You can handle it!

'You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!'

Isaiah 26: 3 NLT

Have you been having a tough time recently? Whether you have or not, you'll know what it feels like, right? Because one thing is guaranteed-at some point you will have tough times! The Bible guarantees it! 'We must suffer...' (Romans 8: 17 NCV) So the question to ask is not, 'How do I avoid having a hard time?' instead we should ask, 'What do I do when things get tough?' Our answer would probably be, 'If life is difficult, then we can't possibly enjoy ourselves. We just have to moan and complain and look miserable, until it's over.' But God answers our question with a promise, 'I will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Me, all whose thoughts are fixed on Me.' What a great promise! We just need to do our best and let God do the rest as we look to Him for help. We don't have to worry or panic, we can feel calm and relaxed, because God will fill us with His peace. This way God has the last word. No more running around like a headless chook or getting caught up in your emotions or reacting to what people are saying. You'll know God's in control, you won't even have to look miserable, you could even smile. Imagine that! When things go wrong-and they will-do what God asks of you and then chill. Sit back and watch Him work on your behalf!

Thursday, 28 January 2010
http://www.word4u2day.com.au/201001271993/You-can-handle-it.html

Wonderfully Made

A quote in George MacDonald’s book David Elginbrod speaks to those who wonder, at times, why God has made them the way they are—and who wish they were someone else.

Lady Emily muses: “I wish I were you, Margaret.”

Margaret answers: “If I were you, my lady, I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of. For to have been thought about—born in God’s thoughts—and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, most precious thing in all thinking.”

MacDonald may have had Psalm 139:17 in mind: “How precious . . . are Your thoughts to me, O God!” In this psalm, David is thinking about his conception, and vividly describes God’s thoughts as He wove him together in his mother’s womb, creating a unique and special individual to be the object of His love.

It’s a comforting thought to know that we’re not a terrible mistake, but a very special creation, “born in God’s thoughts.” David could stand before a mirror and say in all honesty and humility: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works” (v.14).

You are a designer original! As such, you are dear, grand, and precious to God. — David H. Roper

Of all creation’s treasures rare,
Not one compares in worth with man;
In God’s own image he was made
To fill a place in His great plan. —D. De Haan

You are one of a kind—designed to glorify God as only you can.

January 18, 2009

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/01/18/devotion.aspx