November 13, 2020
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:29-31 (NIV))
I don’t know about you, but I am weary in my own strength. I don’t have the ability to face the world on my own. I am tired! Perhaps I could even go so far as saying that I am exhausted.
The world in which we live has become so polarized. People rage against anything and everything that God considers good. They openly embrace anything that God considers evil. They mock anyone who clings to the sole source of truth. They censor the name of Jesus who is the source of this truth because they don’t want to offend those who do evil. They don’t want to offend the enemy!
Do you understand why I am weary?
I, like every single person who has ever lived, do not have the strength to face the enemy on my own. Thankfully I can turn to the ultimate source of strength. I can rely on the strength of someone much greater than I. I can rely on the strength of my Lord and Savior. I can rely on the strength of my God! With this strength, I have the ability to face whatever the world may send my way. I have the strength to face whatever the enemy may send my way.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
(Psalms 28:7 (NIV))
He gives us strength by letting us rest in His presence. He gives us strength when we need shelter from the world. He gives us strength by equipping us with His truth. He gives us strength when we are still. When we desire to live out His truth, He fights the battles.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
(Exodus 14:14 (NIV))
When you are on the side of the Lord, that should be enough to give you the strength to overcome the weariness caused by the evil in the world!
How is your strength?
Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
May 4, 2016
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
The word of the LORD came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
” `I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
(Jeremiah 2:1-2 (NIV))
God told Jeremiah to tell the people of Jerusalem that He remembered the devotion of their youth. I want you to think about that simple statement.
Looking back at your faith when it was new, have you lost your zeal? Have you lost your passion for Jesus? Have you gone from an “Amen” type of faith to a “whatever” type of faith? Have you lost the fire that used to burn so bright and so hot?
To be honest with you, life is hard. It is so easy to lose sight of the fire and the passion when you are told by everything in your life that you have to take care of other things first. It is difficult to maintain the fire when you are being beaten down by the world. It is difficult to maintain the passion when you have to focus on your job for so many hours a day. Life can, and often does leave you exhausted.
What if Jesus were to say Jeremiah 2:1-2 to you. Would you listen to the things that are not being said and realize that Jesus is asking you what happened?
Think about that for a moment!
Jesus did not go anywhere. He is still right there. It is we who have let the relationship take a back seat.
Sometimes I think that the saddest words in the English language are, “I remember . . . “ They imply that something has changed and not for the better.
What do you remember about your early faith?
Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
April 21, 2016
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NAS))
There are two types of weariness that we, as humans, experience. We can be weary physically and we can be weary spiritually and emotionally. No matter how strong we may be, our physical bodies can only handle so much before we reach a point where we are too tired, too broken, to do anything else. We need to rest! I am sure that all of us have experienced this in our lives.
What about emotional and spiritual weariness?
I realize that this could be considered two separate instances, but have you ever seen someone who is emotionally drained who is not spiritually drained? Have you ever seen someone who is spiritually exhausted who is not emotionally drained? The two go hand in hand. When we are like this, we also need rest!
What are the things in this life that beat you down, make you tired, and leave you feeling exhausted and drained? Is it finances? Is it addiction? Is it the state of the world? Is it a loved one’s lack of a relationship with Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior?
I know that we all have them, I know that we all need to find a shelter from these things. I know that we need a safe and secure place where we can find rest from the things in this world that make us weary.
We can find physical rest in many different ways and places. Some go to the mountains. Others go to the beach. Some go fishing, while others will simply become a semi-permanent fixture on their couch. In all of creation, there is only one place where we can find rest from the things that weigh heavily on us spiritually and emotionally.
That one place is at the feet of Jesus! That one place is in the presence of the one who has taken all of our burdens upon Himself. Only Jesus can lift the burdens that our sinful nature weighs us down with.
In our weariness, we must turn to Jesus!
Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
February 12, 2016
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
“Be still, and know that I am God;
(Psalms 46:10a (NIV))
As I sit here exhausted, I realize just how easy it is to become so engrossed in the things of the world that we call our lives. It is so easy to let God slip to a second, third or even a fourth priority. The sad part about this when it happens is that we don’t realize that it is happening until it has already happened.
We need to establish something that becomes a constant in our lives. Something that we do on a daily basis that forces us to be still in the presence of God. This must be something that we do no matter whether we want to or not, no matter whether we feel that we can take a day off because no one will notice.
If you are reading this, then you are a part of my daily routine. I know that to many people the word routine signifies that you do something over and over again and get stuck in a rut. When you are studying and sharing God’s Word, you may be in a routine, but it is never a rut.
God’s Word is alive!
God shares His heart through His Word.
The trick is to be open and to not take things out of context. You must dive deep and explore the mysteries that God has in store for you. The Bible is called the Living Word for a reason. No matter where you are in your walk with God, there is something for you to learn. What I find so intriguing is that you can learn something from one passage and as you mature, you can learn something different from the same passage. This knowledge does not replace what you have learned before. It expands, it builds upon the previous knowledge to give you a deeper understanding.
I have been writing and sharing these devotionals since 1998. It is my routine. It is not my rut. I learn so much as I explore God’s Word and share it with you. It is my daily time to be still in the presence of God.
It is my prayer that each of you develop a routine in which you set aside time each day to spend in God’s presence.
Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
Daily Living Ministries 