One of my favorite passages since childhood:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember God in everything you do.  And, He will give you success.  Proverbs 3:5-6

I am a very independent person, more comfortable when in complete control of my world.  As a consequence, my life has frequently run ‘off the rails’ and required rescue.  Some of my prayers were selfish, relentlessly knocking on heaven’s door, until I got what I wanted!  The results were decidedly not good.  Thankfully, those God loves, he chastens and receives back with grace.

There have been some ‘Aha, AWESOME!’ rescues that were so fast and impossible that they were almost frightening.  These were answers to specific and urgent prayers and will never be forgotten. 

However, looking back over my life, I see so many rescues from the smaller bumps in the road that show me in an even more powerful way that God is always present and capable of caring for me in the good times as well as the bad – and some were very bad.  I see circumstances and people who came into my life at just the right time to teach a lesson, guide me to the right way, or just give me comfort when it was needed.   I know these were truly blessings. 

Now I can pray specifically or generally, ‘Thy will be done’, and thank Him; knowing the answer will be better than my own understanding and timed just right.   And, knowing this life is just a transition, I can have peace to accept what comes.  

Readings:
Proverbs 3
Philippians 4

—Barbara Jochimsen

Light: The candle of LOVE

Read: God to the rescue, JSB p. 84 (Exodus 3-13)


Ask: Describe a time when you needed rescued. How did you feel? How did it feel once you were rescued?

Pray: Thank God for the greatest rescue – Jesus dying on the cross. Ask God to rescue the children on Lake Volta in Ghana from slavery.

Jesse Tree Ornament: Burning Bush

Act: Give up coffee or ice cream or something you buy every week, and give that money to Meadowbrook’s Christmas Project instead.