Connie tapped on the door. A small voice called to her to come in. Connie was amazed at the tidy appearance of the old lady. The pearls and painted nails surprised her somehow. She looked little and alone. The small room in the hospital had become her home. She was grateful for a visitor.

Connie couldn’t help but notice the deep peace on this lady’s face as she told Connie, “God is so good. I’m alone now. It’s just the Lord and me, but I have a ministry here.” And she told her how she had grown to care about the nurses; how they came to put her to bed and stayed to have her pray with them. Though there was a longing to go to be with her Lord, there was also contentment. God’s peace and His love were very much alive in that little room.

As Connie started her car in the parking lot, she realized that her heart was lighter. She had gone out of duty and with a weary heart, but God had met her there and refreshed her spirit through a little granny.

Her morning Bible reading flooded back to her mind. It had been the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. (John 13: 10-17) Jesus had demonstrated this giving task and then said,

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them”(John 13:17).

The lesson was clear to her now. God had shown her tonight. In reaching out to others, we move beyond our own self-consumed worries and find blessing. She was glad she had gone. Nothing in her circumstances had changed. But in her spirit she had found an unexpected lift that lightened her step. Yes! God is so good!

Today, ask God who is on His heart in the circle you move in. Reach out to someone. Lighten their load with a word of encouragement or some small deed. It’s the way God works in blessing you and those around you.

Heavenly Father, You know me better than I know myself. You know that in giving I truly do receive. Forgive me for my worry. Help me to trust You to guide me through my circumstances and help me to keep an outward eye to those around me. Thank You for the happiness that comes as I reach out and purposefully touch the lives of those near me. Make me a blessing today. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Questions: Who does God bring to mind that would be blessed from a visit from you?  How can we become more sensitive to the needs around us? Can you give an example of a time when you were blessed as you went to see someone even though you felt inconvenienced at the time?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, He Loves to Be With the Ones He Loves, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Has your world shattered and left you with no hope for your marriage?

The angels proclaimed, “Peace on Earth” when the Baby Jesus was born. Today we wonder as we listen to the evening news… is peace possible?

We all need two kinds of peace in our lives. We need inner peace, but we also need peace with others. God addresses both. He tells us what to do to find that peace.

Inner peace begins with a relationship with God and it continues as we focus on His strength and allow Him to fill us. We can exchange our weakness for His strength in any area of life. God’s Word says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is focused on You because He trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). Personalize this verse with your own name in it. “God will keep me in perfect peace as my mind focuses on Him and trusts Him.” Inner peace hinges on my trust in God.

If inner peace is eluding you these days and anxiety spills over in your life, choose to trust God. You can choose to put your hand in His and draw on His patience and wisdom as you take each step. He will guide you through the maze of life if you ask Him. Choosing to trust God with those blind corners in your life will take you down the road to inner peace. Choosing not to trust Him will take you down the road to stress and worry. Inner peace is there for the choosing.

Peace with others begins as we understand that God has called us to be peacemakers in our world. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Is there somewhere in your own world where you can be a peacemaker this Christmas?

Is there an invitation that needs to be extended to smooth over a fractured family relationship? Is there an apology to be made or a silence to be broken that has stood as a barrier for too long? Don’t miss the blessing God promises in your life as you respond to His call to be a peacemaker in your own circle.

We can help bring peace to our world one heart at a time.

Lord, “Make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and Where there is sadness, joy… Divine Master; Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.” (Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi)

Questions: Are you struggling with inner peace and is anxiety taking over your life? What would be the first step you need to take in order to regain that inner peace? Where can you be a peacemaker this Christmas?

About this Author by Gail Rodgers

He stood at the window waiting. All day he waited. At three years old, the promise of Grandma and Grandpa arriving consumed him. I could not distract him to play or to color or to ride his bike. He was waiting. His child mind could not comprehend the eight hour drive. I knew the time would go faster, be more enjoyable and maybe even productive if he left the window. Yet he waited…and it seemed to be agonizingly long!

I realized that I am often like that with God. I want to trust Him for an answer to my circumstance, my question or my longing. So I wait for His answer and at times it seems agonizingly long. And I worry.

Sometimes when God’s answer seems to take too long I find myself beginning to lose heart. Trust in my God can waver.  (“Are they REALLY coming, Mommy?”)  Fear and anxiety consume me as I wonder what the outcome will be.

