Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: On The Road


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Yield Sign

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”

It looks complicated.  I would have to stop a minute to figure out who would have to yield to whom!  It looks as if the bike has to yield to everyone and the horse and rider to no one!  But I do not suppose there are many intersections to worry about on this trail.  If there were confusion I would think common sense and common courtesy would go a long way.  In any case, yielding is often the safest choice.  When maneuvering through those huge traffic circles in Europe, I do not argue with a yield sign!

Today’s verse tells us we are to yield or submit to the Lord in each and every way we choose to take.  By acknowledging His control, His superior knowledge and His goodness, we travel a path much less complicated by twists and turns.  He makes our paths straight, unencumbered by lengthy unnecessary detours.  We reach our destination in good time, or in His time.  When we give way to Him rather than insisting on our own plan, we find He had a better idea all along!

Yielding my will to His is so often a struggle.  Even knowing that my own understanding is limited, I stubbornly resist.  I like being the one who makes the decisions.  Trusting Him with all my heart is scary without having some measure of control.  But He promises that when I do, He will make my paths straight, choosing the best way.  No time will be lost in making U turns or encountering dead ends.

Thank you Lord, that I can fully trust Your heart of love for me!


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Beyond the Storm

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 50:10 “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let the one who walks in the dark who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.”

With all the technology at our fingertips, we are often forewarned of a storm on its way.  Other times a storm will descend suddenly with little or no warning at all.  With our many road trips we are sometimes stuck with no option except to go through its path.  But I am not too concerned when I can see the skies clearing ahead.  Just the thought of the storm being temporary helps me calm down and get through it.

Today’s verse talks about walking in the dark with no light at all.  There is no vision of clear skies ahead.  This happens for even those that fear and obey the Lord.  When those confusing dark times come, we are to trust in His name and who He is.  We are to rely on God rather than our senses or our intelligence.  Walking by faith has nothing to do with what we can see ahead that reassures us (II Cor. 5:7).  We are given no “light at the end of the tunnel” on which to focus.

I cannot see that patch of blue ahead.  But I can remain calm in the middle of a storm.  Trusting and relying on the Creator of that storm keeps me serene.  He is trustworthy and He is in control.  I have no reason to be fearful for what the future might hold.  And the only light I really need in that darkness is the heart conviction of how good and gracious He is.

Thank you Lord for Your reassuring presence even in the dark.

 


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Chocolate Citroen

chocolate-citroenScripture for Today: Psalm 90:14 “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

My husband is passionate about cars and I am passionate about chocolate.  This creation seems to cover all our bases!  My husband always turns his head to see one of these “Deux Cheveaux” go by.  But my head turns at any sign of chocolate.  This Citroen is made of 2,645 pounds of chocolate so both our heads turn!  It was created by eleven students in France as part of a project at their school for restaurant management.  This masterpiece took 4,000 hours of painstaking effort and the result is impressive.

Satisfaction with both cars and chocolate is not so easy to find.  Today’s verse tells us where true satisfaction can be found.   This psalm is a prayer of Moses.  After recounting all the times the Lord disciplined the Israelites in the desert, Moses recognizes that God’s love remained faithful and constant.  The people had experienced “trouble and sorrow” over many years.  Now Moses prays for the satisfaction that comes from God’s unfailing love.  That satisfaction will bring them joy and gladness every day, despite the hard times.

Chocolate, cars, or any other earthly passion can fail to consistently bring me satisfaction  But God’s love does not fail.  His love and compassion are renewed every morning (Lam. 3:22-23).  When I am feeling an emptiness and lack inside, lots of good things can be a temporary distraction.  But nothing can reach that deeper longing of my soul like an awareness of His love.  That reassurance not only satisfies but replaces the emptiness with a song of joy!  And what a wonderful way to begin a day, to be satisfied in the morning!

Lord, thank you for Your love that never ever fails me!

 


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Oil Dipstick

engine_oil_dipstickScripture for Today:  Ephesians 5:18b-19 “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord,”

If our car maintenance were up to me, we would be in real trouble.  I am one of those women who are totally at sea when opening the hood of a car.  Even so, my husband put the tiniest bit of faith in me to research and find a particular dipstick on line for his upcoming trip to the cold eastern states.  He wanted a dipstick that was heated so there would be no issues with the weather in getting an accurate reading.

Today’s verse provides us with an accurate reading on whether we are filled with the Holy Spirit.  We are filled with Him when we are filled with praise and thankfulness.  The Spirit’s presence in our lives is evident when our hearts are filled with song for all that He has done for us.  The “oil of praise’ keeps us in good running shape.  Like the car, we will start to grind, seize up and then completely stall without the Spirit’s filling.  We burn out.  But when we are filled with Him than we are also filled with song.

I can almost feel myself sputtering and slowing down when I am complaining and negative.  When I cannot acknowledge and thank Him for all of His blessings, everything seems to grind to a halt.  But when my heart is filled with gratitude, not only do I gain new impetus praising Him, but I will want to share that praise with others.  When I am filled with praise I am filled with Him!

Lord, may today be a day of making music in my heart to You.

 


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Hurry Up and Wait

Scripture for Today: Psalm 106:13 “But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.”

Nothing annoys me more than a driver who races around me and cuts me off, all to gain a few seconds or a few yards.  Just as annoying is the tailgater who sits on my bumper when there is no chance for me to move to the right.  When the great equalizer of the red stop light stops that driver, it is hard to keep the smirk off my face as I pull up beside him.  We both have to stop and wait.

Today’s verse refers to the Israelites who quickly forgot God’s miracles.  When the Lord dried up the Red Sea and delivered them from the Egyptians, they responded with songs of praise.  But soon after, they forgot what He had done when faced with the next crisis.  They did not wait to see what the Lord had in mind.  Instead they complained.  God had given them the promise of their own land, but they had to wait for His plan and His timing.

God gave a promise to David that he would be king.  But he had to stop and wait for the Lord to work it out.  Sarah was given the promise of a son, but she waited years and years for the miraculous way God would bring it about.  Over and over I wait for God to unfold His plan for me.  I have the promises.  I believe.  But I do not have the details.  God so often asks me to stop my own efforts and wait for Him to work.  He wants me to wait as a show of faith that I really do believe Him.

Lord, help me to wait with joy and expectation for Your perfect plan.