“The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want" (means to be in need).
Have you ever heard someone say" I don't need God?" I have more than once and unfortunately, I probably said it myself many years ago when I thought that I alone could conquer almost anything (yes young and foolish)!
Lme interrupt right here to make a few important remarks. First of all that God loves you. God cares for you. God wants to be part of your life (and mine). God has a plan for your life. God is faithful even when we don't believe in Him or say we don't need Him!. God knows what you need even better than you do. The bible says that the very hairs on your head have all been counted by God. He was there when you were being formed in your Mother!
God has been taking care of you since you were born and He will continue until the end! His desire has always been to be part of your life but has never forced that decision as He has given us all a free will to accept Him or reject Him! That really is the nature of real love. Not forced but of free will and consent so that the relationship is real and alive and continuous!
Back to my beginning. As I've said many times, Christianity is all about having a living and daily relationship with God. For some it may take a few years and sometimes a few hard knocks before they realize that they can’t manage on their own and that they need someone to lead, guide and care for them. It sometimes takes situations that we can no longer handle and can't control!
They say that in the war there were no atheists on the front lines! Why? Because the situations were so difficult and uncontrollable that the soldiers knew that they were powerless and were simply glad sometimes just to make it through another day without being harmed! Maybe we are not in a battle such as a war but for many people it can almost seem as bad as that and they feel helpless and don't know what to do!
Sometimes God even allows these things to come our away only to make us realize that we really can't live without Him and that life has become too impossible to manage! Sometimes the crisis is financial, of health, family situations, etc… And people find they cannot manage life or even themselves. It was like many years ago for me when I thought I was "Rambo" and didn't need anyone especially not God.
However things got worse and life finally brought me to the place of realizing that I couldn't make it on my one anymore and I simply cried out for God to help me. Actually, my first honest prayer was “God I don't believe that You are real but if You are, help me please." No bells and no whistles but a wonderful peace began to fill my heart and mind. Not sure how or when but I slowly began to realize that there really was a God. There really was a Jesus who died on a cross for me. That I could trust in God and believe that He would and could do what His bible said He could do. The rest is history.
God came into my life. Changed my heart. Gave me His awesome peace and awakened me to His Love and Amazing Grace!
I say all this to let you know that God really does love and care for you and even though you might not fully believe it, let me assure you that God does care and wants to give you His unconditional love and Amazing Grace.
Pray with me today:
Dear God. I don’t know where to start. Don't quite even know how to pray. Not even sure that You even exist. But if You do, please come into my life and be my God! Amen.”
Second thoughts:
1 - It is always too soon to quit.
2 - It is better to have a big heart than a big house!
3 - When you don't know what to do next, do nothing!
4 - Tomorrow is the busiest day of the week!
Thankful for:
1 - Great children and grand children. A blessing in one’s old age!
2 - Everything is slowly coming back to normal after a busy season!
3 - Those city workers and support staff who bail us out during heavy snow storms. A big thanks.
4 - For all the pastors and ministers in the city who give themselves for the spiritual well-being of their congregations.
Words from God’s word, the Bible:
1 - “Preserve me O God. For in You I put my trust." (Psalm 16:1)
2 - “Hear a just cause, O Lord, attend to my cry." (Psalm 17:1)
3 - “The Lord lives, blesses be my rock." (Psalm 18:46)
4 - “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1)
Remember as always that God loves you. He really, really does (that's the Amazing Grace).
Amazing Grace is a non profit ministry dedicated to bringing the Love of God to its readers. Comments and questions can be directed to burgessrm@mail.com.
