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God Doesn’t Want Us Deflated!
Tuesday is
errand day for me when I make my weekly trip to town for groceries. After
Christmas, I didn't want to make the journey because I felt like a deflated
tire; not a flat tire but a deflated one. I just had no enthusiasm or any
motivation whatsoever to attempt the routine duty of replenishing our
household necessities.
The devotion
for that day from "New Day New You" by Joyce Meyer's, was entitled, "With
God, Nothing is Wasted." Not only was it just the word I needed at that
moment, but it also ties in perfectly with the scripture I wish to share with
you this month. I decided a few months ago that I need to consistently begin
to apply I Peter 5:7 in my daily walk so that I won't be overwhelmed by the
cares of this life. It states: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares
for you." (NIV)
Joyce based
the devotion I read on that Tuesday when I was feeling deflated, on John
6:12, "Gather up the fragments (the broken pieces that are left over), so
that nothing may be lost and wasted." (AMP)
Excerpts from
her writing are:
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"No
experience in your life is ever wasted or in vain if you give all your
cares to the Lord." ...
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"The
disciples gathered up twelve baskets of food from the leftovers, still much
more than the small offering of loaves and fishes that was made to Jesus in
the first place." ...
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"We need
inner strength to keep from being overwhelmed by outward circumstances. We
must allow God to gather up our fragmented dreams and remold us into the
image of Christ. To do that, He may have to crush the few pieces we have
left into fine clay, water us with His word, reshape our lumpy mass of
leftovers, and put us back on His potter's wheel. But He is more than
capable of designing something miraculous from whatever we have left to
give Him."
With another
new year full of promise and potential we can begin anew to trust God more
fully, rely upon Him more completely, and have the opportunity to experience
the abundant life Jesus came to give us. Just remember to "Cast all your
anxiety on him because he cares for you." (I Peter 5:7 - NIV) "And the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7 - NIV)
For additional
encouragement you may read Isaiah 26:3, Nahum 1:7, and Isaiah 40:31. These
verses are written below for your convenience and taken from the King James
Version.
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Isaiah 26:3,
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because
he trusteth in thee."
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Nahum 1:7,
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them
that trust in him."
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Isaiah
40:31, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint." (This verse restores my determination to
persevere.)
"But godliness
with contentment is great gain." (I Timothy 6:6 - NIV) Let this be our aim
for 2010.
Sue Kelley
North Central Region
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