August 1, 2009
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It can happen to you
PostPartum Depression: It Can Happen To You
Articles Of Hope For - Depression Written by Danni Moss There are a lot of surprises when a couple finds out they are expecting their first child. As you go through pregnancy you experience all kinds of things you never realized would happen! Then the big day arrives and your baby is born -- another day of surprises but they’re all worth it when you see your new bundle for the first time!
For most of us, pregnancy is not an easy time. At the very least, it is uncomfortable! And giving birth is definitely not easy. You go into labor tired and generally miserable from the discomfort of being 9 months (or more!) pregnant. Labor may be long or short, but in any case it will be incredibly intense. Giving birth is probably the hardest work anyone will ever do. Then when your baby is born there is just nothing like the incredible emotional high of meeting your child! Every time you look at him/her you can hardly believe this new little person is yours to love.
Especially with a first child, we often expect things to get "back to normal" once we get home from the hospital. But there are a whole host of additional surprises in store. Until you’ve experienced it, there’s just no way to imagine how tired you can get when you need to feed this little person every couple of hours around the clock. If you’re nursing, your milk comes in after a few days and that is usually another shock! Breast-feeding is applauded as such a wonderful experience, but maybe no one warned you that the first few weeks will probably be uncomfortable and challenging -- to put it mildly!
Adding to the mix, silently in the background, our hormones are making huge and rapid adjustments. From pregnancy, through child-birth, into breast-feeding, and ultimately back to normal, our hormones are on a wild roller-coaster ride.
As a result of all this, post-partum depression enters the picture -- another unexpected surprise. There are some common misunderstandings about post-partum depression.
First, post-partum depression is not a sin! It is a completely natural result of the combination of hormonal change, extremes of emotions and physical fatigue. Post-partum depression isn’t something that may happen to you. It is something that will happen to you!
Second, post-partum depression is not always characterized by a woman losing complete touch with reality and attempting to kill herself or her child! These are the most severe cases that we hear about on the news and are not the norm.
Third, post-partum depression is not something you need to fear. It doesn’t have to cripple you. if you are aware of the fact of post-partum depression you can prepare yourself for it and walk through it successfully.
Post-partum depression is quite simply a physiological phenomenon resulting from the combination of exertion and hormonal change surrounding childbirth. For most women it is of fairly brief duration. For a few women it can become severe enough that medical intervention is necessary. If it causes inability to function, inability to care for your baby, thoughts of suicide or compulsion to hurt your child you need to seek medical help. No one should condemn you for this! It is just hormones gone crazy. Usually, temporary medication will correct the problem.
"Normal" post-partum depression may include such symptoms as crying for any reason or none at all, irritability, insomnia and generally "dark" emotions. You may feel like you’re under a dark cloud. You may have vague feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, sadness, or impending doom. These are all feelings that are not based on reality.
I recently had the "pleasure" of experiencing post-partum depression first-hand again and was reminded of how challenging it can be. It was a pleasure because the blessing of our surprise miracle baby has been awesome! But post-partum depression was anything but pleasant. Even though I knew to expect it, it wasn’t easy. Here are some things that helped me:
Having a supportive spouse is a huge help! It makes a big difference when your spouse is aware of what is happening to you and is not pointing condemning or impatient fingers! If your husband can walk through your emotional mine-field with grace you are a blessed woman indeed! It helped for me to remind my husband when I knew my hormones were talking so he knew that I knew that he didn’t need to "fix" it.
Plan a window of 6-8 weeks (longer if you had a c-section or complications) for recovery. You probably won’t feel like you need that long but you do! Your body will heal faster than that but there’s more going on than what you can see. It’s not uncommon to feel like a million bucks a couple days after birth but your body really isn’t ready for grocery shopping trips, laundry and house cleaning yet. Resist the urge! Limit yourself to the absolute minimum. If you do too much too soon you can make yourself very sick and make post-partum depression even worse. During those first several days you are still running on the emotional high of giving birth and it’s not "real" energy.
Take a nap whenever baby does, as often as you can. You need as much sleep as you can get until baby starts sleeping through the night.
Plan ahead of time not to take your emotions seriously. Your emotions are going to be over-reacting! Don’t feel ridiculous if you just need to have a good cry now and then. You’ll feel better for it!
Keep your mind focused on the truth. In those wee hours of the night when you’re exhausted from lack of sleep it’s easy to feel like God has forgotten you. But you know this isn’t true. CHOOSE to rejoice in what you know is true in spite of your feelings.
Reach out for support whenever you need it. Other moms have walked in the same shoes. If you have specific challenges, such as with breast feeding, don’t hesitate to contact "experts" for help with that. Trying to endure some of these frustrations by yourself can contribute to making your post-partum depression harder.
