Dec 3, 2025 – One Life
The next in the lineup of sayings on the digital frame is by Kahul Gibran:
“OUR ANXIETY DOES NOT COME FROM THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE,
BUT FROM WANTING TO CONTROL IT.”
Streams – The last lines of the poem Cowman starts today with are: “Lo, hear your God! He’ll bear you through; Be strong.” She then shares a prayer George Mueller wrote after the death of his wife, “Lord Jesus, I am alone. Yet I am not alone, for You are with me and are my Friend. Now, Lord, please comfort me, strengthen me, and give to Your poor servant everything that You see I need.” His writing continues with, “We should never be satisfied until we have come to the place where we know the Lord Jesus in this way….”
This takes me back to my visit this fall with Aunt Libba and all the time I spent looking through her family notebooks full of stories, letters, and photos. Those people, long gone, lived on this earth; and, like me, probably felt (even in their older ages) that there were so many years ahead in which to experience joys, but also to carry the sorrows of the past. It’s over for them now. It’s even over now for my father who was so recently such a major part of my life.
Time goes by so much faster than we realize when we are young and there is potentially so much life ahead of us. I’ve never forgotten a saying by Gretchen Rubin I heard at some point while raising my children, that may or may not be familiar to you, “The days are long, but the years are short.” It came to her in 2009, while riding a bus with her daughter, and which she recorded in her book in 2012, The Happiness Project. The important point here is that we only get this one life; and, how we choose to live it, what we focus on, lament over, and rejoice in reflects our character and our faith. And it affects those around us (and whether they choose to be around us).
JC – “Do not be surprised by the fiery attacks on your mind…. When you find yourself in the thick of battle, call upon My Name: ‘Jesus, help me!’ At that instant, the battle becomes Mine; your role is simply to trust Me as I fight for you. My Name, properly used, has unlimited Power to bless and protect.”
Power – 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV – “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Joyce explains, “Feeling fear is part of being alive…. But this does not mean we are cowards; it simply means we are human…. Feeling fear is not the same as being afraid – which means letting fearful feelings control our actions….we can feel fear while not letting it influence our decisions.”
Utmost – “When once you are rooted in Reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith; but nothing can ever upset God or the almighty Reality of Redemption; base your faith on that and you are as eternally secure as God. When once you get into personal contact with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification.”
Prevail 337 – James 5:16 – “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Larson explains, “The word confess in this passage means ‘to acknowledge openly and joyfully.’….You’ll never be delivered from a sin that you refuse to acknowledge. Things kept in the dark keep us captive. Determine to be free. Be honest about your shortcomings. Be joyful. You have a Savior. Stay in community. Healing and freedom are yours for the taking.”
JA – “I am the indestructible Rock on which you can keep standing, no matter what your circumstances may be…. Beloved, I encourage you to take refuge in Me…. As you stay in communication with Me, I help you find your way through this fallen world with hope in your heart. All of this enlarges your capacity for Joy.”
New p. 130 – I turned the page in this little book to a new section entitled “His Deliverance”; and, the devotion I landed on today is entitled “Free from Fear.” Slawson bases this devotion on Luke 12:4-5 and writes, “When we’re outnumbered by the crowd usually we either keep our mouths shut or feign agreement. All too often these are our default positions. Silence or insincerity – Jesus warned His disciples against both. To choose either is to live a lie, but it’s a rare person who relishes going against the flow, questioning the establishment, or speaking the truth when it is unpopular or misunderstood…. We have been freed from the bondage of human opinion and religious legalism. We are free to follow Christ without fear. We are held in the palm of His hand.”
I’ve added another person to our devotion book small group: Annie F. Downs and her book 100 Days to Brave. (I’ll call these contributions 100 for short). The book has short readings but they aren’t dated so I’ll just start where my bookmark is from my last reading, p. 18 – “I believe in the me God made and in the me God can make. I believe He made me on purpose and didn’t make any mistakes when it came to my creation. That makes me feel brave. And that is the place where I find my courage – knowing that while I am making mistakes, I am not a mistake. That is where you can find your courage too…. I know my tendencies and fears, and I also know my gifts and hopes. It’s where those meet that I often find God cheering for me to make the brave choice…. We can be confident in how God made us because His Word says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. But we can’t do this life – or be brave – on our own.”