Then God speaks. His Word touches my heart and He tells me what to do.

“Wait on the Lord.  Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, NIV).

Suddenly I realize I am not waiting on the Lord. I am simply waiting on an answer. Waiting on an answer is so empty. It consumes me and distracts me from other things God would have me do or focus on. His Word tells me to be strong, to wait on Him for my strength. Wait on Him…not simply on an answer.

So I turn from the window, from the waiting on the arrival of my answer. I lean on Him to draw courage and strength. I ask Him to point me in the direction of what He wants me to do today…and my waiting changes. It changes from anxious, distracted worry to a more productive waiting. Waiting that says, “I can trust you with this, Lord. Help me to be renewed in my strength and to focus on accomplishing what is in front of me today.”

Think it through…
As you wait for God’s intervention, what step can you take to turn your eyes to God and not just the answer you are waiting for? Pinpoint what your specific anxiety is. What responsibility is this worry keeping you from? Think of a time in the past when God came through with His answer in your life.

Pray it in…
Ask God to help you pick up the task in front of you and draw strength from Him. Ask Him for courage and a focus on Him while you wait. Ask Him to show you what He would have you do in this time of waiting. How can you be His hands and feet today?

Work it out…
You can choose to trust God to strengthen you to do what He has set in your path today. Days, weeks, even months and years can be wasted if we put our focus on waiting and worrying and not on God. Today you can have a heart that draws strength from the God of the universe, in spite of the question marks punctuating your life!

Questions: What does “waiting on the Lord” mean to you? Why is it sometimes so difficult? Why do you suppose God does not always answer our prayers immediately?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Practicing the Presence, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Are you consumed with worry? Let us pray for you.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  Be self controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:7).

There is an enemy of our souls and his goal is to devour us. God tells us to be alert. Take note when you are being consumed by something. Scripture tells us the enemy of our soul comes to kill, steal and destroy and we are to be watchful. Being consumed by fear, worry, gossip, a particular temptation or the pressures of the day will, at best, steal from you and rob you of peace in your soul and joy in the moment. At worst it can destroy health and relationships and your fellowship with the God who wants to help you.

So what do you do when you realize something is just eating you up? You resist as the scripture says. How do you resist? You begin to see worry as a call to prayer, inviting God into your circumstance to direct you and give you wisdom.  You resist worry through prayer. (Phil. 4:6)  You resist fear through Scripture, knowing God has said that He has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). You stand firm in your faith knowing that the consuming downward spiral you find yourself in is not your Heavenly Father’s plan for you.

God cares about you. Remember: Your worry is a call to prayer. List the things that tend to devour you. Release them from your heart and mind by giving them to God in prayer.

Ask God to take the things on your heart and to give you His peace in return. Be prepared to ask for His strength to resist your worries each time they threaten to overwhelm you. Exchange your worries, in prayer, for God’s peace.

Father in Heaven, thank you for showing me that worry is really a call to prayer. Help me to be alert and to run to You when I am being eaten up with worry or fear. Thank you that I can throw my cares into Your lap and stand firm in Your promises. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Questions: As mentioned in the devotional, what do you do when you realize something is just eating you up? How do you resist fear & worry?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Whenever we find ourselves eaten up with worry, fear, anxiety, or devoured by the pressures of the day, God tells us to take note. Being consumed is a red flag and God gives us directions for just such times.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  Be self controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:7)

There is an enemy of our souls and his goal is to devour us. God tells us to be alert. Take note when you are being consumed by something. Scripture tells us the enemy of our soul comes to kill, steal and destroy and we are to be watchful. Being consumed by fear, worry, gossip, a particular temptation or the pressures of the day will, at best, steal from you and rob you of peace in your soul and joy in the moment. At worst it can destroy health and relationships and your fellowship with the God who wants to help you.

So what do you do when you realize something is just eating you up? You resist as the scripture says. How do you resist? You begin to see worry as a call to prayer, inviting God into your circumstance to direct you and give you wisdom.  You resist worry through prayer. (Philippians 4:6)  You resist fear through Scripture, knowing God has said that He has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). You stand firm in your faith knowing that the consuming downward spiral you find yourself in is not your Heavenly Father’s plan for you.

