Contentment

Today's Promise comes from Jesus Listens Note-Taking Edition by Sarah Young
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I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  

Philippians 4:12

Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. 

Psalm 62:8

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night. 

Psalm 92:1–2 NKJV

Help us to learn the secret of being content in any and every situation. We realize that contentment-training is a challenging process — learned through enduring a wide range of difficulties. We thought we were fairly advanced in this training, but then the circumstances of  life got harder. On some days we're able to cope fairly well with all the stress. On other days we just want out! Please teach us how to handle the “other days.”

We are so grateful that we can pour out our heart to You — acknowledging how frustrated and upset we might feel. Just releasing those pent-up feelings in Your Presence does us a world of good. Knowing that You completely understand us and our circumstances encourages us even more.

Lord, 

         Please deepen our awareness of Your continual Presence. We know we need to stay in communication with You — talking with You, bathing our minds and hearts in scriptures that speak to our situations. And singing praises to You lifts our spirit like nothing else! It is good to sing praises to Your Name — declaring Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness every night. In Your loving Name, Jesus, Amen

There is Hope

Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 96:2-4 NKJV

Part of my day job is to assist with business continuity during incidents and events that are outside our normal scope of business. It involves keeping up with the press conferences, coverage and latest updates. It's nipping rumors so they don't get filtered down as truth and ensuring that someone's friend's mother's cousin's hearsay isn't distributed as gospel. In so doing, one takes in a lot of tough news. And right now, we're in a place we've never been before so it's incumbent on us as Christians to speak faith not fear. Peace not panic. To reach out with hope, not wreak havoc.

Psalm 16 tells us that the Lord is always with us and in His presence, there is the fullness of joy. How do we get into the presence of God? Psalm 100:2 tells us - come into His presence with singing. So tonight, I encourage you to do exactly that. Come into His presence with singing. I'm not talking about listening your way in - I'm talking about singing - opening your mouth and singing your way into His presence. God doesn't care if you can carry a tune - He said to make a joyful noise...

And there are so many streaming music apps. When I'm at the computer, YouTube is my choice. I have created so many playlists and mixes of songs old and new that I can sing along with that I can get lost for hours. Here are just a very few lines of lyrics excerpted from some of my favorites.

Through good and bad, we've learned to trust that You are loving, wise and just... 

All my life You have been faithful. All my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God...

This troubled world is not my final home. But until then, my heart will go on singing... 

We'll all stand together and declare Jesus is Lord! When the Reason that I'm standing stands in front of me; when every battle that I've fought will fade from memory, I'll bow before His mighty throne and fall down on my knees... 

Over and over, again and again, God is faithful. Over and over, again and again, Through it all, He's made me able to stand and survive, to come through alive when it sure looked like I couldn't win...

I promise you the world looks different when you're viewing it from within the presence of God. There is hope and so much more. See for yourself.

Prayer:

Father,
           Thank You for allowing us to come into Your throne room. Thank You for Your peace that far surpasses anything the world has to offer. Thank You that Your promises are true and that You are a Promise Keeper, our Waymaker, Miracle Worker, our Light in the darkness. We pray for our world, Father, that You would stem the tide of this coronavirus, for Your Name is above everything that is named, including CoVID-19. We pray for wisdom, healing and protection. In Jesus' Name, Amen