Peace Comes from the Lord

Psalm 27

English Standard Version (ESV)

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
⁹     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will take me in.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on a level path
    because of my enemies.
¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they breathe out violence.

¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living!
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+27&version=ESV)

I thought you might like to listen to this  amazing song after reading the scripture for today:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_011&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_011&hspart=iry&p=my+one+defense+my+rightousness+oh+God+how+I+need+you#id=2&vid=fa1744a05228f5550f4f0377edf8d579&action=view

As I was watching Ninja Warriors with my husband last night, one of the athletes had Psalm 27 written on her arm.  Of course I grabbed my Bible to see what she had on her arm because I could not readily remember what that chapter was about.  As I read the Psalm, I thought, this would be a good one to write about today.   

Often times when I am down and out, I can go to the Psalms and find comfort and strength in the words written.   I myself have cried out to the Lord and asked Him to hear me but when I think of the struggles that David faced, I realize my cries are quite minimal in nature yet God hears and cares for each and every cry that we make to Him.  As it says in Psalm 56:8, English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+56%3A8&version=ESV)

He collects our tears, He hears our prayers, and He is our One defense, our righteousness and yes, we need Him!  I love the song along with this scripture today.  Life is hard, times can be rough but there is hope when you know and seek the Lord.

I have no idea what struggles you may be facing.  I have no idea what questions you have asked the Lord.  I have not heard your cries but I know our Heavenly Father has taken notice of you when you have cried to Him.

As you seek Him today may you find peace and comfort that comes only from the Lord.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

How to Overcome the World

1 John 5:1-5

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+John+5%3A+1-5&version=NASB)

 

Matthew 22:36-40New American Standard Bible (NASB)

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and ^]foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22%3A36-40&version=NASB)

Last week I wrote about certainty in uncertain times.  I had the most views on that post as I think people are all uncertain about the days in which we live.  However, as it says in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “there is nothing new under the sun”.  Since sin arrived into this world with the bite of that forbidden fruit, sin has been happening.  When we start seeing those things as “normal” rather than as sin, God’s heart is grieved, just as we see in Genesis 6:5-8New American Standard Bible (NASB):

⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+6%3A5-8&version=NASB)

Why do you think Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord?  ⁹ These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+6%3A9&version=NASB)

Yes, he was a righteous man and there were none other like him in the land.  Now let’s forward ahead a whole bunch of years.  Now we are in the days just prior to Jesus coming to earth as a newborn babe.  Seems to me that things were not as bad as in the days of Noah so why did Jesus need to come to earth?  Malachi gives us these words: Malachi 2:17-3:1New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁷ You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

3 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Malachi+2%3A17+-+3%3A1&version=NASB)

Just from reading this scripture I believe the times prior to the days of Jesus were much like they are today.  Today we hear how God is love and how He loves everyone.  We hear how we need to accept everyone, every religion, all is good, yet this is not  what the word of God says.  Today people can live on this earth, not follow the Lord, never claim Him as their own (as far as we know) and they die.  Somehow we believe that if God is a God of love then He won’t send anyone to hell.  Have you ever heard that argument?  I certainly have.  What we tend to forget is that God is a Just God, He is a God who loves those who believe on His name AND keep His commandments.  Keeping His commandments is not a way to salvation but it is evidence of our commitment to Him.  As the scripture says today, they are not burdensome.  We should delight in keeping His commandments. 

One last verse in Malachi for today as I feel it is important to share, Malachi 3:6a, “For I the Lord do not change,” these are important words to remember.  It is not up to the Lord to change, it is up to us to change. 

Are we keeping His commandments to Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and mind?  Are we loving our neighbors as ourselves?  Are we living righteous lives in the sight of our Lord?  Are we believing in His name and living lives that show that we believe?  As you seek Him today, may you be encouraged to live your lives pleasing to our Father in Heaven.  Don’t worry about the future if the future includes the Lord your God.  He has this under His care.  He has proven to us time and time again that He is a loving God but He is also a just God.   Seek Him and know and you will overcome this world when you love the Lord your God and keep His commandments.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

 

Thank You

1 Corinthians 2

New International Version (NIV)

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[a] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”^[b]—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.^{[c] 14} The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”^[d]

But we have the mind of Christ.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Corinthians+2&version=NIV)

I fully intended this morning to turn to Philippians and write something about joy in the times of adversity but the Lord stopped me at I Corinthians 2.  I had to read what it had to say and knew right then that today’s blog was not going to be about joy in times of adversity. 

This blog is for all of you who have been reading these blogs and have given me affirmation in the writings. Sorry, I had to post the entire chapter of I Corinthians 2, there was no other way to do it.

