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Hear the Devotional Read here: http://bit.ly/2nnDZRj
1 Long enough, God - you've ignored me long enough. I've looked at the back of your head 2 Long enough I've carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain. Long enough my arrogant enemies have looked down their noses at me. 3 Take a good look at me, God, my God; I want to look life in the eye, 4 So no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face. 5 I've thrown myself headlong into your arms - I'm celebrating your rescue. 6 I'm singing at the top of my lungs, I'm so full of answered prayers. (Psalm 13 The Message)
Happy Thursday, dear Friend! I pray this is a tremendous Thursday for you; filled with blessings of health, joy, and peace; free from worry and pain. We have a need for prayer for Lauren Williams, the daughter-in-law of Lee and Dana Williams of FUMC-Gonzales. She needs our prayers as doctors are trying to determine what the cause of her illness may be. Pray for her healing, for her husband and all who love her. We pray for Mrs. Susie Ponce and her son, Carlos. Susie went to care for Carlos who is battling cancer, but fell and was injured and hospitalized for a time. She's out now and now someone else is caring for them both. Pray for their healing and comfort. And prayers for 9 month-old Bowan Napper, who is undergoing bilateral cochlear implant surgery to correct the severe deafness that has plagued him since birth. Pray that the doctors can repair his hearing so he may hear for the first time in his life! CELEBRATION: Today, June 25th, Mr. and Mrs. Virgil and LaFern Swift celebrate 70 years of marriage! They are a lovely couple who have faithfully served the Lord in many ways. Virgil taught a Sunday school class at FUMC-San Marcos and Nellie was one of his students. They have blessed many! Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
The timeless wall plaque says, "Lord, give me patience, and I want it NOW!" Interesting that how many of us pray. We ask for something and we want it immediately. Nellie and I took a medical team down to Puebla, Puebla, Mexico, where the last of the Aztecs live. They're a lovely people with one interesting quirk; they believe that all medicines should work immediately. The clinic staff where we worked prepared us; "They will come to see you about a problem last week's medical team already saw and treated." And sure enough, that was their complaint. "The doctor last week gave me these pills but they haven't worked yet!" They, like many of us, don't like the idea of waiting 10-12 days for some medicines to work. And we pray with the same attitude. And given the psalmist's words, he was getting a little impatient with God. And the way this version writes it, it sounds like the demands of our children on a long trip. "When do we get there? This is taking too long! There's nothing to see but the back of your head!"
Waiting is difficult. Waiting on God is a matter of faith. We realize that God's watch doesn't run as fast or as slow as ours. God's time is what matters. And the sooner we accept that the better our coping skills will be. I believe God allowed David to write his feelings as a way to teach us and others, that prayer is powerful and effective (as James says) but all in God's time, not ours. Even as we face an enemy we deem "arrogant" who looks "down their noses" at us; God has the last word. David also shares a key for us; keep your eyes on God and not on your challenge or problem. Look into the face of He who gives life, not the things that can take it away. Know that the smiling face of love belongs to God and as we walk towards Him, we will be close enough to embrace us and reassure us. Celebration follows surrender.
PRAYER: Loving Father, grant to us Your peace, and may that peace mark the pace by which we are to wait and/or walk with You. Shine Your light into those dark spots that seem to lack light; and may Your answer be the answer we need. This we pray in Christ Jesus' powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the watch by which people measure their prayers.
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
Hear Here the newest episode of my podcast as we study Chapter 15 of Paul's letter to the Romans: https://soundcloud.com/evalverde/accepting-of-others-just-like-christ
