Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.
Scripture: Psalm 57:2-3 (NIV) I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;
God sends his love and his faithfulness.
My confidence has its ups and downs as I search for a job. One day, I get a lot accomplished on my Todo list, and I feel great. The next day, I get a bundle of “nos” from editors for my story ideas, and my ego is crushed. The difference in how I feel at the end of the day is vastly different from how it started. How do I cope?
Let’s look at how David endures his many trials. In this Psalm, David may be hiding in a cave from Saul. David is having a bad day, having been cornered by Saul’s men. David knows he can stop running by pulling out his knife and stabbing the king who is hounding him out of pure jealousy. David knows he can end it all right then and there, but he knows that isn’t God’s purpose for his life. We can’t take shortcuts when life gets tough.
That’s the key. Look at the words again: “… to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.” David knows he can’t take the easy way out by taking Saul’s life, so he sits quietly in the cave while Saul relieves himself in front of David and his men. David had to remind himself that it wasn’t his time to be king. That’s what God expects from us when we are cornered. Remember God’s plan for our lives. That’s what I have to tell myself when I receive a half-dozen “no’s” on my work. It isn’t personal. I have a plan, and I’ve asked God to bless it. My mission is to get published, any way I can. I cannot fulfill my purpose without getting published.
Like David, I know I will feel God’s “love and faithfulness” each day. Yesterday was a rough day? Today is a new day, and I can bank on God being in my corner to love me and support me. We’re OK financially, for which I’m thankful. Sometimes I have to remind myself that God is good and has a plan for my life – especially when I’m feeling bad about myself. No matter how bad it may seem, my day isn’t nearly as people I meet on my journey. That keeps me looking ahead, to fulfilling God’s purpose for my life.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to wait patiently for your timing. Help me to see, you every day, good or bad. Help me to remember that you are good and faithful. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Vol. 4, No. 77
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/july.asp?version=51
Showing posts with label unemployed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployed. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Reach out to the weak
Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.
Scripture: Psalm 41:1 (NIV) Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.
As I send out e-mails and resumes in my search for a job, I can’t stop thinking about one thing: How can I serve the needy, or, as David calls them, the “weak.” I am part of the 9 percent unemployment rate right now, but I just started and finances aren’t an issue. During the week, I meet with large groups and small groups of people trying to find a job. I look at all these men and see opportunity to reach the lost. They may be unemployed, but they still need to know that God cares for them and wants a daily relationship with them.
So I pray for opportunities to just talk to people. I think I’m down to two areas of service: cooking for the homeless and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. God has given me certain skills, and I want to use them for his kingdom. I love to cook, but I’ve pretty much decided that I don’t want to cook for a living. My focus in getting work is in the writing and editing area. Cooking one day a week would give me a chance to be around other cooks and hungry people. HFH would give me the chance to get men involved and to use their carpentry skills for the good of others. I have the same desire to go to Mexico and build houses for the poor.
I shared my idea with a pastor friend, and he just nodded at the idea. He asked me if I had carpentry skills, and I laughed. “My gift is visualizing the idea and organizing its conception,” I told him. My hope is to get men to see that they still have value, even though they are unemployed. Maybe we’ll meet on the jobsite once a week, and at day’s end, we’ll open up our Bibles and study God’s word for a little while – right there in the parking lot. Then we’ll pray for each other. “See you next week guys. Good luck getting a job.”
What that does is that it shows people you care. In showing people you care about them, it shows that God cares for them. Jesus essentially said the same thing in Matt. 5:1 in the Beatitudes, that the poor in spirit will be blessed. My spirit is good right now, and I want to share with other men (you, too, gals, if you want to come along) that Christ is filling up my self esteem basket to the brim. No matter what we go through, God can use us to share the Gospel with those around us, but especially “the poor in spirit.” They need Christ.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, fill my spirit with your goodness today. Help me to be loving to the unloved. Help me to reach out to one person today. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Vol. 4, No. 64
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/june.asp?version=51
Scripture: Psalm 41:1 (NIV) Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.
As I send out e-mails and resumes in my search for a job, I can’t stop thinking about one thing: How can I serve the needy, or, as David calls them, the “weak.” I am part of the 9 percent unemployment rate right now, but I just started and finances aren’t an issue. During the week, I meet with large groups and small groups of people trying to find a job. I look at all these men and see opportunity to reach the lost. They may be unemployed, but they still need to know that God cares for them and wants a daily relationship with them.
So I pray for opportunities to just talk to people. I think I’m down to two areas of service: cooking for the homeless and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. God has given me certain skills, and I want to use them for his kingdom. I love to cook, but I’ve pretty much decided that I don’t want to cook for a living. My focus in getting work is in the writing and editing area. Cooking one day a week would give me a chance to be around other cooks and hungry people. HFH would give me the chance to get men involved and to use their carpentry skills for the good of others. I have the same desire to go to Mexico and build houses for the poor.
