DebraJ
Not the Peaceful Places
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- Dragon Fruit blooms only for a day
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- Keith with Dragon Fruit Blossom
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- Ripe fruit of Dragon Fruit plant
So I prayed…hard…and began looking for his wallet here at home…but I could not find it.
While I was searching inside and out I saw that the dragon fruit plant that hangs over from our neighbors yard had bloomed! I was in awe that I was able to see these spectacular blossoms, which last only a day, sometimes only a few hours, before closing and setting fruit.
Thankfully, Keith made it home…and THEN I found his wallet under the family room coffee table…
Later, as I sat in the garden for my quiet time with the Lord, I saw a bright golden yellow warbler, a family of hooded orioles, two squirrels, scrub jays, a woodpecker and another larger yellow bird which I had not seen before with it’s fledgling…
…God’s blessings in the midst of the storm.
Seek the Lord and His peace – not the peaceful places, but Him – His peace…and let His blessings flow from unexpected places.
Discerning Your Voice
Scrub jays, California towhee, gold finches and house finches, mockingbirds and hummingbirds…and what sounds like the “tic, tic” of a Cooper’s hawk (but if he was nearby all the rest of the birds in the garden would be gone). Ah! And a woodpecker!
Sitting here in the garden in the cool of the morning I love hearing these voices…the years spent listening to them lets me recognize them easily.
Do I recognize the voice of God as easily?
After years of listening for Him, it has become much easier to discern His voice from my own thoughts – from the voice of another. But still I must ask the Lord to make it clear.
Oh Lord, I quiet myself again today and seek You, Your voice above all others. Give me ears to hear! Don’t let me mistake the sound of another for Your voice. Show me the way You want me to go today!
Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.””
Protective Sunscreen
So, next week I get to go back to my dermatologist to have two more areas of cancerous tissue removed from my skin. It was just two years ago that I had the first cancerous area cut out. At that time I said I’d learned my lesson about not wearing my sunscreen and that from here on out I would faithfully apply that protective lotion to my body before heading out to work in the garden.
But I got lazy.
Oh sure, I’d only go out for a few minutes and hide in the shade, thinking this little bit wouldn’t hurt. I’d always make sure my scar was covered so it wouldn’t get darker and uglier.
But now – again – I must have these painful procedures to cut away all of the bad stuff from my body. It would have been so much easier to just put on that sunscreen as part of my morning routine…a sunscreen habit.
It’s interesting that both of my morning devotionals, written years apart, highlighted this verse:
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
If I am to be protected by this promise of God I must apply it daily – like sunscreen that protects skin from the damaging rays of the sun. The protection won’t just happen if I am not actively applying it in my daily life.
First – submit myself to God…humbly and completely. If I’ve already submitted to God why would I submit to the devil!?
Second – resist! Resist in God’s strength – actively standing firm – standing against the devil! Don’t. Give. In.
And he will flee. That’s a promise!
Lord, I don’t want to conform any longer to my old patterns. Help me, please, to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, so I make “sunscreen” a habit. Thank You for the promise that the devil will flee when I resist him and submit to You!