Gayla

He absolutely does know everything about us.

He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. Isaiah 49:10

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20

It is very hard to trust someone we don't know, yet that is the secret of learning to trust God. When someone says, "Trust me," we have one of two reactions. Either we can say, "Yes, I'll trust you blindly," or we can say, "Why should I?" In God's case, trusting Him will naturally follow when we understand why we should. And understanding why we should comes from knowing Him, learning about Him by praying to Him and reading our Bibles which will give us great insight to Him and what He has and continues to do for us. God is worthy of our trust. Unlike men, He never lies and never fails to fulfill His promises. "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 89:34). Unlike men, He has the power to bring to pass what He plans and purposes to do. Isaiah 14:24 tells us, "The LORD Almighty has sworn, 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.'" His plans are perfect, holy, and righteous, and He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His holy purpose (Romans 8:28). If we endeavor to know God through His Word, we will see that He is worthy of our trust, and our trust in Him will grow daily. To know Him is to trust Him. He has proven Himself to be trustworthy in our lives and the lives of others. In 1 Kings 8:56 we read, "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave through his servant Moses." The record of God's promises is in His Word for all to see, as is the record of their fulfillment. Historical documents verify those events and speak of God's faithfulness to His people. Every Christian can give personal testimony to God's trustworthiness as we see His work in our lives, fulfilling His promises to save our souls and use us for His purposes (Ephesians 2:8-10) and comfort us with the peace that passes all understanding as we run the race He has planned out for us (Philippians 4:6-7; Hebrews 12:1). The more we experience His grace, faithfulness, and goodness, the more we trust Him (Psalm 100:5; Isaiah 25:1). Another reason to trust God is that we really have no sensible alternative. Should we trust in ourselves or in others who are sinful, unpredictable, unreliable, have limited wisdom, and who frequently make bad choices and decisions swayed by emotion? Or do we trust in the all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, gracious, merciful, loving God who has good intentions for us? The choice should be obvious, but we fail to trust God because we don't know Him or because we cannot see Him physically. It is difficult sometimes to trust in someone who is essentially a stranger to us, but that is easily remedied. God has not made Himself difficult to find or know. All we need to know about God, He has graciously made available to us in the Bible, His holy Word to His people. To know God is to trust Him. Start a daily routine with Him today so that you can learn to trust Him by personally getting to know Him.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalms 23:1 - 3

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1a

No parent is perfect all of the time. None can be available all the time — physically or emotionally. From time to time, parents will mess up and make mistakes, sometimes fatal mistakes. Maybe that’s your story, though hopefully not. But here’s something that is each of our stories. We all have a daddy who loves us. That is God the Father. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you … your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven … ’” (Matthew 6:6,8b-9a). In Galatians 4:6, Paul wrote: “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.” The God of the universe who created the heavens and the earth, who always has been and always will be, who’s all knowing, all powerful, and present everywhere at once — that same God invites you to call Him Abba Father. He said, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters …” (2 Corinthians 6:18a). No matter what kind of father you had as a child or even as an adult, here’s one thing I want you to remember: You have a heavenly Father who loves and adores you. You’re the apple of your Daddy’s eye. (Psalm 17:8) Heavenly Father, oh how I love You. Thank You for adopting me into Your family and making me Your child. Thank You for being my heavenly parent who loves me no matter what, cares for me so greatly and provides for all my needs. I’m so blessed to be Your child. And I give you all the glory and honor.

At times, do you ever feel like you are unable to communicate and even express what is on your heart when I pray? Yet you are so heavy with burden and do not know which way to turn? I believe that many of us struggle sometimes with prayer. But the apostle Paul wrote, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27) The Holy Spirit will clearly communicate our thoughts and desires in harmony with the Father’s purposes even when we are unable to do so and this is what will make prayer work! In chapter 8 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he uses the word groan or groaning three times (vv. 22-23, 26). But, each sigh comes with hope: All creation groans like a mother in labor (v. 22). With a taste (“firstfruit”) of Christ’s Spirit, we groan in anticipation of a better day (vv. 23-25; see also Galatians 5:22-23). And as we groan, the Spirit of God groans with us and for us (Romans 8:26-27)—understanding far better than we do that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of Your Spirit and the privilege of prayer that we have with You. Help me to lean on Your Spirit in moments when I don’t even know how to pray.

All the time....He is so good...

Yes I so agree. Thank you for your kind words. God is so good to us.

Isaiah 25:1-9 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong people will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all people, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all people, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say, Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Scriptures, along with our experiences, shows us that a shroud of ignorance and evil covers this world, trying to blind all of us to God’s love. Selfishness and greed, our self-sufficiency, our lust for power or image—all these compulsions obscure our vision, making us unable to clearly see the God who “In perfect faithfulness does wonderful things”. One translation calls this blinding shroud a “Cloud of gloom”. If we are left to ourselves, we experience only darkness, confusion, and despair. We often feel trapped—stumbling, unable to see our way forward. But, Isaiah promises that God will ultimately “Destroy the shroud" that enfolds all people. One of our realities of life in a broken world is that death, shame, and grief dominate our experiences. However, Isaiah’s prophecy responds to these destructive concerns with the promise that God “Will swallow up death forever” and wipe away every one of our tears. This promise is also noted in the Bible’s last book, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). God will not leave us hopeless. His merciful love that He has for us removes whatever blinds us, leaving us with a beautiful vision of a good life and abundant and amazing Grace!

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Studies show that a "gratitude attitude" can actually benefit your body and your mind. Grateful people are happier and healthier, and fewer of them get depressed or discouraged. These studies confirm what God has been telling us all along. A cheerful heart is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22). So Cheer up! No matter what you may be going through, there is always just one thing that you can remind yourself of that God has done for you or sheltered you from. Praising Him through the tough times is when we are building our true character and demonstrating to God that we are in this for the long run. Philippians 4:6-8 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.