ApprehendingGrace.com

⁶So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. ⁷He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. ⁸He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:6-8 (NLT)

⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:6-8 (NIV)

Can there be any other response to being blessed and chosen? We praise God! When our focus is on the spiritual blessings He has given us, on our status as adopted children of God, and on the God who bestows those blessings and makes the adoption possible, praising comes much more easily than when our focus is on bills and work challenges and health issues and relationship struggles. “So we praise God for the wonderful kindness He has poured out on us” – “to the praise of His glorious grace!”

To God be the glory, great things He has done.
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the life gate that all may go in!
“To God be the Glory” written by Fanny Crosby

God’s Son gave His life so that we might be forgiven – no more guilt and shame – instead, “He has showered His kindness on us” and “lavished” His grace upon us. Oh, and He threw in “all wisdom and understanding” as well. What a God!

As I’ve thought about this passage, what I noticed is that Paul’s praise is so specific. He’s not just saying “Praise the Lord!” He’s saying “Praise the Lord because…” or “Praise the Lord for…” I find that I sometimes get lazy in my praise and default to “Praise the Lord!” He is so much more honored when I am specific. I’m not saying it’s wrong to simply praise Him – it’s what the shout “Hallelujah!” does. But I am saying that it’s important to add times when we praise Him specifically.

Sometimes my husband will look at me and say “I love you!” That’s a really good thing. But when he says “I love the way you smile at me” or “I love you for making our house ‘home’” or “I love you for being such a hard worker to build our company” – that’s even more special – not because I am earning his love, but because it says that he actually notices the things I do and he appreciates them.

It’s important to praise God in such a way that He knows we actually notice what He’s done and we appreciate it. If we never do this, our praise quickly becomes hollow – words with no depth to them.

What has God been doing in your life that has gone unnoticed? What has He lavished upon you that has gone without praise? Praise Him!

This morning as I looked at our Resting at the River’s Edge reading schedule for December, it finally hit me…2009 is almost over! Last year the Thanksgiving and Christmas season came in with a quiet, holy anticipation. I so enjoyed it. Yes, the season got busy, but because it had been ushered in so majestically (not by me, by the Lord working in my heart) the entire season had a holiness or a Christ-filled sense about it. I’ve been waiting for that holy anticipation this year. It hasn’t happened (yet).

So as I pondered over our reading schedule for the remainder of 2009 (I’ll post it later this week), it finally hit me – the year is coming to a close. The wonder of Christmas hasn’t hit me yet, but the end of the year seems imminent. What a year it has been! Perhaps this pondering is especially appropriate for this Thanksgiving week. I hope you’ll indulge me as I look back at 2009.

To start, I thought I’d go to my pre-2009 blog. I didn’t remember what I had written, so I went looking and found a blog titled Trusting God in 2009. Without meaning to brag, I have to say that I was so blessed by reading the blog. Not because it was well written or incredibly insightful, but because God used it to allow me to see:

• that what I had written was God working in me to prepare me for the year to come; and
• that God had enabled me to live out the blog.

The blog was an encouragement for all of us to put our trust in God, not in ourselves or the economy or anything else on this earth, and it ended with Psalm 20, in which David prays for God to meet us in our times of need and to give us the desires of our hearts.

As I read the blog, I was reminded about the times in 2009 when I was enabled to trust God:

• When my husband had a major heart attack in February, I was able to trust God for Phil’s life and health. I am continually thankful that I am not a widow. And I am incredibly thankful that God enabled me to trust Him throughout the process.
• When we had little or no income throughout the year, I was able to trust God for His provision and over our finances. Our business has been exceedingly slow this year and Phil missed quite a bit of work with his heart attack. Yet God has somehow made it possible for us to pay our bills. He has a way of stretching money when there is no money to stretch! And He has enabled me to know that He will provide and I truly haven’t worried about the issue.
• When all the smaller things in life happened throughout the year – you know, all those little issues that work their way in between major challenges – God has been so very faithful and has enabled me to trust Him. Not perfectly all the time, but when looking back over the year, I can give thanks for seeing Him strengthen my faith! He has set my feet upon a rock and I have not been moved. What a great God we serve!

I was also reminded of God’s great goodness to me. He has given me a desire of my heart this year when He enabled me to complete my Master’s degree and be ordained.

