Encouragement for Today
Principle 1
“The 911 Plan”
Sharon Glasgow, Proverbs 31 Speaker
Key Verse:
Psalm 57: 1-2 “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed.” (NKJ)
Devotion:
I hung up the phone hurt - devastated - by the things the person on the other end said. Everything had been fine before the call and now suddenly my every thought threatened to drown me with despair. I couldn’t do anything – clean, cook, paperwork, or even talk. I was paralyzed by fear.
Desperately, I slung my Bible open. I looked in the back of it where the concordance is for references on peace. I found them, read them aloud, and repeated them with urgency. I prayedfor God’s power to refresh me through His Word. It was utterly amazing, it always is. He did refresh me in His supernatural way. My circumstances hadn’t change and no earthly person had given me counsel. The difference was that the King of the Universe had ministered to me through the power of His Word!
I started to cry, but not tears of despair. I was crying tears of amazement that God could take such a desperate moment and give me such peace. I remembered Jeremiah in the Bible and how he felt despair to such a level that he wished that he was never born.
In the middle of his despairing thoughts, he found God’s words and the Word brought joy to Jeremiah’s heart. Wow, what power we have access to!
I held God’s Word close to my chest that day and squeezed it into my soul. I dropped to the floor and praised God for what He had done for me through the power of His Word. May I never forget to testify the comfort He has given me in my afflictions through the power of His Word.
The next time you have a 911 emotional emergency, you’ll know where to go for the rescue.
My Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us a living book, Your Word, to strengthen us, to direct us, to deliver us and to rescue us from despair. May You be exalted by the way we live, the words we speak and the testimony of our character. You are worthy of all praise and honor! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application Steps:
Go to your local Christian bookstore and find a Bible with plenty of margin space on the sides of the page so you can write notes and prayers there.
Start reading the Bible for your source of hope. Write your thoughts in the side bars of the pages. Highlight God’s promises of hope and write them on index cards for easy access in turbulent times. God’s Word promises to be the lamp unto your feet and the light on your path.
Depend on this book like it is your oxygen and you will live as you have never lived before.
Reflection Points:
Are you exhausted because your life has been so hard lately?
What is the first thing you think to do when life hits its lowest points?
Redirect your path of seeking help to the right source.
Power Verses:
Hebrews
Jeremiah 15:16 “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” (NKJ)
Psalm 119: 103 “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (NKJ)
Psalm 119: 107 “I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.” (NKJ)
Additional Resources:
Intimate Moments With God, selected authors
Getting Over the Blues by Leslie Vernick
What Does the Bible Encourage Us to Think About?, ETC Corner