Accept offers of help. This is no time to stand on pride. Remember that if you refuse help, you are depriving others of a blessing. Also, it may be that God will have you to help or encourage one of these people even while they are there to help you.
If you have a baby who has a lot of awake time during the night, consider listening to the Bible or worship music on cassette/CD during that time.
One of the most significant things to watch out for is the seductiveness of post-partum depression. Just like any other depression it has an allure that appeals to your flesh to draw you into a downward spiral and away from the truth. In my recent experience I went along for several weeks doing very well handling in correctly. When our baby was three weeks old I had a serious injury that made everything much more difficult and turned my recovery into a 3-month process rather than 6-8 weeks. Still I tried to remain focused on the truth and follow all those steps above. But there came a day when I realized I had allowed myself to slip into that depression hole and I was wallowing in it, almost relishing it and not wanting to get out. I was embracing my misery and the seduction of depression.
At that point I made the choice to turn to God and ask Him to show me the way out. What He taught me in that place was that I had to make a choice to let go of the depression before He could show me the encouragement of His truth. While you’re in it, it’s easy to think that you need God’s encouragement in order to get out of the depression. But I had to repent of my sin of holding onto that depression and choose to turn from it to the truth. Then I experienced God’s comfort that lifted my spirits immediately. This encouragement was the turning point for me.
Above all, just remember that the Word says Jesus understands all these things, even though He never gave birth, and He has grace for us in our times of need. (Heb. 4:15,16)
July 24, 2009
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A new meaning of compassion...
Call It What It Is: Rationed Health Care By Robert H. Knight
Fresh from grabbing much of the U.S. auto and banking industries, the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats are moving briskly toward nationalized health care.
In a letter to Senate Democrat leaders, President Obama has called for forcing all Americans to have health insurance, employers to offer insurance plans or pay a fine, and to create a government alternative insurance plan. Any or all of these will lead to a government takeover of the health care industry. And that will result in rationed care, in which cost-conscious bureaucrats will decide who is worth treating. Should your grandmother get a hip replacement? Go down the hall to the queue outside Office 37-B and fill out more forms. We'll let you know in a few months. Hey, you with the brain tumor. Get back in line.
Private health insurance, we are told, will still be offered. But the playing field will tip severely with the government’s enormous competitive advantages. As Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) put it on CNN’s State of the Union program on June 14, concerning a "public option" for health insurance:The government competes in the private sector the way an alligator "competes" with a duck … If you introduce a government-funded option into the private health industry, millions and millions of Americans will lose their current health insurance because their employers will either choose to discontinue coverage or you’ll see health insurance companies out across America say, "we can’t compete with Uncle Sam." And so, voluntarily and involuntarily, we’ll see millions of Americans move into a government program.
When enough businesses and individuals are tempted to abandon private care and take a ride on the government’s ambulance, the private system will collapse, and the government will take over with a single-payer system. The result will be massive tax increases, worse care and long lines.
After First Lady Hillary Clinton failed to commandeer the health-care industry in the mid-’90s, "progressives" have discussed doing it gradually. A centralized system would give the government the power of life and death over America’s families. Just the threat of withholding medical care is enough for most people to surrender other freedoms. Such a system also reinforces the idea that government is God.
The rhetoric is the same: "The health-care system is broken;" America "is facing a health-care crisis." Never mind that America’s health-care system is the envy of the world, developing more drugs and treatments than any other country. The U.S., in fact, underwrites the research and development of new drugs and treatments because the rest of the world uses socialized medicine, which kills innovation by placing price ceilings on new drugs.
Health-care reform is needed so that more people are insured and to reduce bloated costs, but the best solutions involve less government, not more. Several plans propose tax incentives for people to purchase insurance to control their own medical decisions. But these are ignored by most media, which are infatuated with massive government expansion.
In countries where the government has a heavy hand on medicine, like Germany, Sweden, Canada, and Great Britain, innovation is stifled. Patients face long waits for routine surgeries, and bureaucrats decide who gets certain treatments. The Institute of Economic Affairs in London observed in a report, Delay, Denial and Dilution:
Of course, UK health care is cheap. We spend less on health care than does any comparable nation, but the cheapness of the NHS is subsidised by the exhaustion and demoralisation of the staff and by the second-rate service it so often provides. It is the cheapness of the miser who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. And it is a cheapness that demeans patients as supplicants and which hides the medical realities of rationing from them.
The report examines some of the more dangerous realities facing patients:
Often treatment is not withheld altogether, but it is delayed, sometimes with the result that the patient’s condition worsens.
