Being in a new setting, having a different schedule, and having a completely new life in college has been a blessing, but has also been hard at times. One thing I have struggled with is finding a set time to do my devotions and a place to do them that is quiet. I like to be completely alone when doing my devos, so it's pretty much two options: the island or one of the prayer rooms. At the beginning of the year, I was introduced to an idea called "First 30". The idea is that you give your first 30 minutes of your day to God when you wake up; it's the first thing you do. As a follower of Christ, I don't want to be content; I want to pursue God every moment of my day, desiring to become more like Him. So this morning, I woke up, grabbed my Bible and went to the prayer room and spent time with God. I prayed, read, and listened. It was great. Mondays are tough anyways, so might as well start it out the best way I possibly can. At Bible study last night, we read Psalm 139, so I decided to read it again this morning:
"O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!"
After reading Psalm 139 I went to Matthew 6:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"
Reading Psalm 139 always reminds me that He created me to be me. There is nobody on the earth exactly like me, nor will there ever be. I like the feeling of being unique. I love who I am-not in a prideful way, but as a Daughter of the King. This passage really shows how God truly knows us. He made us-who else could know us better than our Creator! This reassures me so much how God knows what I need all the time, He doesn't forget or put it off, He knows! Matthew 6 relates to this so well; just knowing He created so He knows our every single need. We don't need to worry; God's got in under control-yesterday, today, and tomorrow and so on. I need to replace the time used to worry with prayer, worship, or just taking time to listen to God. Not only will it make my life better, it will set my heart on Him through everything.
With Blessings,
Heather
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