I shared my idea with a pastor friend, and he just nodded at the idea. He asked me if I had carpentry skills, and I laughed. “My gift is visualizing the idea and organizing its conception,” I told him. My hope is to get men to see that they still have value, even though they are unemployed. Maybe we’ll meet on the jobsite once a week, and at day’s end, we’ll open up our Bibles and study God’s word for a little while – right there in the parking lot. Then we’ll pray for each other. “See you next week guys. Good luck getting a job.”
What that does is that it shows people you care. In showing people you care about them, it shows that God cares for them. Jesus essentially said the same thing in Matt. 5:1 in the Beatitudes, that the poor in spirit will be blessed. My spirit is good right now, and I want to share with other men (you, too, gals, if you want to come along) that Christ is filling up my self esteem basket to the brim. No matter what we go through, God can use us to share the Gospel with those around us, but especially “the poor in spirit.” They need Christ.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, fill my spirit with your goodness today. Help me to be loving to the unloved. Help me to reach out to one person today. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Vol. 4, No. 64
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/june.asp?version=51
Monday, June 15, 2009
Extolling the Lord at all times
Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.
Scripture: Psalm 34:1-5 (NIV) I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Ed Aullie grew up in Mexico, the son of missionaries. When he grew up, he got married, had children and returned to northern Mexico as a missionary. He went from town to town, sharing the gospel with peasant Mexicans. He helped start churches in small villages. He worked among the prostitutes, drug addicts and alcoholics. He loved them all the same.
One day, the federales came and arrested him. The charges of forged documents were drummed up. They put him in federal prison, the worst by far in the country’s penal system. This was not something he could bribe his way out. He had an attorney working to get him out. He shared a small cell with seven other inmates, one of whom was a well-known pimp who ran brothels along the border towns. The pimp told Aullie to steer clear of him or else.
Aullie somehow sneaked in a New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. Inside the prison, Aullie continued to “extol the Lord at all times,” and without fear. His praise was always on Aullie’s lips. He read his Bible every day, and soon inmates were asking about what he was reading, so he shared the good news of Jesus Christ. Inmates became believers. Lives were changed. Aullie planted a prison church with 65 new believers. One day, Aullie’s attorney got him released and whisked him out of the country on a plane.
What if Aullie had just kept his mouth shut and kept his nose clean while in prison? What if he hadn’t sneaked a New Testament into prison, against orders? What if he hadn’t shared the gospel with other inmates? My bet is that those who looked at Aullie in prison found a radiant face. They knew something different about him because of his countenance. As I look at my new world of unemployment, I realize that I must be radiant as I go about looking for a job. I must also remember to extol the Lord at all times. People around me need to hear about him, because they’re afraid, and they need to know that Jesus makes a difference in their lives. They must see that difference in my life.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to be bold today when meeting new people. Help me to share my faith in ways only you know how it touches the other person. Amen
Scripture: Psalm 34:1-5 (NIV) I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Ed Aullie grew up in Mexico, the son of missionaries. When he grew up, he got married, had children and returned to northern Mexico as a missionary. He went from town to town, sharing the gospel with peasant Mexicans. He helped start churches in small villages. He worked among the prostitutes, drug addicts and alcoholics. He loved them all the same.
One day, the federales came and arrested him. The charges of forged documents were drummed up. They put him in federal prison, the worst by far in the country’s penal system. This was not something he could bribe his way out. He had an attorney working to get him out. He shared a small cell with seven other inmates, one of whom was a well-known pimp who ran brothels along the border towns. The pimp told Aullie to steer clear of him or else.
Aullie somehow sneaked in a New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. Inside the prison, Aullie continued to “extol the Lord at all times,” and without fear. His praise was always on Aullie’s lips. He read his Bible every day, and soon inmates were asking about what he was reading, so he shared the good news of Jesus Christ. Inmates became believers. Lives were changed. Aullie planted a prison church with 65 new believers. One day, Aullie’s attorney got him released and whisked him out of the country on a plane.
What if Aullie had just kept his mouth shut and kept his nose clean while in prison? What if he hadn’t sneaked a New Testament into prison, against orders? What if he hadn’t shared the gospel with other inmates? My bet is that those who looked at Aullie in prison found a radiant face. They knew something different about him because of his countenance. As I look at my new world of unemployment, I realize that I must be radiant as I go about looking for a job. I must also remember to extol the Lord at all times. People around me need to hear about him, because they’re afraid, and they need to know that Jesus makes a difference in their lives. They must see that difference in my life.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to be bold today when meeting new people. Help me to share my faith in ways only you know how it touches the other person. Amen
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