Life is busy for me right now, and I’m guessing it’s busy for you. May I encourage you to take time and remember where you were last year at this time and all that God has done for you in the past year? It’s a great way to prepare for Thanksgiving.

As I shared with Phil God’s goodness in preparing me for 2009 by urging me to trust Him, I had tears running down my face.  I was rejoicing at God’s goodness when I said “and I was able to do that! Undoubtedly one of the most difficult years of my life, and as we near the end, I can say ‘I trusted God in 2009!”

Phil looked at me and said “Let’s do it again in 2010!” (I love having a husband who always challenges me to grow in ways that God wants me to grow!)

Will you join us? I know it’s an early invitation, but let’s agree today to trust God in 2010! He’s shown Himself faithful and trustworthy and good. As for me and my house, we’re going to trust the Lord. We hope you’ll join us!

Every so often my perspective gets out of whack. I begin to forget how blessed I am. Maybe a better way to put it is that I have a hard time remembering that I am blessed, or why or how I’m blessed. You know those times. Life pushes in hard, and you really want to stand firm and you want to continue in the joy of the Lord, but you just can’t seem to remember how you are blessed. You know that God’s Word says you’re blessed and you have set your mind to believe it, but there’s just too much junk in front of your eyes to see the blessings.

Let me take you to a simple verse: 

Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him.
          Romans 4:8

Hallelujah! No matter how bad your day is going, if you have asked God to forgive you and trust in Christ as your Savior, your sins are forgiven and the Lord will never count them against you. We deserve God’s wrath, but instead, He chooses to give us His love. What a phenomenal exchange!

I am blessed. And during those times when I can’t think of any other reason that I might say I’m blessed, this one is overwhelmingly enough.

A Christian who walks by faith accepts all circumstances from God. He thanks God when everything goes good, when everything goes bad, and for the “blues” somewhere in-between. He thanks God whether he feels like it or not.
          Erwin Lutzer

Psalm 136 reviews Israel’s history and recognizes at the end of each sentence “His faithful love endures forever.” Verses 1 through 7, 10, 13, 16, 17, and 26 all begin with the phrase “Give thanks to” followed a name or description of God. So in 26 verses, 12 of them specifically say “give thanks” and all 26 of them remind us that God’s “faithful love endures forever.”

Has the writer made his point? When I look at society around me, and truly when I look at my own attitudes sometimes, I don’t think he has! How sad!

Significant snow has fallen early this year. I was watching a friend go out to his car after the first big snow the other day and he first had to brush snow off the doors before he could open them, then he had to scrape all the snow off his windows before he could drive away. As I watched him (from the cozy warmth of my house), I thought “I bet he’s annoyed about this.” That thought was quickly followed by “He’s going to spend the next five or six months in a cranky mood if he lets himself get annoyed by the snow on his car at the beginning of each day.” And that thought was even more quickly followed by the Lord whispering “so will you.” Yep. I don’t like having to go outside and scrape snow off my car in the morning, especially if I’m dressed for a meeting and not wearing proper “snow” clothes. I like to stay inside in the warmth and look at the beautiful snow outside!

‘Tis the season for crankiness, it would seem. As if the weather turning cold and snowy isn’t enough, it’s also the season for too many cars in the store parking lots, too many people pushing overflowing shopping carts in the stores, and too many people to have to wait in line behind at the check-out counter.

God has been speaking to me gently about attitude lately. The truth is He probably needs to be hitting me on the side of the head with a frying pan about my attitude because it hasn’t been very good lately. But He’s been dealing with me gently about it. (And for that I’m thankful.)

His faithful love endures forever…despite my tendency to focus on the negative sometimes.
His faithful love endures forever…despite the wrong choices I make.
His faithful love endures forever…despite…all that is my life that is not what it should be.

I am convinced that the change in attitude that I need, is one of increased thankfulness. And in order to increase my thankfulness, I must change my focus. That’s the example set by Psalm 136. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! He created all that has been created. And He did it really well! Give thanks to the Lord for He has repeatedly rescued us – even though we didn’t deserve to be rescued! Give thanks to the Lord for He provides for ALL my needs! Give thanks to the Lord because He is not like me…He is not prone to crankiness when He has to practice patience. (If He was, He would surely be cranky all the time because He shows incredible patience with me.)

For God so loved the world…He didn’t complain bitterly about it. For God so loved the world…He didn’t scold us or beat us up. For God so loved the world…that He loved us more! He loved us in a way that cost Him a great deal and in a way that we could identify with. He sent His son to make up for the difference between our behavior and attitudes and God’s standard of perfect righteousness.