God cares about you. Remember: Your worry is a call to prayer. List the things that tend to devour you. Release them from your heart and mind by giving them to God in prayer.

Ask God to take the things on your heart and to give you His peace in return. Be prepared to ask for His strength to resist your worries each time they threaten to overwhelm you. Exchange your worries, in prayer, for God’s peace.

~Father in Heaven, Thank you for showing me that worry is really a call to prayer. Help me to be alert and to run to You when I am being eaten up with worry or fear. Thank you that I can throw my cares into Your lap and stand firm in Your promises. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Questions: As mentioned in the devotional, what do you do when you realize something is just eating you up? Discuss Philippians 4:6-9.

About this Author: Gail Rodgers

This year she was thankful for the calendar turning. As she looked in the mirror she was reminded of some of her choices and the consequences they had brought into her life. She had regrets this year. Yes, a clean slate would feel good. She would make some resolutions and hoped, this year, to keep them.

Yet she knew herself all too well. Fear nibbled at the edge of her heart and mind as she hoped she had the courage to make the changes she needed to.

With sudden clarity Kelly knew she would not succeed in her hoped for change of lifestyle. No, in herself she would simply circle back to where she had been. She didn’t want to go there. She realized she needed help beyond herself. Silently she asked God to give her the help she needed to make the changes she so desperately wanted.

“Change of behavior comes first with a change of heart.”

Yet she knew herself all too well. Fear nibbled at the edge of her heart and mind as she hoped she had the courage to make the changes she needed to.

God knew the desire of her heart to change. He used a Bible verse that was in a greeting card to remind her how to make a lasting change.The words flew off the card and went straight to her heart… “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

With sudden clarity Kelly knew she would not succeed in her hoped for change of lifestyle. No, in herself she would simply circle back to where she had been. She didn’t want to go there. She realized it was only God who could create the clean heart in her and give her the right attitude. Silently she prayed as she set the card among the others.

Asking God to forgive her stubborn independence, she asked for His help to create in her the kind of change that she needed. Only with His help could she make the turn and go the other way in her life.

God is the only true source of help when we need a clean slate. Turning to Him, asking His forgiveness and turning away from the destructive behavior is the only way to true freedom. His strength, given to us on a daily basis, is more powerful than any resolution we can determine in our own heart. He will do it; we need only ask and depend on Him to act.

Father God, thank you for Your desire for me to make a clean start. Thank you for your forgiveness for my stubborn independence. Please forgive me and create a clean heart in me. Give me daily strength to make the right choices. Renew the attitude of my mind with new thoughts and desires that will help lift me above the pull of wrong choices. Help me to follow Your pathway. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can walk in a way that pleases You and in turn, refreshes me. In Jesus’ strong name I pray, amen.

Take the next step:

Video: Is there anything you wish you could erase?
7 Steps to forgiveness
Can we pray for you today?

She wanted something more for her life.

That night Kathy picked up her Bible and read Psalm 25. It was full of hope and an expectation of change that only God could bring to her life. She read it through a couple of times and underlined some verses that seemed to jump off the page, bringing fresh hope to her heart.

“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4&5).

The second time she read it through it struck her… here was her New Year’s resolution!

This would be the prayer of her heart everyday in this New Year. She grabbed a recipe card and wrote out the words, letting them soak into her soul. This was the change she wanted in her life…to keep her focus daily on the path God wanted her to walk in hope and in faith.

Take a little time over the next few days and read through Psalm 25 yourself. Consider reading it every day for a week and ask God to make the promise of hope come alive to your heart. Write verse 4 & 5 on a card or a stickie note and place it where you will see it regularly. Memorize it and let it soak into your soul and change your life.

Father God,

Thank you for the promise of hope You bring to my heart and my life. I do lift up my soul and my life to You now. I want to trust in You more fully this year. Tune my ears to hear Your voice more clearly. Teach me Your path and guide me in Your truth. In these changing days I need to discern Your ways for me. Help me to put my hope in You, not just occasionally or when I am in a hard place, but every day all day long. Thank you that You are God, my Savior! I ask this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.

Questions: What are your resolutions for the coming New Year?  Take some time to read Psalm 25 and use some of those ideas to help you with your resolutions.

