June 20, 2026 – Seen
JC – A simple, but often ignored, way to live life: “Seek My Face, and you will find all that you have longed for. The deepest yearnings of your heart are for intimacy with Me. I know, because I designed you to desire Me. Do not feel guilty about taking time to be still in My Presence. You are simply responding to the tugs of divinity within you…. Do not be afraid to be different from other people. The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. The more closely you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts. To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world. See Psalm 42:1-2, 34:5, and Philippians 2:15.
Days – Forget also thine own (Ps. xlv. 10). Simpson encourages and explains a life lived close to and in service to God: “We, too, like the ancient Levites, must be ‘consecrated every one upon our son and upon our brother,’ and ‘forget our kindred and our father’s house’ in every sense in which they could hinder our full liberty and service for the Lord. We, too, must let our business go if it stands between us and the Lord and in any case let it henceforth be His business and His alone, pursued for Him, controlled by Him, and its profits wholly dedicated to Him, and used as He shall direct….”
Prevail #201 – Amos 3:7 – Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. Larson tells about Amos, a “humble shepherd” who was suddenly “ambushed with a great vision from God of impending judgment on God’s people…. He had to do something about it. He spoke with precision and power. Some listened. Others didn’t.” That should comfort us in modern times knowing that people do have free choice and that we are not responsible for making people hear and heed the good news and the warnings that are offered.
She continues with this warning and then encouragement, “We are teetering on the edge of judgment as well. Yet, as Scripture says, God never does anything without first revealing His plans to His servants – at least to those who are awake, listening, and waiting for His word. And the ones God uses may surprise us…. Ask God to speak to you about the times we’re in. Write down your thoughts. Jesus, Help us to be humble enough to hear You speak. Amen.”
Max adds to the message of being seen, and used, by God as he focuses on John 9:1 – As [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. He writes, “No one else saw the blind man. The followers of Jesus may have observed him…. But they did not see him. The disciples saw only a theological case study… ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (v. 2). They didn’t see a human being. They saw a topic of discussion. Jesus, by contrast, saw a man who was blind from birth, a man who’d never seen a sunrise…. Others had an income; he begged for money…. Then Jesus saw him. And Jesus sees you…. He takes the initiative. He makes the first move.”
Power – Psalm 121:1-2 NIV – I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. I journaled this morning a bit about some pains from the past that I asked God to help me make peace with; and, He seems to be answering me through Joyce, “One of the ways God taught me to deal with the past is to confess His promises instead of talk about how I feel. We all have painful issues from the past we must grapple with…. Whatever the source of your pain, always remember that God loves you. You don’t have to spend your life mourning over something you can’t do anything about. God wants to heal and restore every hurt, injustice, and mistake in your life. God will help you….He’s waiting to help you.” Wow, thank You soooo much God. It makes my heart swell that You heard me and answered so directly on this! We have to remind ourselves that He does answer at just the right time, sometimes quickly and sometime with a perfectly timed delay.
Utmost – Isaiah 40:31 – They that wait upon the Lord…shall walk, and not faint. Chambers points out, “The reality of God’s presence is not dependent on any place, but only dependent upon the determination to set the Lord always before us. Our problems come when we refuse to bank on the reality of His presence…. not the consciousness of God’s presence but the reality of it – ‘Why, He has been here all the time.’ At critical moments it is necessary to ask guidance, but it ought to be unnecessary to be saying always – ‘Oh Lord, direct me here, and there.’ Of course He will! If our commonsense decisions are not God’s order, He will press through them and check; then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.”
JL – “Gentle Jesus, I come to You with my gaping emptiness – knowing that in You I am complete…. If I continue walking in trusting reliance on You, at bedtime I discover that Joy and Peace have become my companions…. Let everything that has breath praise You, Lord. In Your exalted Name, Amen.” See 2 Corinthians 4:6, Colossians 2: 9-10, James 1:4, and Psalm 150:6.
