A Backyard Lesson in Faith

While looking through some old journals recently, I came across an 2010 entry that reminded me of God's faithfulness. I thought I'd share it.

This morning, I poured out my heart to God with honesty and humility, laying before Him all of my recent disappointments and hurts. Afterward, I made a cup of tea and stood at the window overlooking my backyard. Feeling lighter after prayer, I sang a couple of verses of "It Is Well with My Soul."

As I finished singing, I noticed a hawk soaring in the distance. Immediately, I thought of Isaiah's words: "They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint." For weeks, I had been struggling with low energy. Standing there at the window, I repeated those verses aloud and reminded myself that God would provide the strength I needed.

Then something unexpected happened.

A small bird with a yellowish breast landed among the bare branches of my English rosebush. It hopped from branch to branch, seeming to peer at me through the blinds before flying away again. I was delighted. I love watching the birds in my backyard, and I hadn't seen this particular visitor—a pine warbler—in more than a year.

In that moment, my heart overflowed with gratitude. I felt renewed faith and strength. Deep within, I was convinced that God had heard my prayers and had used that tiny bird to encourage me. The certainty was as real to me as knowing my own name. Oh, how I love my God. He is faithful.

Reading that journal entry today, I can still testify to the same truth: God is faithful.

Years ago, I heard a Bible teacher say, "Prayerless lives are powerless lives." Those words have stayed with me because I've seen their truth firsthand. My walk with the Lord has never been perfect, but His mercies truly are new every morning.

Great is His faithfulness.

 

 

Let God's Word Speak

 My prayer this morning: 

Psalm 7:9-10 O righteous God who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.

What do these verses tell us about God?

• God is righteous.
• God searches minds and hearts.
• God sees beyond outward appearances and knows us completely.
• God is able to bring an end to the violence of the wicked.
• God is able to make the righteous secure.
• God is God Most High—there is no one higher, holier, or greater than Him.
• God protects believers.
• God saves the upright in heart.

How should this change me?

My confidence in God grows when I focus on what these verses reveal about Him. Because God is righteous, I can trust Him completely. Because He searches minds and hearts, I know He truly understands me. He sees my circumstances, weaknesses, failures, struggles, and strengths.

When I place my trust in God, I feel more secure and less afraid. I become more willing to come to Him with humility and sorrow over my sins. I do not have to run from Him or hide from Him—that is not what He wants for me. Instead, He offers salvation, security, and protection.

No one can help me the way God can. These verses draw me toward Him—to confess my sins, ask for forgiveness, and seek His guidance and teaching so He can continue changing me from the inside out.

 

Psalms to Counteract Fear & Stress

I've been away from the computer for some time due to my husband's health issues. This month he had triple by-pass surgery. He is doing well, but it will be a three-month recovery. The past several weeks have been very stressful, and I've been leaning on the Lord and His Word. Today, I rediscovered the Navigators Discipleship Tool: Psalms to Counteract Fear and Stress, by Peter Trautmann. It was a pdf that is no longer offered. I thought I'd post the verses here. God is faithful to His promises, and His Word, the Bible, is living and active. 

Ps 3:5-6 “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.”

Ps 6:2-4 “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”

Ps 9:18 “But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.”

Ps 10:14 “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.”

Ps 11:3-4a “‘When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne.”

Ps 16:1-2,5,8 ““Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’” “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.” “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

Ps 22:1-2 (Think of Jesus saying this on the Cross) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”

Ps 23 (the whole psalm)

Ps 25:1 “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.”

Ps 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

Ps 29:11 “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”

Ps 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

Ps 35:1 “Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.”

Ps 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble .

Ps 46:10 “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”

Ps 55:16, 22 “As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.” “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Ps 56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Ps 63:8-9 “I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.”

Ps 68:5-6,19-20 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”

Ps 80:3 “Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”

Ps 91:1-3 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”

Ps 94:18-19,22 “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” “But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.”

Ps 108:12 “Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless.”

Ps 112:7-8 “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.”

Ps 118:5-6 “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Ps 119:50,67,71 “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”

Ps 138:3 “When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.”

Ps 142:5 “I cry to you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’”

 

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