About this Author Gail Rodgers

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Walking with Integrity, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

What does your soul crave? Take this study.

“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4&5).

Kathy thought about the New Year as she filed away the boxes of last year’s paperwork. There were things she would like to do differently in this new year. Oh, there were the usual things most of her friends were claiming as their New Year’s Resolutions:

•    Lose weight
•    Stop smoking
•    Take more time for relationships
•    Set goals

The list went on. The office was filled with laughter and the prospect of hope for change that a new year would bring.  Yet Kathy knew, in a week or so, the chatter would turn to the broken resolutions and very few of the hoped for changes would become a reality. She wanted something more for her life.

That night Kathy picked up her Bible and read Psalm 25. It was full of hope and an expectation of change that only God could bring to her life. She read it through a couple of times and underlined some verses that seemed to jump off the page, bringing fresh hope to her heart.

“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4&5).

The second time she read it through it struck her… here was her New Year’s resolution! This would be the prayer of her heart everyday in this New Year. She grabbed a recipe card and wrote out the words, letting them soak into her soul. This was the change she wanted in her life…to keep her focus daily on the path God wanted her to walk in hope and in faith.

Take a little time over the next few days and read through Psalm 25 yourself. Consider reading it every day for a week and ask God to make the promise of hope come alive to your heart. Write verses 4 & 5 on a card or a sticky note and place it where you will see it regularly. Memorize it and let it soak into your soul and change your life.

Father God,
Thank you for the promise of hope You bring to my heart and my life. I do lift up my soul and my life to You now. I want to trust in You more fully this year. Tune my ears to hear Your voice more clearly. Teach me Your path and guide me in Your truth. In these changing days I need to discern Your ways for me. Help me to put my hope  in You, not just occasionally or when I am in a hard place, but every day all day long. Thank you that You are God, my Savior! I ask this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.

Questions: Do you crave to be closer to God?  How do you plan on growing closer to God this year? Read Psalm 25.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Hannah: a study in contentment

About the Author Gail Rodgers

This morning I turned on the coffee pot and headed for the shower. The warm water was instantly there. Clean hair, fresh towels, clean clothes … and coffee.  Then I flipped on CNN.

The mass commotion on a main street in Port-au-Prince drew my attention. The camera zoomed in on a young man threateningly holding up a broken piece of concrete as a weapon.

As the images flash by it’s hard to imagine that this chaos is happening right this moment as I sip my coffee. It troubles my heart to see fellow human beings in such a depth of despair with little hope.

That devastating earthquake in Haiti is overwhelming. The pain is unbelievable, and the anguished faces etch their outline on our memories. They are hungry. They are thirsty. They are frantically looking for loved ones. They have not so much as a blanket or a change of clothes much less a meal to eat. The help is coming, yet the need is so very great.

It’s easy to turn the TV off and continue on into my day.  Can I shake off the uneasiness? Can I push the images of the wailing faces to the back of my mind and hurry on? I am so far removed from the chaos. I am so helpless to aid the breaking hearts …

The sun is shining. It’s a good day to wash the car perhaps … and on we go with our own lives.  On we MUST go with our own lives. Thankful for today. Praying a prayer for Haiti that is hard to even find words for.  What can I do?

I stop at my laptop. A quick search brings me to a donation page and before I leave I hit the button and send what seems like such an insignificant gift is the face of such need.

Yet my donation will join with many others and together they WILL make a difference. Together we, who have the privilege of going about our daily routine, will stop to share what we can with those who so desperately need it.

Truth Media is affiliated with Global Aid Network (GAiN). I trust GAiN. I know some of the board members. I know the integrity they have in their hearts and their desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are crying today. Won’t you join me and send in what you can? Every $10, every $100 will make a difference. Click here to make a donation.

Sip your coffee with a grateful heart, yes. But take a moment to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Haiti today. It’s what Jesus calls us to do.

Lord God, Thank you that we can represent You in Haiti today by giving what we can to be Your hands and feet to the hurting. Flood our hearts with generosity and care. Be very present in the midst of that chaos and make a way for help to flourish. In Your name we pray, amen.

Question: How does our faith compel us to help others? (Consider for example Hebrews 10:23-24: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”) Could you spare some funds to help in Haiti?

About this Author: Gail Rodgers