… About 50 per cent had to wait over a month and 20 per cent more than three months. Over one in three of those waiting said that their condition had got worse while they were waiting and 14 percent claimed to be "in a lot of pain."
The Obama Administration and its congressional allies are carefully avoiding talk of a government takeover, but their proposals will do exactly that. The result will not be better care.
Many doctors already refuse to take Medicare and Medicaid payments because filling out red tape for small payments isn’t worth it. In a Wall Street Journal column, Dr. Marc Siegel, who practices in New York, warns that further government encroachment will make things worse:
None of the current plans, government or private, provide my patients with the care they need. And the care that is provided is increasingly expensive and requires a big battle for approvals. … The doctors that remain in this expanded system will be even more overwhelmed than we are now. I wouldn’t want to be a patient when that happens.
The strong temptation will be to shift from the best care to the cheapest. The infirm, the aged, and babies with defects will be the first to bear the brunt of the "savings."
We already have a picture of such a grim future. Randy Stroup, 53, a cancer patient, applied for aid under Oregon’s state health plan in 2008.
He got a letter denying payments for chemotherapy, but offering money to help him kill himself.Under government-rationed health care, the idea of "compassion" is likely to take on a whole new meaning.
This article is adapted from a chapter in the new book Fighting for America's Soul by Robert H. Knight, a Senior Writer for Coral Ridge and a Senior Fellow at the American Civil Rights Union.
July 22, 2009
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The Light You Already Have
Follow the light you already have
A lamp, not a searchlight
God does not often give Christians "long range" guidance about their future. It is more often just about the next step to take.
The psalmist said to God, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105
God's word was a "lamp" so he could see where he was walking, not a searchlight shining on his destination.
Do you really want to know the future?
It is not always to our advantage to know what is going to happen to us. Jesus told Peter, "When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." John 21:18 This is probably a prediction of Peter's future martyrdom when, according to tradition, he would be killed by crucifixion.
We may be glad not to know all that will happen to us later on in our lives.
Loving and obeying
Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching." John 14:23
It is often easier to be preoccupied with the future than to obey Jesus in the present.
OBEDIENCE (To God and His Commands) AND ITS LINKS
Obedience linked with faith
Romans 16:26 (The Message) 25-26All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter.
Obedience linked with holiness
Acts 26:18 (The Message) 17-18"'I'm sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in Me.'
Obedience linked with righteousness
Romans 6:13 12-14That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.
Obedience linked with God's blessing
Deuteronomy 11:27 (NLT) 27 You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.
Obedience linked with God's word
Psalm 119:67 (The Message) 67 I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.
Obedience linked with Salvation
Hebrews 5:9 (The Message) 9 In this way, God qualified Him (Jesus) as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.
Excerpts from: Knowing God's Will made easier/ChristianBook.com
July 15, 2009
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A winning Attitude
The Key Of A Winning Attitude
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. In fact whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. He that overcomes the world is he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. To him that overcomes, God will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. He will not be hurt by the second death, but rather eat of the hidden manna, and receive a white stone with a new name written, which no man knows except he that receives it. He will also be clothed with white raiment, and instead of his name being blotted out of the book of life. Jesus will confess his name before the Father and before His angels.
Give thanks unto God, which always causes us to triump in Christ knowing that no weapon formed against you will prosper, and every tongue that rise up against you in judgment you shall condemn, for this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
With God's help you can run through a troop, leap over a wall, and triumph in the works of your hands, so run that may obtain. Thanks be to God which gives you the victory and makes you more than a conqueror, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. So, clap your hands and shout on God with a voice of triump who brings us great victory. O sing unto the Lord a new song, for He had done marvelous things; His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
He that winneth souls is wise, and you that overcome will be a pillar in the temple of God, be seated with Christ in His throne, inherit all things and be God's son and He will be your God.
Remember, count all things, but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus counting everything you lose as dung, that you may win Christ.
References:
Philippians 4:13, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 5:4
1 John 5:5, Romans 12:21, Revelation 2:7
Revelation 2:11, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 3:5
II Corinthians 2:14, Isaiah 54:17
Psalms 18:29, Psalms 92:4, 1 Corinthians 9:24
1 Corinthians 15:57, Romans 8:37
Psalms 34:19, Psalms 47:1, II Samuel 23:12
Psalms 98:1 Proverbs 11:30, Revelation 3:12
Revelation 3:21, Revelation 21:7
Excerpts from The Bible Incorporated/In Your Life, Job & Business
July 12, 2009
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Errors of judgment
What Happens If We Don't Trust God?
