Tag: assurance

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, wisdom

His Day, Your Day

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

25,860. You know we ought to be grateful for each day we have because one of these days we just might not wake up. In the morning, I wake up, get up, make a cup of coffee, get the weather report and settle in for some time with my Dearest Daddy. That almost always includes several devotions from different people and sometime in prayer. I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to pray is to pray some scriptures back to God. I might personalize and pray Psalm 37:23-24 this way, “Lord, I know my steps today are ordered by you and in fact my path is something you delight in. I also know that if I stumble and fall, that you are not going to leave me there. You love me too much to do that, so you promise to pick me up. Thank You, Father.”

I also like to pray Proverbs 3:5-6. When I do, it might go like this, “Lord, You tell me to trust in You with all of my heart and that I should not trust in my way of doing and understanding things. You tell me, in all my ways, that I am to acknowledge You, to respect You, to revere You, to declare the fact that You are God, and I am not. When I am willing to do that, You promise to make my paths straight—to give me the best path for me life.  Thank You, Father for that.”

I love those two scriptures but there is one that I love just about as much. It is found in Psalm 118, verse 24, and I might pray it like this, “Lord, thank You for this new day that You have given me—a day that You have designed and made. I know it is Your will that I should rejoice and be glad in this gift You have given me. Help me today to do that. Amen” This is a good prayer but also a challenging one. As you know, and I know, because of circumstances and life, it is not always easy to rejoice in the day that God gives us.

The other day I was thinking about Psalm 139:16a that says, “All my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Wow! How amazing is that. Equally amazing is the impact this verse has on Psalm 118:24—that not only is it the day He made—He made it with me in mind. You see, for me today is day 25,860 of all the days of my life thus far. Now get this…each one, including this one, God made and planned with me in mind. And what is true for me is also true for you and that means we can live in His peace and the confident assurance that He has us in His heart and in His mind. So, no matter what number day this is for you—enjoy it because—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, Grace, gratitude, love, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Characters Change – He Never Does

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Just like that…he was gone. Last night I was watching Season 4 of “The Chosen.” At the beginning of Episode 2 of that season, there was a note that let us know that a change had taken place.  It simply said, “The role of Nathaniel will now be played by…” So just like that and for whatever reason, one guy was gone, and another guy was plugged in. How about that.  It is not too uncommon, but it was still a surprise.  One of our favorite series on PBS is, “All Creatures Great and Small.” In that series Dianna Riggs was cast as a very wealthy older lady named Mrs. Humphrey. Well, in real life she died, and they had to recast the character. So, if you like television or movies, be ready, characters do change.

I think there is something that we can learn from that.  As you know the Bible is divided into two parts—the Old Testament and the New Testament and together they make up the Bible. For a chunk of us we believe that both are the inspired Word of God but there are some that say, “Well, that is Old Testament, so it doesn’t count.”  No, trust me it all counts.

Some of the most power and beautiful promises from God are found in the Old Testament so can we own those—claim those? Well, yes…and no. If a promise is made to particular person, like Abraham, well then that is his promise. You still can learn from that promise, but the particulars are his alone. As an example…God is faithful. Now there are many great promises that teach us about God and while the particulars are Israel’s, the principles are ours too.

Let’s read Isaiah 43:2-3. It says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Aren’t those incredible verses? Well, I sure think so and I believe that the principles and truth about God’s care for us is ours to claim.

What sparked this story, and this truth was a thought that God gave me after reading the verses above.  The thought (and truth) is this:  The characters in a story may change but the character of God never does! Awesome!

You see, these verses and this truth are not just about survival; it’s about triumph. It assures us that with God as our Father, the waters that threaten to overwhelm us become passageways to new strength, and the fires we fear transform into refining experiences that leave us unscathed, shaped, and shining brighter.

Today, let this promise lift you up. Whether you find yourself wading through challenging waters or walking amidst the flames of trial, remember, God’s presence is your constant and His character holds us safe and steady. We are left with this confident assurance.  He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne