Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Comfort


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Apple Press

manoir_grandoueScripture for Today:  Psalm 34:17-18  “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles.   The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as a crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.”

It is apple season!  Apple cider, apple tartes, apple sauce and apple jams are all making their appearance.  I was able to visit Calvados, known for its apple farms and products in Normandy.  The farms there have been in families for centuries.  The remnants of former apple presses make up part of the landscape, as pictured here.  After having a guided tour of one of these farms, we were treated to a fresh cold glass of cider.  It was like biting into a fresh apple!

The process of pressing the juice out of the apples involves many steps.  The methods have evolved over the years but the principle of crushing the fruit remains the same.  Crushing pressure is required to extract the juice needed for that delicious cider.

Our verse for today is a promise for the righteous.  God promises to be near and save those whose heart is broken and whose spirit is crushed.  He hears our crying and He sees our tears.  He waits for us to give Him all the broken pieces of our heart.  He waits for us to turn our crushed spirits to Him for healing.  The guilt of our sin can be a crushing weight.  He lifts it with His forgiveness.

The conviction of my sin can feel overwhelming.  But His forgiveness gives purpose to that crushing action.  He not only puts my broken heart back together but He changes my sorrow into joy!

Thank you, Lord, for your saving healing forgiveness!

(Look familiar?  This is a summer re-post due to ministry schedule.)


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Fly Away

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 55:6  “…Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest.”

The dove has long been the symbol of peace and love.  I love to see them used in a marriage ceremony.  Because doves mate for life, they are an especially poignant symbol of love.  The dove is a symbol of peace for the state of Wisconsin and it is the state bird for Michigan.  The French consider squab a delicacy.  It is quite popular in French traditional cuisine.  But because of its associations, it does seem a shame!

Our verse for today uses the image of a dove to symbolize the desire for escape and rest.  David had been betrayed, not only by his counselor, Ahithopel, but by his own son, Absalom.  He had to flee to the wilderness and defend himself.  In Psalm 55, David was filled with anguish, fear and trembling.  His only thought was to escape and fly away to a place of shelter and rest.

It is surprising that the image of a dove was used rather than one of a bigger stronger bird such as the eagle.  However, there are some species of doves that can fly up to fifty miles per hour and up to six hundred miles in a day!  The wings of a dove are a strong symbol of quick deliverance.

Where do I go when my heart is overwhelmed?  When I am fearful of the future, where do I find peace and rest?  When the hard times seem too much to bear, where can my heart settle down?  His presence is my shelter.  The protection of His wings is my escape (Psalm 91:4).

Lord, I fly to You today for that much-needed rest my heart so needs.

(Look familiar?  This is a summer re-post due to ministry schedule.)


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Moms and Comfort

Mom10333631_10152447962204311_5204876601782607400_oScripture for Today:  Isaiah 66:13 “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

It is a comfort to me to still have my Mom here.  At 93 she could soon be knocking on eternity’s door.  But for now, we still enjoy her and all the “mommyisms” that she still says.  I find myself sounding like her saying to my children, “This too shall pass,” or “You’ll do just fine.”  Her faith in Christ has kept her positive, hopeful, and sweet even when she is tired and hurting.  I still turn to her for comfort out of long habit.

I love our verse for today after just celebrating Mother’s Day.  We relate to God as our Heavenly Father.  But in this verse, God is also pictured as a Mother.  His comfort is as sweet and warm as a Mother’s is for her child.  That softness and empathy He shows when we are hurting is a side of the Lord on which we can rely.  This verse is especially for His people, the Israelites, in the promise of restoration and healing of their land.  But these beautiful qualities of comfort and caring are seen in the God of all comfort (II Cor. 1:3) being described as the “Father of all compassion.”  Our comfort also abounds through Christ (verse 5) and the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter (John 14:16).

I will not always have my Mother to turn to for comfort.  But I will always have the Lord.  He sees my tears.  He understands my heart.  He comes in close to comfort and assure me when I am feeling down and vulnerable.  There are times when I am convinced I am feeling His arms wrapped tightly around me.

Thank you Lord, for mothering me.


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Deer Leaping

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 35:6 “Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

How often I have heard of a deer jumping out in front of a car!  They don’t just run, they jump and leap.  The deer is so fast and agile.  Some species can run 45 miles per hour for a short time on level ground.  But the height of their jump is impressive!  Research shows the deer can cover 30 feet between bounds!  That is as long as a school bus!  Because they can leap so high, it is difficult to find the right fencing to keep them out.  The standard  “deer proof” fence is often 9 feet high.

The deer leaping in our verse for today are not doing so to escape a predator.  They are leaping for joy!  The mute tongue is not just finding its voice but shouting for joy!  Water does not just trickle out in the wilderness but gushes out, forming streams in the desert.  This imagery is a beautiful depiction of what Christ’s return will do for His own.  There is already a partial fulfillment in the re-peopling of Zion or Jerusalem, but the complete fulfillment is larger and still to come.

When Jesus returns there will be a righting of all wrongs (II Thes. 1:6-7)  Creation itself will share in our completed redemption (Rom. 8:19-21).  There will be healings and miracles and hope realized!  There will be endless and astonished joy!  A deer leaping high in the air gives just an inkling of what we will be feeling on that day!  What a thought that “sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

Thank you Lord, for the sure hope You give me!  Help me to see past today.

 

 


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Revenge

gununnamedScripture for Today: Romans 12:19 “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

This very bizarre gun is prominently displayed on the wall of my friend’s home hair salon.  With this gun, it is not just the prey that is hunted, but the hunter himself.  Her theme is the jungle, but maybe it is more than decoration.  Maybe it is a warning not to criticize her work!  In that unlikely scenario, everyone gets hurt!

Our verse for today is a clear command not to take revenge.  Like the self-directional gun, taking revenge can backfire.  Instead of finding peace and closure with the guilty one called to account, our brand of revenge can hold an element of bitterness.  Somehow, the hurt continues and the revenge seems to fall short.  That is because  taking revenge is taking a role that does not belong to us.

The revenge of the Lord is always timely and completely just.  When we leave room for Him to work, we can continue our lives without that wrong done to us consuming our hearts and minds.  We can feel lighthearted and free of the sense of injustice knowing that He will deal with that person.  There is peace in leaving that wrong in His hands.  He will repay that individual in a way we never could.  He promises.

God would not be a holy God if He did not act on His perfect sense of justice.  He will one day right every wrong, even the ones done in secret.  Nothing is hidden.  He will bring it all to light and right will prevail!

What comfort and peace to know that I can count on His justice!