If we choose not to trust God fully with our lives, then we are left with the options of trusting either ourselves or other people with our lives. A person doesn't need to live very long before he concludes that no one person can fully care for himself, and no other person or institution can be relied upon fully to provide all that any one person needs. Only God, who has all resources available for His use, can put together a "total provision package" for each person on earth.
If we choose not to trust God fully with our lives, the results (consequences) often include:
* Increased irritability and frustration with life
* A continual vacillation (indecision in speech or action) of opinion and little decision making
* Repeated errors of judgment
* Feelings of persecution, even if no persecutor can be named
* Procrastination
* Increased use of chemicals (such as alcohol, drugs, and overuse of prescription medications) to escape pain, sleeplessness, or nervous tension
* Low productivity
* A general feeling of restlessness or uneasiness
Jesus referred to such consequences as these in a parable, saying,
A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Matthew 13:3-4
Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Matthew 13:7
The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. Matthew 13:22
Paul admonished the Corinthians that they were to use their weapons of spiritual warfare for "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
How do we do this in a practical way?
When times of anxiety and fear seem to overwhelm you, you must make a conscious, deliberate effort to take control over your own thoughts and to bring them into conformity with God's Word. I encourage you to take these five steps:
* Read the Gospels. Calm your own spirit by reading aloud the words of Jesus and the stories about Jesus in the Gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Focus especially on what Jesus taught and said. Don't allow yourself to become distracted or to give up in your reading of God's Word until you feel panic subside and a calmness take root in your heart.
* Read the promises of God to you. Begin to look up and read aloud the promises of God's Word that pertain to your situation. If you don't know those promises, use a concordance to find them. (Look up a word that relates to your problem, or look up those passages under the heading "fear not.")
* Memorize God's promises. Memorize several of God's promises that seem especially appropriate for your particular situaion. As you read the Bible daily and you discover other promises or passages that seem appropraite to your particular situation, memorize them also. Any time fear attempts to rise up in you again, recite these promises from God's Word--repeatedly, if need be--until the fear subsides.
* Ask the Holy Spirit to take control. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring the promises in God's Word to the fullness of reality in your life. Ask Him to take control of your life and to take control over the situations that are causing you to fear or to feel anxious.
* Praise God. Begin to praise God for His greatness, goodness, and tender loving care of you in the past. Recall instances in which God has shown Himself to be faithful. Recall instances in which your needs were met, your heart was blessed, and you knew with a surety that God was in control of your life. Praise God for His provision and presence in the past.
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. James 4:7-8
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
Excerpts from Developing Inner Strength/Charles Stanley
I remember those times that I used to depend on my own strength. "Be strong and tough, so you won't get hurt." that's how I remember hearing and reading growing up. "You have to show that you are competitive, that you can handle the pressure to earn the trust of your peers and the rest of the people you are in contact with." But deep inside, laying in bed at night, life was exhausting! The more you work harder, the harder it is to please and gain the approval of your friends, family and your employer. It was a 24/7 alertness but full of frustrations and despair. It was a never ending cycle. If I have not found the Lord, God's true nature , His truth and promises, I would probably be either dead or be on a heavy dependency of prescription drugs, whichever comes first, anxiousness is lethal cause borderline depression accompanies its attacks.
I truly believe that if Michael Jackson turned to God and depend on Him and come to trust Him, through His Son, Jesus; and turned away from whatever destructive choices he was making when he was on top of his game and; asked Jesus for guidance and follow Him, I am pretty sure he would still be alive today. Every decision he made on his own strength, had sealed his fate.
No man can live without God in his life and not suffer the consequences of their poor choices. Without God, life is a struggle, no matter if you are wealthy or poor. For the wealthy it could be a struggle to remain on top of his game, a struggle to make more money, a struggle for fame and popularity and so on and so forth. Well, for the poor, everything is a struggle and a condemnation for just being poor.
Whether you agree with me or not, see how many above consequences are true in your life if you have chosen not to believe or trust God.
July 10, 2009
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Life basic needs
Anxiety is fear of the future. We feel anxious when we come to the conclusion that the future holds no promise of change or when we aren't sure what's going to happen from one moment to the next. Sometimes anxiety is rooted in a person's feelings that he is incapable of handling a new challenge. At times, anxiety is rooted in a person's setting standards that are too high, even impossible. Sometimes anxiety is rooted in a person's feeling torn between two opinions or between two people she loves. At times, anxiety is rooted in unresolved hostility.