‘Tis the season to set aside ourselves and to focus on the God whose faithful love endures forever. From eternity past when He created the world through eternity future when those who trust Him will live with Him forever. I hope you’re one of those people! Watch for my next blog series about what it means to be a Christian – what it means to trust God.

In the meantime, be thankful! Because God’s faithful love endures forever!

And have a blessed Thanksgiving day.

In 2 Samuel 22, David sings a long song of praise to God. As I read it, I couldn’t help but think about David’s life.

David’s Life
As a young boy, David was anointed to be the king of Israel…then sent back to tend his father’s sheep. The youngest of many sons, as he grew older, he was treated as the annoying little brother.  After killing Goliath, he had three different responsibilities that seem a strange mix of talents: He became a warrior for King Saul, he tended to his father’s sheep, and he was taken into King Saul’s court to play the harp for him when Saul was anxious. During this time, he seemed to shuttle back and forth between the responsibilities. That seems like a pretty strange life to me: One day playing for the king, the next day tending sheep. It would have been easy for him to begin to resent the trips back and forth or the difference between sleeping in the king’s palace and sleeping near the sheep.

During that time, David developed a deep friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime friendships. But the friendship was torn from him when Saul became irrationally enraged at David and sought to kill him. Saul’s anger sent David on the run for many years, and he sometimes came within minutes of losing his life.

Eventually Saul died and David became king. There were some good years, but even the good years were filled with fighting wars. War is not pretty and it’s not good.

There was the dalliance with Bathsheba, and the death of David’s son as a result of it. David knew it was because of his sin that his son died. What a heavy burden to carry.

David had many sons and daughters. Tamar was one of his beautiful young daughters; she had an equally good looking brother Absalom. Life was good…until Tamar was raped by a half-brother, Amnon. Absalom killed Amnon then fled to live in exile. On that day, he lost two sons.

Eventually Absalom becomes bitter toward his father, David, and sought to kill him. David was again on the run for his life.

Eventually, Absalom was killed by David’s men, and David mourned the loss of another child.

Absalom’s death restored David to the throne of Israel, which carried with it the responsibility to fight more wars to protect the country. At one point, Scripture describes David as “weak and exhausted,” cornered by his enemy and about to be killed (2 Samuel 21:15-16). One of his soldiers came to his rescue.

David’s one desire was to build a temple for the Lord. The Lord said “thanks, but no thanks.” David was a man of war and the Lord would not give him permission to build the temple. He gave him permission to gather all the supplies so that his son, Solomon, could build the temple. While I imagine it would have been a blessing to know that his son would be able to build the temple, I can’t help but imagine that there was a bittersweetness to it because it was something David so longed to do.

Eventually David died and was buried.

David’s Song
My point in reiterating all of this is to say that this mighty man of God lived a pretty crappy life, by my standards. He was unappreciated by his family, his best friend was ripped from him by a crazy father and king. He spent years on the run because that king was to kill him, then years later he spent more time on the run because his own son was trying to kill him. (He’d done nothing to provoke the anger of either.) His son died and the responsibility for that death was laid at David’s feet. His daughter was raped, and two more sons were killed because of it. David’s burning desire was to build a temple for God and God only allowed him to collect supplies. Even during the good times, his life was full of the horrors of war and the separation from his family.

And yet, 2 Samuel 22 (as well as many of the Psalms) records David’s song of praise to the God.

The Source of David’s Song
As I reflected on David’s life and his reaction to it, I realized that it is not an easy life that puts a song of praise in our mouth. It is not money and the adulation of others. It is not being rich in family and friends. It is not even fulfilling the purpose for which God has created us. Those things might bring a measure of happiness, a measure of ease of living, but it is not from those things that our song of praise truly resonates. It is from the nearness of God in the midst of trial that our faith is built and our love for a Savior is forged.

In chapter 22 of 2 Samuel, David’s song of praise rings out. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my savior,” he sings. David knew God as the One who is faithful, strong and able to save. Had he not experienced the wars in his life, he would not have truly known God ability to rescue the one who needs to be rescued. David described his need for God’s help: “The waves of death surrounded me; the floods of destruction swept over me…But in my distress I cried out to the Lord…He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry reached His ears.”

