw them up to Me.
― Jim Cymbala
I am so thankful, Lord, that you are always there and willing to reach out your hand. Forgive me for those times I don’t grab your extended hand, but stubbornly try to do things on my own. Keep me reaching out for the source of all my strength and all my hope.
Lord, you know I am easily discouraged. I think that I can never accomplish the task. But then you remind me: I can never accomplish the task. Not my strength, not my talent, not my brain. But in YOUR strength, all things are, indeed, possible. Keep me relying on you, not on me to finish the jobs.
The lazy waters take a right angled turn. Branches of white ash bend gracefully toward the water. A flash of brilliant red—a male cardinal flies, lighting on branches across the water. He perches 15 feet above the water, secure on his leafy bench, trilling to attract his mate. I sit on a stone bench nestled between the trees. The natural beauty of the arboretum wraps me in a cocoon of peace.
To my right, I see the fence at the edge of the arboretum and hear the roar of cars as they rush past. I return my focus to the still waters, the deep browns and greens of the forest. I observe evidence of man at this place: a small white gazebo with shake shingles, a garden of pink, purple and white tulips, their double blooms resembling peonies.
Across the park a mower drones, keeping the grass trim. Between my stone bench and the water, 12 feet or so, the ground rushes down to meet the pond. Soft with over 100 years of leaves, bark and pine needles, the ground supports the green ground cover and provides a soft walkway.
Greedily, I drink in the beauty and serenity of this place and ignore the traffic outside. I choose to slow down for a few moments and ignore the calls of the world beckoning to me. The more I drink in this beauty, the more I can recall and take home with me. When my world rushes around me, I can choose to look at God’s beauty all around and within me and focus on it, for it is all a matter of perspective, isn’t it? I choose my focus.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Father, thank you for the beauty of Your creation. Keep my mind focused on that beauty and on You.
Growing Our Faith Together 