Jesus knew all about these causes of anxiety. Anxiety over life's basic needs was a problem when He walked the earth. Jesus lived in an area that was occupied by Rome, and nobody was ever sure what Rome might do next or what new taxes and laws might be issued against the Jews. Daily life was difficult: thousands upon thousands live a hand-to-mouth, day-to-day existence. Sickness and disease were prevalent. Great tension existed between those who considered themselves to be "Law-keeping" Jews and those who were perceived to be Law-breakers.
This is what Jesus taught His disciples:
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. (Luke 12:22-30 NLT)
As you look closely at what Jesus taught about anxiety, I hope you will note these three things:
- God knows what you need. Much of our anxiety is rooted in a feeling that we must maintain control over every detail in our lives because there is nobody else whom we can trust to know our needs and to provide for us. Jesus made it very clear, "Your Father knows." He knows because He cares for us with an infinite love. We are of exceedingly great value to Him.
- God will supply what you need. Not only does God know what you need, but He knows by what means, when, and precisely how much to supply so that your need is met fully. He is a loving Father who desires the best for His children, which includes a full provision.
- Only God can alleviate fully your feelings of anxiety. Nobody else can ever fully know or meet this need in your life. God alone sees the beginning from the ending of your life and, therefore, He alone knows what you will need at precisely every moment of your life in order for you to do the work and fulfill the plan that He has for you.
God will do the providing for us as we trust Him. His part is to meet our needs. Our part is to trust Him to meet our needs.
31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. Luke 12:31 NLT
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NLT
Excerpts from: Developing Inner Strength/Charles Stanley
July 9, 2009
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Discovering
Discovering God’s will for your life
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
--Proverbs 3:5-6
As you think about your paths today… about God’s will for your life… remember that knowing the will of God is not so much a life map as it is a lifestyle. It’s not so much a road map as it is a relationship.
What this means is this: The will of God isn’t accomplished in your life by you figuring out a confusing formula or going through some kind of convoluted process. It’s found as you walk with God one day at a time, one step at a time, trusting him in all your ways. That’s when his will will be made apparent in your life!
But it’s important to note that when you’re seeking the will of God for your life, you first have to concentrate on your character. Because God is more interested in who you are than in what you do.
So today, let me ask you, are there any character issues in your life about which you need to talk to God? Really think about that for a moment. What about the words you speak? The places you visit on the internet? The people you let influence you? What about the decisions you make at work?
It’s been said that our character is the sum total of the decisions we make. So if that’s the case, what do your decisions say about your character?
Now, I want to dispel the myth that doing God’s will is doing the one thing that will make you the most miserable. That’s not the case at all! God has chosen a good way and a perfect will for your life. And what’s great is that he often uses your talents and interests to accomplish his plan.
So don’t be afraid of God’s will. Commit your character to him and look forward with anticipation to what he has in store for you!
from: Daily Word/Jack Graham
July 8, 2009
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All Day...
What does God do all day?
Some companies sponsor a Bring Your Child to Work Day so that children have a better understanding of what parents do on the job. After one such day, a child was asked to share what he had learned about his father's job. With a stifled yawn the boy replied, "All he does is meet."
Sometimes it appears to people that all God does is answer prayer. But is that true? What really does God do all day?
While the Bible says that God is always attentive to the voice of His children, God does a lot more than just listen to and answer prayers. Part of what God does all day is work in cooperation with people's work. According to Psalms, human labor is futile unless God puts it into process. Exodus reveals God is the One who gives people the abilities they need to do work. Paul reminded the Corinthians that their generosity was linked to God's work of giving to them. Genesis says people cultivate what God already has created. And Hosea and Jeremiah declared the prophets wrote and spoke only what God had spoken to them.
God works in this world, too. According to the Book of Isaiah, God actively rules over the nations, calling up different ones to places of importance while reducing others to subservience ( useful as a means or an instrument; serving to promote an end) or annihilation (utter destruction or wiping out). God has also been at work in the nation of Israel. He called Abraham to a land God promised would be his. God set apart his descendants, gave them victory in battle, delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and raised up leaders to solidify them as the nation of Israel. God still watches over Israel, working out His promise to bring them into a land of peace and prosperity.
And God is at work every day in human life, too. He intervenes, guides, guards, and directs the lives of His children. His daily work can be seen through you.
Worth Thinking About:
- Because God is at work in individual's lives, the psalmist says people should acknowledge their dependence on God and be grateful for His help.
- God is actively at work in creation. The Bible says God sustains the created order of the plants and animals, the stars and planets, and all other living things.
- God also works in the church. As a head directs the movement of a body, so God acts as the head of His church to direct its growth and ministry.
Jesus answered them, "My Father is always working, and I too must work." John 5:17
Excerpts from: 100 Answers to 100 Questions about God/Lila Empson/S.M. Hupp
June 17, 2009
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