David knew that God heard his cry, and he then described God’s powerful response in the eleven verses that follow. His description illustrates a God that moved heaven and earth to rescue His servant. He sang of the quaking of the earth and the thundering of the Lord from heaven, and in verses 16 and 17 he summarized what happened: “Then at the command of the Lord…He reached down from heaven and rescued me.”

The lyrics of David’s song are strong and forceful and they leave no doubt that David had been in the dire straits and that God had delivered him. In fact, he concluded that portion of the song with verse 19: “They attacked me at a moment when I was weakest, but the Lord upheld me.”

David finished his song with 31 additional verses proclaiming God’s goodness, faithfulness, strength, and love. “The Lord lives!” David sang out. “Blessed by my rock! May God, the rock of my salvation, be exalted!…O Lord, I will praise You among the nations; I will sing joyfully to Your name.”

It is a powerful song written under the influence of the Holy Spirit to extol the power of a living, active God. (Click here to read the entire song.)

Let me reiterate, it was not the goodness of the Lord in good times that David sang about. It was God’s goodness when David was at his weakest.

My Secret
Want to know one of my dirty-little-secrets? Come close. Here it is: I’d like to have a cushy life. I’d like to not have to worry about having too many things to do or not enough money to pay the bills or the pain in my left knee. I’d like things to be easy. And sometimes I get frustrated and tired when they’re not.

Stories like David’s, a man described by God as “a man after my own heart,” remind me that my desires are still so unholy, so unsanctified, so untransformed. The word “holy” really means “set apart” or “totally other than.” To have a faith and love like David had, in the midst of the life David lived, would be “totally other than” anyone else I know.

I’ve taken some punches in the past few years. I bet you have, too. I have a book title in my head, but I know that I haven’t turned the corner enough to be able to write the book. The title is Dancing with a Broken Wing. It’s about dancing with joy out of a background of pain. David was a dancer.

David’s Secret
David’s secret, is that his focus was on the Lord, not on his trials. Read the song. Yes, he tells what dire trouble he was in, but it’s a necessary part of the story. Look at the number of verses given to the trouble compared to the number of verses gloriously given to the power of God. David’s focus is on the awesome power, faithfulness and goodness of His God. And it is that focus that enables Him to sing a song of praise instead of a lament of the troubles of life.

The words of David in Psalm 16 confirm that David’s joy came from focusing on the Lord instead of his own situation:

⁸      I have set the LORD always before me.
       Because he is at my right hand,
       I will not be shaken. 
⁹      Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
       my body also will rest secure, 
¹⁰    because you will not abandon me to the grave,
       nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 
¹¹    You have made known to me the path of life;
       you will fill me with joy in your presence,
       with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

David’s joy came from his confidence in a God who held David firmly in His hand and who transcended time and space to enjoy being “present” with David during David’s life and through eternity.

Did you catch all three of those things? Let me reiterate them in the first person:

1. God holds me firmly in His hand – I need not be shaken!
2. God transcends time and space to come down to my level so that I can enjoy His presence – and what unspeakable joy those encounters bring!
3. God transcends time and space to take me to His presence after my life on this earth is over – eternal pleasures!

It’s a word I use in almost every blog, but I have to say it again – Wow! My problems, no matter how big or small, truly are insignificant when I fix these three thoughts in my mind. God is so very good! Why would I want to focus on the problems of this life when I’ve got such a great God?

As you read through both the Old Testament and the New Testament, you will find the writers repeatedly reminding their readers about what God has done for them. For example, I recently read through the book of Joshua.In chapters 23 and 24 he gives his final exhortation to the people and farewell address. It’s a long narrative, reminding the Israelites first of their history with God (chapter 23) and then of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites since the time of Abraham (chapter 24). At the conclusion of this long reminder, Joshua challenges the people for a commitment to “honor the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly.” (24:14) They agree. He ends the discussion with a visual aid: “As a reminder of their agreement, he [Joshua] took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the oak tree beside the Tabernacle of the LORD.” (24:25b)

Do you purposefully remind yourself of the things the Lord has done for you? Do you know enough of your family’s spiritual history that you are able to remind yourself of the things God has done in for your ancestors that has impact on your life? You can use these memories to encourage yourself, as Joshua encouraged the Israelites, and as opportunities to recommit yourself to loving and serving God. Like Joshua, you can create a visual that reminds you of the goodness of God and your commitment to Him.

