Sweet Reminders
God is……
Therefore…..
Over the weekend, I had the privilege of going on this season’s first camping trip. I’ve always had a Bible bag that stays in the camper, so I can have my mornings with God no matter where I am. The bag is filled with pens, highlighters, memory cards, notebooks, and of course a bible. I love Bibles and have several translations and sizes. A small thinline version goes on every vacation with me because it’s lighter and fits in my carry-on bag easily. My large study bible is at home, where I have plenty of space to spread out and dig in. It’s been a couple of years since we had a camper, so when I opened the storage containers and unpacked them to fill the new camper, my Bible bag was a fun treasure to find.
On Sunday morning, when I had quiet time with just God, myself, and nature, I began to look through the Bible that was in the bag. It was my first Life Application Study Bible that I bought when I became a believer, 28 years ago. I began reading the verses that were highlighted, as well as the prayers written in the margins. At that time, there weren’t many highlighted verses, but each one took me back to memories and moments that shaped my life as I began to learn what being a follower of Jesus meant, and I wrote down a few that really caught my attention.
- “When you turn to Him first, you will never have to turn to Him as a last resort.” – 1 Samuel 14:36 (Let us inquire of God here.) How many times over the years have I fallen on my knees and asked God to get me out of the mess I got myself into because I didn’t seek Him first? How many times have I experienced His guidance, protection, and will when I did seek Him first?
- God is…….Therefore……. Those were the only words highlighted in Psalm 46, yet they are so profound, true, and simple. Many times God has been my refuge and strength, and always with the reminder that I have nothing to fear. We weren’t created to control everything. We were created to trust the One who does.
- Enable your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness. Acts 4: 24-30 When His disciples prayed, they didn’t ask God to remove the problem, but to help them deal with it. Every situation we encounter in life is about our relationship with God and whether or not we will trust Him, obey Him, and use the empowerment He has already given us to face them.
My time with God turned into a morning of sweet reminders of His faithfulness and love for me. It was a special gift that I’m so grateful for. I realized that I’m not yet where I want to be, but that God has brought me a long way from where I was. Eventually, I will get there in God’s perfect timing, and along the way, I have the best travel companion you could ever imagine, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It makes me excited to see what the next 28 years will bring. I hope that all my Bibles will be so colorful from all the highlights from passages that have encouraged, challenged, corrected, and inspired me, and that there will be many “answered” notes beside the prayers that have been written.
Thank you, Lord, for the many sweet reminders.
