GOD AS OUR COMPASS

GOD AS OUR COMPASS

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Embracing God

My mother early in her adult life latched onto these verses, proclaiming them as her mainstay for living. Mom was a talker, sharing things on her mind repeatedly to anyone in hearing distance. Doing so helped her keep focused on what she considered important.

Her roommate, later her husband, then I as her offspring: the three of us all got the same message. Mom didn’t know what lay ahead in her life, but whatever the future held, God could handle it.

Her job was first, to embrace God wholly. Second, she should grab hold of everything she could learn from God by reading and digesting truths in the Bible. Third, she developed the habit of letting God take the lead in every decision she made.

She grasped that whatever God directed her to do, He would also enable her to do. She became an instrument in God’s hand.

Discerning God’s Voice

As we face a new year may we place our lives in God’s hand anew, recognizing He will always be wiser and more practical than we are. His storehouse of supplies will always be sufficient for our needs. God’s directions He gives us are specific for the need we have. Our job is to make sure we discern His voice.

Our quiet time with God sets the tone for the day, helping us start off right. Yet our daily walk with God is not confined to a devotional we have with Him at a particular point in time each day.

When things go awry during the day, we can view those times through God-colored glasses. Looking at the ups and downs of life through the lens of God’s Word helps us remain stable in the best and worst of times.

Finding God’s Compass

When something unpleasant happened at our house when I was growing up, my mom would get a far-off look in her eyes. It changed her facial expression from despair or dismay to determined. I grew to understand over the years this meant she was using her compass. Looking as it were into heaven, she refused to sweat the small stuff. Her goal was arriving safely when it was her turn to go home to heaven.

This year may we choose carefully our method of re-aligning ourselves when upsetting words are spoken or tragedy occurs.

Is God’s Word your compass?

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God of all my Days  Casting Crowns

Shirley Logsdon

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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