Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Hope


by Leave a comment

Healing

Scripture for Today:  Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him and by His wounds we are healed.”

It is flu season now in California.  My husband and I had our shots in November, but there are so many strains, there is no guaranty that we won’t catch it.  The hospitals in the area are not allowing children under fourteen to make visits and they are screening all others at the door.  School absenteeism is on the rise and simple preventative measures are being reviewed in the media.

No one likes being ill.  We count on our healthy lifestyles and our doctors to keep us well.  For the believer, the request for healing of loved ones or for ourselves make up a large part of our prayers.  Our verse for today says that through the sacrificial death of Christ we have peace with God.  Because He took the punishment for our sins, those who place their faith in Him are forgiven!  It goes on to say that by His wounds we are healed.

Quite frankly, even with lots of faith and lots of prayer, one is not always healed.  But this verse speaks of a more important healing in the spiritual realm.  God absolutely heals us physically when it is part of His plan.  But it is always part of His plan to give us spiritual healing.

His healing mends my broken heart, and He heals me from the awful effects of sin.  He will one day heal me for eternity with a heavenly body that is perfect and incorruptible!  Thank you Lord, that in my future, sin and sickness will be a distant memory.


by 3 Comments

Cactus Flower

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 43:19  “See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

We have friends who are “desert rats!”  They are drawn to the remote immense spaces.  No matter that it is often dry and uninhabitable.  There is something about its harsh beauty that allows one to breathe after the congestion of the city.

It is always surprising to see flowers bloom on a cactus in the desert.  Its spiny surface seems incongruent with the fragile beauty of a flower petal.  Our God is so creative to plant something so delicate where we least expect it!

Our verse for today encourages us to look and see what God is doing.  We could miss it.  Because the cactus flower often opens with the sunlight but closes with dusk, passing by its beauty is easy to do!  In the same way, we can pass by unaware of what new thing God is creating.  He makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the wastelands.  He makes something beautiful in a dry barren place.

It is too easy to see only the negative.  I need to watch for what new thing God may be creating in me or in my circumstances.  Am I looking for that good He promises in Romans 8:28 or have I become accustomed to seeing only the trial?  Have I settled for something less than what God had intended for me?

Open the eyes of my heart Lord, so I can see the bigger picture of what You want to accomplish!  If it is good and beautiful I know it is Your doing!  Thank you, Lord, that no trial or pain is beyond Your reach to produce something positive and wonderful!


by 1 Comment

Waterfall

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 42:7 “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;  All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.”

The grandeur of the mighty Niagara Falls impressed both my husband and me.  It was bitterly cold during our winter visit and we could not stand there for long.  Even so, the force of its cascading water was deafening!  Not only are these three falls breathtaking but they are an important source of hydroelectric power.  Almost 76,000 gallons of water flow over two of the three falls every second!

Our verse for today can be looked at as a description of the cascading waters flowing from the upper Jordan as they rush down from Mount Hermon (verse 6).  But they are also an image of the author’s depression.  His soul is downcast and it feels as if he is being overwhelmed with water.  The force of his emotions are overpowering.  As with the weight of water pouring down without interruption, so it can be with sadness.

The unrelenting weight of sadness affects every believer from time to time.  We sometimes seem to be the victim of our own emotions.  At the same time, we can see that there will some day be an end to distress and emotional turmoil.  It is this hope that can turn us around and help us keep our head above water.

Rather than focusing on the crushing weight of my emotions, I can look forward to an eternal weight of glory (II Cor. 4:17).  By comparison, whatever I am going through is considered light and momentary.  That is my hope.  Everything good is ahead of me.  All sorrow and sadness will one day be erased.

They are His waterfalls, His breakers, and His waves.  Thank you Lord, that you will not allow them to overwhelm me!


by 1 Comment

A Mystery

Scripture for today: I Corinthians 15:51-52  “Behold I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep. but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

I cannot read this verse without thinking of the church nursery where our children attended.  The first part of the verse was written on the wall!  And it was true!  Whether the kids slept or not, I could count on them being changed!

The silhouette of Sherlock Homes is the association often made with the word, “mystery.”  This fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is known for his use of logic and forensic science in solving mysteries.  However, in Scripture, the word, “mystery,” has an entirely different meaning.  It is a truth that cannot be discovered except by revelation.  No logic or science will reveal this kind of mystery.

How exciting to have this mystery revealed to us in the verse for today!  One day, these breaking-down bodies will be changed from perishable to imperishable!  If believers are already dead and buried, they will be resurrected and changed.  If believers at that time are still living, their earthly bodies will be changed.  Imperishable bodies will be glorified ones that will be eternal.  There will no longer be an old nature with which to contend.  These new bodies will have no need of tear ducts!  It will all be done in the blink of an eye.  What an incredible day that will be!

As my body breaks down, it is a comfort to know that one day my body will be changed!  The Lord’s promise of healing will be completely realized!  Thank you, Lord, for revealing this amazing mystery!


by 4 Comments

Dark Night

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 42:8  “The Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.”

We just experienced the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21st.  The winter solstice makes for a very long and dark night.  However, this year, it was the night before that could claim that distinction!  Due to a lunar eclipse, the night of the 20th is said to have been the darkest night in the last 500 years!

For many people, the holidays are represented by some very dark nights.  Expectations not met, hopes dashed and keen disappointments mark holiday nights.  Sweet “Hallmark” moments do not match up with one’s reality.  For some, the darkest nights occur when everyone else seems to be celebrating.

Ralph Waldo Emerson has said when it is dark enough, men see the stars.  But our verse for today is no pithy saying.  It is truth.  His loving kindness is ours in the daytime.  His song is ours in the night, even in the darkest night.  Circumstances can disappoint.  People can disappoint.  But HE does not.  Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed (Romans 10:11).  What an incredible truth!  During the darkest night, I can sing!  He gives me hope.

I love that our verse for today says that He “commands” His loving kindness.  It reminds me that He is in control.  He commands and directs.  He arranges and controls.  So much of my life is not my call, but His.  I am thankful that His control is loving and kind.  His direction is trustworthy.

No matter how dark the night, thank you Lord, that my heart can sing because You give me hope.