31 Days Transforming My Quiet Time Day 5

This morning's reading started with Psalm 65. This Thanksgiving Psalm reminded me just how great our God is. Every breath of my being is thankful this morning for Him. As verse 5 says He is the hope of all the ends of the earth! He really is my hope. Even in lean times, He faithfully crowns the year with his bounty and His wagon tracks overflow with abundance. (See verse 11) Just another visual that HE IS FAITHFUL and that He provides what we need in each season.

Verse 4b was my favorite it says "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple." My prayer today is that my family will be satisfied or full, not with earthly tangible things, but with the simple goodness of God.

After Psalm 65 my reading plan had me start a new book, 1 Kings. Today was chapter 1 verses 1-27 where God reminded me that even when men try to elevate themselves into positions designated for another, God is in control. Nothing and no one can stop God's plan.

We can manipulate situations to advance ourselves all day long, but ultimately, God's plan will prevail. 1 Peter 5:6 says to Humble yourself under God's mighty hand so that at the proper time he can exalt you. Maybe today you feel like you deserve something, or you feel called to a specific thing, but something or someone is already in that place. Can I just encourage you to put yourself under God's hand and keep your eyes fixed on Him. He will move you at the proper time. Don't rush Him! My friend Patty once said, you don't keep what you have received through manipulation. Don't try to make something happen before it's time. I can tell you from personal experience, it isn't worth it!

While that passage in 1 Kings was my light bulb passage for today, my reading plan checklist wasn't done. Next was Ezekiel 26 and I will just confess:

Ezekiel is hard for me. I'm thinking I need a commentary to go along with it.I'm making it, but for whatever reason, it is hard for me to focus. (Which means good stuff is in there and I need to go back and read it again.)

Finally, we were in Romans 1:18-32. So much good stuff in those verses. But in keeping with the stand out verses from Psalm and 1 Kings, verses 24-25 really hit home. Verse 25 says,

they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator...

God tied it all together with that verse. Sometimes we make an exchange. An exchange that when spoken makes our stomachs turn. I can say it because I have done it. Sometimes WE are the creature we worship. Sometimes we take the blessings, the gifts God has given us and we simply worship them. We place ourselves on an altar and worship the almighty "ME", instead of the Almighty. Speaking from experience, it's really a miserable place to be. In my situation, I took a good thing, a God given thing and twisted it into a god that I adored. It was a slow slide to the exchange counter and when I got there, I walked away with a divided heart. A heart focused on me. All the while labeling my little god "ministry".

Today, I am so thankful that God forgives. Thankful that in each season, He has specific things for us to do! (Even when we have failed in the season before!) His plan for me, for you is good. Nothing can stop what the Almighty has planned for you.