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To know the Lord and His ways is to know that He is Good. The Holy Spirit encourages us to experience the Lord’s living Presence. He also promises that the more we live in His Presence, the more we are convinced of His goodness. 
Psalm 34:8–Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

In a world full of strife, knowing and having experienced the Lord’s goodness bolsters our faith in Him. Having unwavering faith in the Lord is essential so that we can stand strong in our belief in Him and His goodness when worldly adversity inevitably enters our life. 

The Lord works in ways that far exceeds our human ability to comprehend. His plans for us, as individuals, are woven into the fabric of his intricate tapestry of life, that only He can plan and construct. 

The more we try to fathom His ways, the more we are confounded by His complex design. That is why our faith in His goodness is important. Our faith in Him gives us comfort by knowing that He only wants goodness in our lives. 

So, rather than wasting time trying to understand God’s ways, and to make His plans and purposes conform to ours…We must instead strive to fit into His plans through our faith. Our faith in Him  enables us to spend fruit-producing time in His loving Presence, experiencing the glory and joy rooted in His goodness.  As we trust in Him daily, our faith grows, and we see more each day how good and kind He is. 

So all He initially wants us to do is to try Him…because He knows that if we do…we will like Him. 
Isaiah 55:8-9– “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

My Prayer for this Day:

Lord, thank You for being my refuge in these times of trial in my life. Thank You for Your wisdom as You teach me Your ways and Your will. Lord, I have many weaknesses… I thank You for the help that you and Your Holy Spirit are giving me in the fight to conquer those weaknesses, learn Your will, and to act on Your purpose for me. Lord, I know that You have a good plan for my life and that You will reveal it to me in Your perfect timing. Lord, thank You for Your love in these trying times.

(If you have a little extra time and your Bible is handy….Read Isaiah 55 in it’s entirety.  It is a wonderful invitation to the Lord’s Salvation.) 

Stay in the moment with the Lord. We were designed to live our lives one day at a time, one step at a time, one moment at a time.  The Lord has set a life path for us that sometimes is steep, rugged and possibly dangerous if we don’t stay focused on Him and His Will that leads us through each day. 

Our human nature has a tendency to focus on the past and to excessively plan for the future ….this can lead us to lose our focus on the present moment, which is the only slice of time we have any control over. And the present moment is where the Lord wants you to be with Him, focusing on Him and His constant Presence , as he leads us through the day… giving us the strength we need , through His grace, to handle each step of the way. That is how you build a successful day.

 Spending too much time reliving the past and worrying about the future will overload our frail human minds and create possible peril for the present tasks at hand…and the choices we must make in the present moment…
 Psalm 143:8– Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. 

The Lord wants us to live in the present with Him, moment by moment. He knows our human condition could not handle the big picture of our whole lives all at once. He makes His Presence available to us for only the present moment.  In that moment he is ready to:  equip us for the day, to refresh us in times of stress, and enable us to enjoy His company as we trust him to lead us and protect us wherever the day takes us.
Genesis 28:15— “What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

My Prayer for this Day….

Lord, thank you for being here for me always… Being here for refuge, rest, and peace. Lord, the world spins out of control..much of the time it seems to be too busy for a tired soul to take a breath…. Lord, thank you for never being too busy to give me rest, or to listen to me, or to provide peace for a troubled and exhausted soul. Lord, I treasure your presence, and the rest it gives me from the trials of the day, and the rugged path ahead.

Follow the Good Shepherd– and He will keep you from being overwhelmed by the adversity you experience during the day. Everyday will have its problems, but by staying focused on the Lord, and His Love for you, He will make sure that your trials are not more than you can humanly bear alone. Do not lose heart and quit over problems of the moment. Call upon the resurrection power of Christ to renew your spirit. Just remember …He is there for you… always. (Matthew 28:20– And be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.) 

