June 8, 2020
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
(Psalms 23:4 (NKJV))
Everyone faces darkness and tough times in their lives. What do you do when this happens? Do you cower in fear? Do you give in to the attacks of the enemy? Do you throw yourself a pity party and lock yourself away from the world in hopes that your tough times will go away? Do you lash out at the world trying to put up a front? Do you attack head-on in such a way that you think that you are able to overcome these times on your own?
To be honest with you, we have all probably used each one of these approaches in our lives when dealing with darkness and tough times. Have any of them truly worked? Did the tough times go away? Did your stress levels return to a peaceful state?
I have been on my journey with Jesus for a long time, and each time that I have faced a tough time in my life over the years, it has actually gotten easier to deal with. With each event, I have learned more about the promises of God. I have learned that I can trust Him to see me through, even when the world seems to be crashing in all around me. It hasn’t come easily, and my journey is still a work in progress, but I know that my faith is firmly placed in the One who created all things. I know that He will see me through all things, even the darkness. With the track record that the Lord has allowed me to experience, I can look back in all honesty and see how He was leading me. With this assurance, I can look ahead in all faith and know that He will lead me according to His will with my maturity in Jesus as the goal.
I don’t know about you, but I find great comfort in this truth even when I do not see any worldly way out of the darkness. I find great comfort in knowing that He is always with me!
What comforts you through the darkness?
Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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are you fearful, comfort, do not fear, do not fear the evil of this world, don't fear, don't live in fear, Faith and fear do not go together!, faith in God, faith in Jesus, fear no evil, find comfort in the Lord, Godly priorities, it is a matter of priorities, priorities, Uncategorized, what are your priorities | Tagged: ahead, attack, attacks, away, back, Be still, Comfort, comforts, cower, crashing, darkness, dear, death, easier, enemy, everyone, evil, faces, faith, Fear, give in, go away, goal, God, great, head-on, honest, hopes, Jesus, journey, lash out, levels, lives, lock, long, maturity, me, no, overcome, peaceful, pity party, Promises, rod, shadow, staff, state, stress, through, time, track reccord, truly, Trust, valley, walk, with, work in progress, worked, world, you | 
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Posted by dailylivingministries
December 21, 2017
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
(Psalms 28:7 (NIV))
It is December and Christmas is rapidly approaching. It is the time that we think of Jesus coming to earth. It is a time of great joy, for Christmas symbolizes the birth of our hope and the birth of our faith.
It is also the time that people show just how much that they misunderstand just what Christmas means.
They see the baby Jesus and the gifts. They see the love that God has for His creation as it is wrapped in the joy of a new baby. People marvel at this and become filled with visions of heart warming activities surrounded by family and friends. What these people fail to realize is that this heart warming activity is about so much more than decorations, presents, family and friends.
It is about salvation.
It is about grace.
It is about the birth of a hope that cannot be taken from us.
It is about the strength of the one who shields us from the consequences of the sins of this world.
You can look upon Christmas as something nice and sweet and heart warming, which it is, or you can look upon Christmas with power and might, for it holds the strength of God’s promises to His creation. Christmas is powerful. The birth of Jesus made heaven rejoice and Satan cower. Would the birth of any other person have such an impact?
It is time that we show the world the strength of Christmas and the true joy of which we sing.
I have written about this before, but I think it is appropriate once again. The words “Merry Christmas” can be traced back a long way. They can be traced back to a time when “Merry” did not mean joyous and festive. The word “Merry” originally meant mighty. The festive greeting that we know as “Merry Christmas” originally was a greeting in which people wished for each other to have a “Mighty Christ’s Mass.” They were wishing for each other to have a powerful encounter with Jesus.
Strength and power!
May you have a Merry Christmas in every sense of the meaning.
Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
Daily Living Ministries 