I find these reminders especially helpful when I am tempted to be discouraged or to sin. I can remember what God has done in the past for me and it encourages me to trust Him with my present and my future. I can remember what He has done in the past and it encourages me to remain faithful to Him.

Let’s get practical – how could you do this? There are lots of ways to approach your “rememberings.”

• Journaling is my favorite – when I am discouraged or otherwise out-of-sorts during my devotions, I often re-read entries from my journal. It’s always surprising to me how much I forget about my life and what I experienced in the past. Re-reading my journal reassures me that God met in those times and He will meet me again.
• If you’re not much of a writer, you can still be a “list maker” – start a “God’s Blessings” list and develop the habit of daily or weekly adding to your list.
• Are you a scrapbooker? Create a spiritual scrapbook. I would love to have a spiritual scrapbook, commemorating all the wonderful things God has done in my life, but it doesn’t work for me. Journaling works for me. Scrapbooking is too much like work for me, so it never happens.
• Create a digital scrapbook – if you’re not into the cut and paste approach, create a digital scrapbook. Scan in photos or other images, add your “God’s Blessing” list to it and a few journal-like entries and you’ve got a wonderful memory aid.
• Collect things that serve as visual reminders of God’s goodness. The Israelites were always collecting and piling up rocks to remind themselves of the things God had done for them. God says in Genesis 9 that He put the rainbow in the sky as a reminder to Himself of His covenant with the Israelites. Wow! Surely God doesn’t need a reminder, but it’s pretty cool that He made one anyway! I have a variety of paintings, knick-knacks, photos and other memorabilia around our house that remind me of God’s faithfulness to me. (I even have the screws & plates from when I shattered my elbow – they remind me of how God healed me well beyond any doctor’s expectation.)
• Create traditions that remind you of God’s goodness. The holidays will be upon us soon. If you don’t already have a “God has been good to us” tradition in your family, start one. Perhaps your conversation around the Thanksgiving table will be about God’s goodness to your family. Perhaps a Christmas Eve family devotional will be extended to include a time of remembrance. (Add some Christmas cookies & milk to make it a celebration!)
• Be purposeful in creating times of remembrance in your family. For example, I own a small business and at least once a year we have a full day prayer meeting that all employees are invited to. The first hour of that day is spent listing the blessings God has shown to our business and employees. Everyone participates as we write the blessings on a large poster-board. Do something like this with your family! Perhaps quarterly or as a part of birthday, anniversary or other life-event celebrations, gather the family together and list all the blessings that God has shown your family.

I have often asked people which characteristic of God means the most to them. Most people will say His love, and I sure can’t argue with that, but the characteristic I value the most is His faithfulness. I know I can always rely on Him. His Word promises it, but even more than that, the history I have with Him demonstrates it.

May I encourage you to do two things?

1. The next time you find yourself spiraling toward discouragement, stop and play the “Do you remember…?” game with the Lord.
2. Begin some personal and family traditions that remember God’s goodness to you and your family. Doing so will create a rich history that I am certain will not only impact you and your family in the present, but also well into the future. I am guessing that most of you didn’t have these kinds of activities in your childhood. Imagine the memories you would have if you had! Make it so for your children. And remember, it’s never too late to start, even if your children are grown and married.

Here’s the last paragraph from my blog on July 5, “Jumping Off the Anxiety Track:”

One other idea…I’ve decided to use the ring of the telephone at work as a reminder to praise God. Often when I’m over-busy, the telephone is a source of stress. That’s wrong thinking. Without the telephone I wouldn’t be able to talk to the clients God sends our way. The telephone is a source of blessing, giving us opportunities to meet our customers’ needs in a way that brings glory to God. Sounds like a good reason and opportunity to praise God. Imagine how different my day will be when I thank God every time the phone rings. I’m looking forward to it!

Wow has that been a good thing! I don’t always remember to do it, but every time I remember, whatever expression was on my face changes to a smile and a degree of peace enters my heart. Why didn’t I start this sooner? My next task is to find a visual reminder that I can put on my telephone that will help me to remember to praise God every time the phone rings.

I thought of the smiley face, of course, but that’s just a bit too cheesy for me to put on my phone. It’s fine in an e-mail, but on my phone? I don’t think so.

My preference would be something ethereal that reminds me of God’s shekinah glory.

