A Quick Thought on Psalm 40:17

       

       

         "As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me."
|Psalm 40:17|

 I cried when I read this verse. In fact, when I went to read the whole of Psalm 40 during a family devotion, I cried the whole time. If you know me, you'd probably be surprised, since it is not often that something can bring me to be so emotional. 

 When I read this verse, every sin I'd ever committed (or at least the overwhelming consciousness of them) flashed through my head. I was reminded of who I was as a sinner. So filthy and undeserving of any kind of love. All that I have been commanded to do, I daily break. Jesus took my place- my punishment- at the cross, and I say I am grateful,yet I daily spit in his face. 

 I am nothing. I have done nothing to earn Christ's favor. I am poor and needy. Why should He care for me?

 So, I wept for my sins. 

 But, (and oh, what a glorious but!) then I read the rest of the verse. "but the Lord takes thought for me." I read it again. The Lord takes thought for me?? Every day I disobey what God has commanded me. Every day, like a wayward sheep I stray from the path. But, like the good shepherd that he is, he patiently searches me out and carries me back to Himself. So softly, so tenderly he leads me back to the fold. Sometimes I come back kicking and screaming, but still, he gently corrects His child- poor and needy as I am. 

 So, I wept because Jesus takes thought for me.

The Glorious Maker of the entire universe thinks of me and takes time to have a relationship with me. How can it be? 

Praise God.

-jh♥

A Letter to the Single Ladies {The Condensed Version}

I always have quite a bit of trouble starting out these blog posts. When it comes down to it, I always want to jump right into my point and can't think of a clever way to get there. So, please, have mercy;)

Dear Single Ladies,
Actually- scratch that. I think that this letter has something in it for young women who are in relationships as well.
 As women, many of us like the idea of being in a relationship {I'll try not to over-generalize here}. We strive to be loved. We want to have someone to spend our future with. This desire is natural; God has put it in our nature to have the desire to be married and to be fruitful and multiply {Genesis 1:28, Ephesians 5:31}. Many young Christian women will spend a good bit of time praying fervently for God to bring them a partner. All this is natural.
 But, there are times when some of us become a little too "over-eager" and want to jump on any potential relationship that comes our way. And, in consequence, we settle. As a young lady myself, I know that each of us {or at least the great majority} have a set of standards; for instance, maybe our future partner's personality, beliefs, relationship with God, or appearance. I know you've heard this a thousand times, but I'm going to tell you again: Don't settle!
 Now, this is not to say that if a great guy comes your way but doesn't have the right color hair or physical appearance you should reject him. What I mean by this, is that if a guy meets all your expectations, but {for instance} is somewhat weak in his relationship with God, this is where things can go wrong. So often, we forget that God's hand is in everything. And by everything, that means relationships, too {Ecclesiastes 9:1}. Sometimes, we pray and pray and pray for seemingly so long and we just don't seem to get the results we want. But, be encouraged by this:

When you ask God for something, He will either give it to you, or bring you something better. 

 If there is someone you have your eye on now or are even already in a relationship with and he does not fit to God's standards {or all yours}, then please consider this. The Bible tells us to be equally yoked with a partner {1 Corinthians 6:14}. Ignoring this command and compromising your standards on a partner can lead to so much heartbreak.
 So, if you have been struggling with singleness or even struggling with compromise in a relationship, I want to encourage you to take a step back and not to come back to the situation until you are ready to follow God's standards and let Him guide the way for you. Because we are finite, we cannot always comprehend what God is doing in our lives. In the present, something {or someone, in this case} may seem so good to us that we can not pass it up. But, if choosing this person means compromising, we must pass it up. The Bible says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."{Proverbs 3:6} So if you follow God's commands and are content to go where ever he leads you, He will put the right people in your path at the right time.

 Remember, Good things come to those who wait;)

-jh♥