July 16, 2026 – Return
After reading the first lines of Jesus Calling, I put the book back in the pile because that’s not what I wanted to be the theme of today. Today is Don’s and my anniversary and I wanted to talk about believing the best and happy times, but then I picked up Days of Heaven Upon Earth and, like in a past blog, remembered that God is directing me in this endeavor; so, I need to trust that He has a plan in what He brings forth. These first two books touch on what causes problems in our earthly relationships which curtail believing the best and happy times.
JC – “Self-pity is a slimy, bottomless pit. Once you fall in, you tend to go deeper and deeper into the mire. [i.e. thoughts like, “My spouse, or my friend or my child etc, is hurting me and there’s no hope….”] As you slide down those slippery walls, you are well on your way to depression, and the darkness is profound. Your only hope is to look up and see the Light of My Presence shining down on you…. While you focus on Me in trust, you rise ever so slowly out of the abyss of despair. Finally, you can reach up and grasp My hand. I will pull you out into the Light again….” See Psalm 40:2-3, Psalm 42:5, and Psalm 147:11.
Days – As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. (Ps. xlii. 1). Seeking better in our earthly relationship mirrors in a small way what we sense is missing in our relationship with God. Simpson offers some whys and hows, (You may have to, like me, read this a few times for it to settle in to making full sense. His wording isn’t what we are used to today.) “First in order to a consecrated life there must be a sense of need, the need of purity, of power, and of a greater nearness to the Lord. There often comes in Christian life a second conviction. It is not now a sense of guilt and God’s wrath so much as of the power and evil of inward sin, and the unsatisfactoriness of the life the soul is living. It usually comes from the deeper revelation of God’s truth, from more spiritual teaching, from definite examples and testimonies of this life in others, and often from an experience of deep trial, conflict and temptation in which the soul has found its attainments and resources inadequate for the real issues and needs of life. The first result is often a deep discouragement and even despair, but the valley of Achor is the door of hope, and the seventh chapter of Romans with its bitter cry, ‘O wretched man that I am,’ is the gateway to the eighth with its should of triumph, ‘The Spirit of life in Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Are you still with me? Shall we see if anyone else wants to contribute or call it a day?
Power – Proverbs 3:5 – Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and o not rely on your own insight or understanding. I think we needed that. Joyce explains, “When we worry, we focus on our problems. When we are anxious about things, we talk about them incessantly. Why? [From my concerns yesterday, I know why, but I’ll let Joyce continue.] Because what is in our hearts eventually comes out of our mouths (see Matthew 12:34). The more we think and talk about our problems, the larger they become. Instead of meditating on the problems, we can meditate on the faithfulness of God and remind ourselves there is no need to worry.”
This that she adds is important to think on, “I have heard many people say, ‘I just can’t help it, I am a worrier.’ The truth is they choose to worry because they do not know how to trust God. We become good at worrying because we practice it; therefore, we can become good at trusting God if we practice. Let your first response in any situation be to trust God.”
Prevail #197 – Larson adds, “Throughout Scripture God appeals to His children to return to Him, follow Him, and trust Him so He can bless them. We’re prone to wander. God sees it, knows it, and continually makes a way for us to return to Him. God longs to be gracious to us, to show us His kindness, mercy, and love. He is a good Father who withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly before Him.
[time to pick up the grandkids…will finish later!]
