Devotional – Page 12 – Peaceangel Song

Psalm 107:10, 12-16, 19-22

“Some of God’s people were prisoners, locked behind bars in dark prisons. …They stumbled and fell, and there was no one to help them. They were in trouble, so they called to the Lord for help, and He saved them from their troubles. He took them out of their dark prisons. He broke the ropes that held them.

Thank the Lord for His faithful love and for the amazing things He does for people. He breaks down their bronze gates. He shatters their iron bars. They were in trouble, so they called to the Lord for help, and He saved them from their troubles.

He gave the command and healed them, so they were saved from the grave.

Thank the Lord for his faithful love and for the amazing things He does for people.
Offer sacrifices of thanks to Him. Sing with joy about all that He has done.”

NEVER GIVE UP

Wherever you are on your journey, whatever challenge you may be facing right now,
be assured that God is with you, though you may not be aware of His Presence.
Know that He who created all the stars and calls them all by name; who knows the
numbers of hairs on your head and bottles all your tears, loves you beyond measure.

If your faith is eclipsed by a trial of suffering right now and it is difficult to feel God’s love
as You have in the past, know that His Spirit is still inside of you, holding you close to His heart. Even as the sun is still shining during a solar eclipse, God’s Spirit is still abiding strong within your heart. He will never leave you in your valley of the shadow.
King David wrote, “The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment. He saves those who are discouraged.” (Psalm 34:18 ERV)

Though you may not be able to feel the Lord’s presence in your present circumstances, trust and abide in His word. Stand strong on His promises because, “No word from God shall ever fail.” (Luke 1:37 NIV)

Whatever you do, remember: “Jesus told his disciples…that they should always pray and not give up.”~Luke 18:1

Don’t give up! God has a wonderful future ahead for you. God promises in His word,
“I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. Then you will call My name. You will come to Me and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will search for Me, and when you search for Me with all your heart, you will find Me. I will let you find Me.” This message is from the Lord. “And I will bring you back from your captivity.” ~Jeremiah 29:11-14 ERV

Heavenly Father, thank You for every person reading these words today. May You fill their hearts with rivers of hope. Renew, restore their faith and give them an abiding awareness of Your holy Presence within and around them everywhere they go, at all times. Encourage their hearts and never let them give up, dear Lord, even as You, Lord Jesus, never gave up despite the pain, the shame, and suffering, when You gave Your life for us on the cross. Protect Your dear children from hopelessness and discouragement as You help them to focus their thoughts on Thy word and to abide in Thee at all times. Thank You Lord. I love You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

From the Painting “The Good Shepherd” © S.D. Harden 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Trusting in God’s Guidance

Psalm 23 is known as The Shepherd Psalm. It’s one of my favorite Psalms in the Bible.

Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd. He said, “My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me, and I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me.” ~ John 10:27,28

Sometimes our Good Shepherd may ask us to go down a path we may be afraid to follow. Yet God’s word assures us that Christ always leads us in paths of righteousness. (Psalm 23:3).

The dictionary defines the word “righteousness” as “justice, decency, honesty, blamelessness, virtue, and morality.”

The NIV bible translates Psalm 23:3: “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”

The way I understand it, God won’t ever guide us to do something that is contrary to His word.

In my painting above, I have illustrated the idea of our Good Shepherd inviting His child to go with Him on a journey. He looks gently into her eyes and she gazes back at Him as He holds her hand suggesting that they are good friends.

Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:14) Jesus loves His child deeply. Because He is the Good Shepherd as well as her Creator, He knows what is best for her. He encourages her to do what He knows is the right path for her.

Yet the child hesitates to go with Her Master. There is that tiny sense that she does not fully trust the Good Shepherd.

She stands just behind him in the painting. Her feet seem paralyzed and rooted into the sand like some sort of petrified tree as her Shepherd lovingly assures her that He will always be with her throughout the journey and that His rod and staff will comfort her.

Though she has given one of her hands to her Lord in partial submission to His will, she holds the other behind her back, symbolizing her reluctance to step out in faith with Him on their journey and her inner fears. Yet He lovingly smiles at her. He knows every weakness, every fear. He neither judges, nor condemns her.

How often do we, when presented with new unsettling challenges to our faith, or a new dark journey in life, question the wisdom of God? How often do we hold back from fully trusting our Lord when He asks us to follow Him down a new unfamiliar path?

Like the little child in the painting, we have given Jesus one of our hands, but we reluctantly hold the other behind our back and stand with our feet rooted in the ground when He asks us to please trust Him though we may not understand the way He is asking us to follow Him.

Jesus once told His disciples on the cusp of His crucifixion:“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” ~John 16:12

He then said that the Holy Spirit would come to them and lead them into all truth.

Our Lord asks us to walk by faith, to trust Him and to listen for His voice every day, one day at a time, with our hands in the hands of our Good Shepherd.

Just as the little child in this painting is walking with her Shepherd, so we must walk. And though like her we are often afraid, despite our fears, like her we must keep our hand in our Shepherd’s hand and our eyes on Him, abiding in Him in our hearts daily if we are to hear His voice.

^“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” ~John 16:13

Detail: “The Good Shepherd” © S.D. Harden All Rights Reserved.

*Lord Jesus please help me give You both my hands in total surrender when You ask me to journey with You down the road You have prepared for me before the foundation of this world. Help me not doubt but believe all of your promises to me and live by faith. In Thy holy name I ask. Amen.

A copy of this painting is reproduced on my greeting card called, “The Good Shepherd.”

If you would like to purchase a copy of this card please visit my Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/WingsPublications