Shush Now…
“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hid their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Isaiah 53:1-6
As I was typing those verses the contrast between the tender, perfection of my all-powerful Saviour with the reality of my selfish, sinful desires and actions -- jumped out at me. And a memory was triggered:
Every night as a child, Mom would tuck me into bed, turn on the ceramic, pink choo-choo train light that sat on my night stand and say this child’s prayer with me:
“Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
This was followed by a recitation of ‘Bless Mommy. Bless Daddy. Bless Timmy’ and whoever I remembered in my prayers and ‘Amen’.
I prayed that prayer almost every night as I grew into maturity. I sometimes still pray it, especially on a long walk, where the rhythm of ‘Blessings’ seems to work well for me as I remember those who continue to help me walk safely.
God used (uses) this prayer (and Psalm 139) to remind me that no matter how I feel, He loves me unconditionally. That I’m never alone or lost. And should I wander too far away, He gently picks me up and carries me back to the flock. And one day He will carry me home. Pretty neat!
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Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTES: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
The Five Solas: Individuals are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone!
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com