Just like the shepherds in Jesus’ time, He goes ahead of you, on the path He has set for you this day, making sure that it is safe…. But if you do stumble or wander into the bushes during the day, He is right there to pick you up, or pull you from the bushes, soothe your fears and emotions, and get you back on track. 
(Psalm 23:1-4 KJV– The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and staff they comfort me.) 

When the stresses and strains of your day( job, traffic, relationships, and the ever present obnoxious people) wear you down, don’t give in to the evil one and give up… Instead just think small, quick, calming thoughts of the Lord holding His hand out to you, preparing to pull you into the soothing refuge and peace of His arms to protect you from your adversity. 

Being aware of the Lord’s presence during times of trials enables you to connect with His Peace and His strength, so He can then do the heavy lifting for you, as you both work together, facing your problems head on, without fear, and that horrible sense of being alone in the storms of life. 
(2 Corinthians 4 verse 16-18– ¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.)

By relying on the Presence of your Good Shepherd, you can calmly walk through the day, knowing that you are not alone, and that He will help to handle whatever comes your way during the day.

The Lord is our only true security, not money, relationships, possessions, power or status…All those things can and will collapse and then we fall. Those with God are thus safe.  Those without God must always be cautious. But because God is our refuge, we can dare to be bold.

My prayer for this day: 

 Lord, thank you for being with me during this day’s journey through the trials and unexpected troubles that “just happen.” It is reassuring to know that You are ready at all times to provide strength, wisdom, and a mindset of peace, to even the most chaotic of situations. Lord, I ask of your Holy Spirit to teach me more, each day, on how to keep my mind focused on your Presence, and your Peace, in stressful situations that have, in the past, caused me to panic and give up. Lord, hold my hand tightly in these situations, and lead me in your Peace. Amen

Begin each day thanking the Lord for the blessings in your life. He rejoices when you come to him with the gift of Thanksgiving; letting him know that you are aware of Him and that you are reaching out to Him in dependence on him.
 
I spent many years wandering in the darkness of the World, not realizing that the Lord was with me ALWAYS…I woke up each morning dreading the day ahead with worries and anxieties already programmed into the day…
 Now I wake up each day, thanking the Lord for the fact that He was with me each day I was in the darkness, guiding me even though I was not aware of Him at the time…Then I thank Him…for the new day ahead…and the fact that we will walk it together, with Him holding my hand tightly, and my focus squarely on Him, discerning His will for the next moment of my life.
 
The Lord is busy each morning before you rise, preparing the day before you, and then announcing the day with His sunrise, chasing the darkness away, and proclaiming his dominion over all His creation. (Psalm 118:24 – This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.)
  
He eagerly waits for you to rise, looking forward to your coming to Him for the communion of His Spirit and yours. He has much in store for you this day. 
Your part, in this morning meeting of hearts, is to bring thanks to the Lord for all He has done for you in your life. A spirit full of Thanksgiving is all we have to offer the Lord, as He needs nothing.( Psalm 95:2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.) 

As we take stock each morning of all the wonderful blessings, lessons, and life experiences that He has lovingly given us throughout our lives, we can truly be thankful to Him for the fact that He cared so much for us, that He sacrificed His own Son so that we may gain His Righteousness and join Him eternally in Heaven. He, in return for your thankfulness, grants more blessings and grace to you for this new day, rejoicing in song for the communion of His Spirit and yours. (Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.) 

This morning I prayed this prayer to the Lord…
  
Lord, thank you for the glorious way that You and I start each morning. To be with You as the sun comes up with the birds singing outside, starts my day in a way that gives me a fulfilling joy in my heart… a joy that I never experienced in years past when I was walking in the darkness of the world. Lord, thank You for staying by my side in the darkness, and for Your patience with me as I walked through the world, unaware of Your Presence in my life. Lord, I praise You and I thank You for bringing me up out of the darkness, and into Your loving Light. Lord, I pray that as You work with me, renewing my mind, that I might reflect Your Light for others to see.