Since I started blogging, I have found it amazing at how easily the words that I write flow onto the computer screen.  My fingers begin typing and pretty soon there is a blog written.  I don’t attribute this to my wisdom, my knowledge of proper grammar (which is evident through my writings), or even my vast knowledge of scripture.  I’ve taken a few Bible classes at Liberty University and have I gone to church all my life but I am far from a Biblical scholar.  I attribute everything that is written on these pages, as a leading by the Holy Spirit.  Oh, I have no special “in” with Him.  He speaks to those who know Him.  I’ve never heard His audible voice, yet, I just know He is there.  I am nobody in this world but I am the child of a King.  There are many of you reading this who can understand what I am talking about.  You might not sit down and write a blog but you know the Spirit and He uses you in other ways to share His Spirit with others.  We cannot allow worldly thoughts to invade this precious space designed for Him.  However, sometimes those thoughts try to slip in.  That is why it is so important to know what His word says, discern what is good and dwell upon that day and night.  Writing blogs does just that for me.  This is my quiet time with the Lord that I share with you. 

Thank you for your affirmations of these blogs.  It tells me that God is working through the words that He places on my fingers.  I don’t need glorification but affirmation tells me I’m using a gift that God has given me to help others.  I give all the GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE to the one that has saved me from destruction and given me a new life in Christ.  Thank you Father.

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His care as you continue to seek Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Why Some are Weak and Some are Strong

 Romans 15:1-7

New International Version (NIV)

15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^{[a] 4} For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+15%3A1+-7&version=NIV)

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to struggle all the time while others seem to always have it together?  Have you wondered why some people are rich with fancy homes and nice vehicles while others struggle to make ends meet and sometimes don’t even have a home?  Does it seem that sometimes life is just unfair?

These verses tell us a lot about why these things happen and it is for one reason, to glorify God.  How can we glorify God when we are at our worst?  By letting others help us through those times.  Shutting people out of our lives because we don’t have it together is not glorifying God.  How do we glorify God when we have it all together?  By helping others not insulting them. 

Each of us, no matter our situation, can be of strength to one another.  I have friends who struggle in life and they constantly remind me that God is good and all will be okay.  I have seen more faith in the “weak” than I have seen in those who appear to be “strong”.  So, not necessarily is the one that seems to have it all together by way of wealth the one who is strong!

Sometimes when we are strong via riches we adopt the attitude that we deserve what we have.  We have worked hard to get what we have and we don’t have to share.  Well the scripture puts that idea to rest.  We have because God has blessed us.  We have in order to share with others what God has blessed us with.  If we all got what we deserved not one of us would have anything.  This also goes for those of us who have had the privilege of being raised in the church, became a Christian at a young age, always went to Sunday school and church services.  We may tend to think that we are better than those who did not have that honor.  Well, we are not. We have in order to share not to look down on those who do not have.

Wealth does not come in the form of money.  Wealth comes in the way of spiritual gifts, knowledge, wisdom, and only through a close relationship with Christ.  When we are one with Christ, we are wealthy and we are strong.  It is our responsibility to share that with others.  Remember Peter and John in Acts 3?

3 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+3&version=NIV)

                                                                                                                         

As I read these words today, something stood out that has never stood out to me before, the words, “Peter looked straight at him, as did John” when was the last time I looked straight at someone in need?  Further more, when was the last time I told them about the love of Christ?  I may not be able to help them get up and walk but I can through the work of the Holy Spirit, guide them to a new life.  I can give of my resources, be it time, money, understanding, knowledge, we are not here to have an easy life but to glorify our Lord and Savior.

What are we doing to share that with others?  Seek Him and know Him that you may share His love and forgiveness with others.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Crying Out

Matthew 14:29-30

New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “Come,” he said.Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A29+-30&version=NIV)

Matthew 27:46New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27:46&version=NIV)

 Matthew 27:50New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27:50&version=NIV)

I recently shared a post on Facebook that I saw on my news feed.  It said, “The purpose of prayer is not to receive what you asked for, but to strengthen your relationship with God.”  (Daily Words of Wisdom).  As I began to think about what to post today I began researching blessings.  I was recently reminded of the prayer of Jabez found in I Chronicles 4:10.  God blessed Jabez who was more honorable than his brothers but who was given a name that represented pain.  Well, that brought me to the words “cried out”.  When do we “cry out” to the Lord?  Usually when we are in pain, scared, frustrated, all those things that cause distress.  This brought me to the verses that I have listed today as our Scripture for today.

If prayer brings us closer to God then why do we only cry out to Him when we are in pain?  I found that answer in both Peter and Jesus words.  Peter had such a close relationship with Jesus that He recognized Him on the waters.  He was so happy to see Him that he got out of the boat and went towards Him but when his eyes fell towards his surroundings he began to sink.

Jesus had prayed all night.  He had asked that the Lord’s will be done, yet He found Himself on the cross.  He had taken on the sins of the world and the Father had allowed it to happen.  He knew it would, He knew the will of the Father but at that time, with all that sin on Him, He cried out.  The Father did not answer with an immediate resolution to the problem.  He allowed His son to cry out once more and then His son died on that cross.  Seems like the end but it was far from it!  Many of you know that Christ rose on the third day, conquering death and bringing life to those who believe. 