There are also benefits from a business perspective. Since I was answering the phone on the first ring, now my clients have to wait 2 rings before I answer – no big deal. But when I answer, I’m more sincerely cheerful and full of positive hope than I was before. The rule in the office has always been to smile before answering the telephone. It changes your voice and communicates across the telephone lines. I’ve found that the true, inner smile that comes from having spent a few seconds praising and thanking God infuses my voice with an even greater degree of confidence, peace and pleasure that customers can sense.

Try it, folks! Praise God, thank Him or just worship Him before you answer every phone call.

Today is the first anniversary of Dad’s death. Because it’s the day after my birthday, it’s a day I can’t just forget.

I praise God that I am doing really well. I am thankful that Dad accepted Christ in his last seconds of life. I am thankful to God for allowing Dad to do so. I am thankful to God for healing. I have experienced so much of it in the past year – both from the grieving of Dad’s death and from other experiences

My first thought this morning was remembering what I had been doing a year ago at that moment (helping to get dad from the table to his bed for the last time). I was immediately thankful that I was there. Thankful that I was able to be a part of his last days and moments. Thankful that I was able to show my love during that time.

My thoughts turned to how it only seemed appropriate to blog today, but I wasn’t sure what I would blog.

I guess all I want to say is “Thank you, Lord!” and to those going through grief — everyone’s healing comes differently, but there is healing!

P.S. At about 3:40pm, I realized that the time of dad’s death had passed without my noticing it. (He died about 3pm.) It was bittersweet. But the sweet outweights the bitter now. Praise God in all things! Because He is worthy and He is GOOD!

I’l bet many of you know Jeremiah 17:7-8. It’s an often quoted passage. I love to read it.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (NIV)

Did you know that it follows Jeremiah 17:5-6? I’m guessing maybe you didn’t. Or at least you don’t know verses 5 and 6 as well as you know verses 7 and 8.

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. (NIV)

This is not the only place in Scripture where God clearly lays out the basis for blessings and curses. I’m so thankful He does that. He doesn’t make me wonder what it takes to gain His approval. And He doesn’t bury His instructions in the middle of complicated discussions I can’t understand. He says simply “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man…But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord…”

Such a simple statement…sometimes so hard to implement. I’m afraid that I put my trust in mere humans more often than I think. I may not consciously turn my heart from the Lord, but there is a subtleness to turning our hearts away from God and toward humans or things humans have made that creeps into my daily life.

When I need to finish a work project before the end of the day am I trusting in my own strength or am I trusting in the Lord? When I have to see a doctor, am I trusting in the doctor or in the Lord? Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not suggesting that I don’t work hard to finish the project or that I don’t see a doctor when I’m sick. But even doing those things, I can have an attitude of trusting God or trusting in man.

What keeps this attitude alive in you from day to day, moment to moment? Here’s 7 ideas. Pick one or two and begin to practice or work on improving in that area:

1. Start every day by greeting the Lord and acknowledging Him as sovereign over all that will happen that day.
2. Train yourself to pray often — when things are going well and when things are falling apart. Quick sentence prayers connect you to God on an ongoing basis.
3. Put things in front of you that will remind you to look to God. That might be a note in your DayTimer or on your bathroom mirror, a screensaver on your computer, or a bracelet around your wrist. Use anything that will remind you to seek God.
4. Learn to see God at work and in nature. Learning to see Him requires looking for him, so train yourself to look for Him by pausing several times to look around and ask God to reveal Himself to you in your surroundings. (Yes, that means pausing from your busy-ness.)
5. Read about spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines. Try any of these books: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. There’s an updated version in modern English. The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg Celebration of Disciplines: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
6. Stop reading and practice what you’re learning!
7. Be grateful. I think grateful goes beyond thankful. It’s easy to be thankful but grateful goes all the way to the heart. The difference in the definition of these two words in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (www.m-w.com/dictionary/) is interesting. Here’s an example:

• thankful: conscious of benefit received
• grateful: appreciative of benefits received b: expressing gratitude
• Additional definitions carry the same theme — thankful is a consciousness of benefits while grateful is an appreciation of benefits. I want to not only be thankful for what God has done, is doing and will do; I want also to be grateful.

I love the illustration God uses earlier in Jeremiah: “As a belt clings to a person’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me,” says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 13:11a, NLT).

Lord, we were created to cling to You. Help me to cling to You every minute of every day!

Let me know if there are things you’d add to my list of 7. Which of the 7 is easiest for you? Which is most difficult?