Ordained Days

Here's a devotional I wrote for the book, "Grace Moments" (to be released next year) that is relevant to myself and I'm sure many others today:

Ordained Days

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
                            PSALM 139:16

    The details of your circumstances don’t just happen by chance. Before you were born, your Heavenly Father was already intimately acquainted with you. He planned the days of your life before you breathed your first breath. Nothing that happens in your life catches the One who loves you most off guard. He sees what is going on now and He has already orchestrated those events to work together for good in your life.
    To recognize the divinely ordered structure of your lifetime can enable you to avoid needless anxiety over the temporary trials and frustrations that you encounter. As you face trying moments, reaffirm the truth to yourself that everything is under control. Even when things aren’t under your control, remember that they are all under His control.
    To worry is to imagine a future without God in it. It is to act as if you are an orphan with nobody to care for you. Reject such lies. There is Somebody who cares for you and He will see you through the tough times. In fact, He already has the solution worked out. You only need to walk through it by faith.

Endless Kindness

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

                                                                                    Lamentations 3:22-23

            Sometimes the circumstances of life seem to wear us out physically, emotionally and mentally. In those moments it becomes easy to develop a victim mentality. We begin to think that every day is a dead-end repeat of the day before and it seems like we’re on a treadmill where there is little hope for change.

            The promise above from Lamentations is an oasis of hope on days like that. The Bible promises here that our Lord’s lovingkindnesses never cease. God never runs out of goodness when it comes to you! His compassion toward you will never be empty! Regardless of how you may feel, your God is never, never, never going to stop renewing you with His strength and goodness.

            Every day of your life you will find your faithful God is there to uphold you and carry you through whatever you may face. In Jesus Christ, you are not a victim. You are a victor! Rise up and face the circumstances of your life in the assurance that God will work in them to accomplish something good. Trust in His faithfulness and bet your life on His goodness. You have a divine guarantee that you will not be disappointed in the end.