Nov 18, 2025 – Good Company
I have an inspirational flip calendar (several of them actually) that I haven’t flipped in a while. This one is You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream by Holley Gerth. Because I was moving the books to another spot that were sitting beneath it, I flipped the page to today:
“Whatever God chooses you to do; He will equip you for too.”
Ok, God, I believe that; but, please make sure I’m doing what you chose me for and not something I cooked up!
Prevail #322 – Eh hem….excuse me while I clear my throat and get my bearings after reading the title for today’s devotion: “When God Calls You to Return”. He’s here. Really here with me! Not that I ever doubt it, but it’s just so exciting to me when I read something that so clearly (to me at least) conveys that He hears me! I can move that stuff on the couch for you to sit down if you’re going to be able to stay a while. Well, of course He’ll stay. Holy Spirit is with us always.
To be clear, Larson isn’t initially writing about being called by God, at least not to a particular area of service. Today’s verse is Philemon 1:15 and Larson tells us that “Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, ran away, but then met Paul, who introduced him to Jesus, who radically transformed his life” so he returned to Philemon. Larson quotes the Life Application Study Bible, 2725, writing, “When God finds runaways, He often sends them back to the very places and people from which they ran in the first place. As God has become real in your life, how has your past come into new perspective? Are there still situations from your past that need to be resolved? In what ways has your relationship with Christ given you new opportunities and resources to face what you used to run away from?” She continues with her own thoughts, “Sometimes God calls us back for a short season so he can launch us out into the next season.” Make me launchable, Lord!
JC – “Come to Me, and rest in My Peace…. Instead of trying to figure things out yourself, you can relax in the Presence of the One who knows everything…. you feel peaceful and complete. This is how I designed you to live: in close communion with Me.” (and not just during morning devotion times….)
When I was straightening up one of the many piles (mostly all mine) in our bedroom over the weekend, I unearthed a devotion book I used to read so much that some of the pages are coming loose. The entries aren’t dated so it was even more meaningful to me when I would randomly pick it up and the words were just what I needed at that time. It was given to me by the same dear friend who gave me Prevail. It is New Every Morning by Leah Slawson (I’ll call it New for short whenever I share from it in the blog).
New – My page marker was on p.112 but I read that yesterday; so, I turned to 114 and was immediately comforted, and moved, by the devotion’s title, “Keeping Watch”. That is what God does! Psalm 33:18-19 ESV – “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” Slawson writes, “There is great comfort in knowing someone is keeping watch. Whether it is our military over the nation or our police force over our community, we need to know someone is alert to danger and watching over us when we are vulnerable. We watch our small children constantly…. We sit with a sick loved one…. This is God’s image mirrored on the earth. Picture almighty God doing the same for you…. Thank God for His constant eye on you. You are never out of his sight.” (especially when we make room on our couch for Him to join our devotion time!)
Streams – “I may find myself confined to narrow areas of service, or isolated from others through sickness or by taking an unpopular stance, when I had hoped for much wider opportunities. Yet the Lord knows what is best for me, and my surroundings are determined by Him. Wherever He places me, He does so to strengthen my faith and power and to draw me into closer communion with Himself…. Alexander Smellie”
Power – Ephesians 5:18-19 KJV – “Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Joyce writes, “One way you can get over being controlled by your emotions is by talking to yourself. You can talk yourself into emotions, such as anger and jealousy, and you can also talk yourself out of them…. Don’t give the devil an open door…. Remember, Satan is the enemy – the source of your anger – not man. (See Ephesians 6:12).” Talk to yourself and talk to God.
And talk to others about God…which is what Don and I did last night as we talked about his preparations for his small group this week. They are studying Revelation and we had planned for Don to present the material to me each week prior to the gathering so he could work out the kinks, but we were never able to, mainly because of his busy schedule but also because of the time his prep took. We recorded our visit last night and will post it on our podcast site soon with the plan going forward, during the holiday break, to talk about the previous lessons and also provide a link to the actual group meeting. This is a men’s group so I don’t attend. He records the material he presents for the first hour and then turns the recording off while the men talk and share. The recordings currently at the site are from when we first got started with the podcast. If you’re so inclined, be on the lookout for the Revelation postings.
The link to The Linger Longer Cafe Podcast: g1z.us/LL