Yet, we find ourselves crying out to God, with the question, “Why?”.  We cry out and ask Him to bless us, to comfort us, to keep up from harms way.  Yet we forget to cry out to Him in praise and glory and honor.  We forget to live for Him day in and day out.  We forget to honor Him by keeping His commandments, yet when tough times come, we cry out. 

The challenge I face today is the challenge to not cry out only in times of distress but to cry out before the distress.  To keep my eyes fixed on Him and not my surrondings.  I need to  cry out in a voice to want to know Him more, seek Him more, love Him more, and trust Him more.  

Is our prayer life bringing us closer to God or are we simply asking for blessings to make life a little more bearable?  Trust Him, Love Him, Know Him by Seeking Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

The Last Shall be First

Matthew 20:1-15

New International Version (NIV)

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius^[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A+1+-+15&version=NIV)

As a special education teacher I often times have a groups of students that come to my room or the room of the teacher with whom I co-teach.  There are times that these students rush to line up because they want to be first. Something about being first just seems so appealing.  I know as the baby of the family I have often wished that I could have been first.  The first always seems to get just a little extra because they were the first.  My sister, on the other hand, would say that the baby gets the extra attention.  Albeit it seems like we always want the position that we were not chosen to have.  When my students push and shove to be at the front, that is the time I step in and say, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  They don’t like that very well but comply with my commands and trade places.  Those in the middle are just stuck in the middle!

Could you imagine running a race and speeding to be the first to the ribbon only to be told that the race was to see who could get there last?  That would be quite a disappointment to work so hard and find out you could have walked the course and won the race.  In I Corinthians 9:24, Paul speaks of a race where we are to run to win the prize exercising self-control along the way, and in Hebrews 12:1 the author encourages us to run with endurance. So, why work so hard and run so fast if the last will be first.  Well, I don’t really believe that this is what the scripture is saying at all.

I believe that what Jesus is saying to me today is that we should not get hung up on what everyone else is doing but do, whatever we do for our Father in Heaven, with a glad heart.  We don’t always have to work for a position but we should work to please.  I believe this is what pleases the Father.  If all of my students got up from the table, pushed in their chairs, and quietly walked towards the door and stood orderly in a line, someone would always be first and someone would always be last, however, I would be equally pleased with each one.  I believe this is what Jesus is trying to convey to me today.  Don’t worry about your position, don’t worry about your title, do the work that God has placed you so generously in and do the work to please Him and Him alone.  I may not get the pay I want or the title I may feel I deserve but I will have pleased my Father in Heaven.

As you seek Him remember that ultimately He is first and remain in that position each of us we are last.  Work to please your Good, Good Father and don’t worry about what others are doing just focus on Him and the work that He has called you to do.

Seek Him and know that He is just.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Certainty in Uncertain Times

Proverbs 3:21-26

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
    preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²² they will be life for you,
    an ornament to grace your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
    and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
    or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶ for the Lord will be at your side
    and will keep your foot from being snared.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+3%3A+21+-+26&version=NIV)

Another unexpected attack on those out enjoying time together on a Saturday evening can cause such uncertainty to our lives.  Even though it happened across the ocean, it seems so close to home.  Everyone wonders when, not if, it will happen here.  It can make life so uncertain and scary.  I hear people say they pray that the Lord will come soon and I have to wonder if that is the prayer we are to be praying or if we are to continue living for Him, praying for wisdom, and seeking Him with all our hearts. I have to think of Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah, am I pleading as he did for mankind to be saved? 

¹⁶ When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^{[c] 19} For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^{[d] 23} Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
³³ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

One thing I am certain of is the fact that only God knows the perfect time for His return and as long as this earth is still turning, His time has not yet arrived.  What do we do in the meantime?  Do we fear the evil?  Do we run away from disaster and distress?  Do we hide away in our homes?  In Proverbs we find that we should seek wisdom and understanding, have sound judgment and discretion. How do we get that wisdom?  How do we have sound judgment?  It only comes from the Lord and it only comes through trusting in the One who provides it.  Reading the Word of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, and by going through trials and tribulations that build our character when we put our trust in the Lord. 

Have I had sleepless nights?  Do I worry too much?  I have to answer yes to those questions and my worry has always been things that I could not control.  That is a lack of trust in the One who does have that control and for that I have sinned.  I have also had the peace that only the Lord can give.  One example of that is a when my youngest daughter went to college many miles away, in another state, in a large city, I trusted the Lord, but not before I had a few uncomfortable nights. Then, she told us she was headed to another country even further away.  I had a sense of peace about it all.  I knew that if He could take care of her in one city far away, He would take care of her in a city even further away.  That was probably the wisest I have ever been.  I still have to work on being wise, on trusting, in not fearing, but God’s word is very clear that the Lord is by our side and when we trust Him, we do not have to fear disasters.  When we seek Him, we find wisdom, we find rest, and we have hope.  Of this we can be certain!

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila