More Devotionals
| Back Seat Driving | Because of Love | Footprints in the Sand and More |
"Happy are those who trust in the Lord,..." Psalms 40:4
Are you guilty of back seat driving?
Have you ever ridden in the car with someone when you didn't fully trust their driving ability? I have. If I don't think someone is watching the road carefully enough, I watch it for them as if I could do anything about the situation that I saw when they didn't. Have you ever put on the imaginary brakes to help slow the car down according to your own driving pattern rather than that of the driver? Have you ever taken little gasps or done something to let them know of your disapproval? Or has someone else done this to you while you are trying to drive? Annoying isn't it?
I had a dream when I was a new Christian which I described in the devotional, Let Go, Trust Him. The point was that no burden is too great for Him to carry. When I finally stopped trying to carry my burden and accepted His offer to take care of it, I could just go along with Him and fellowship with my Lord, laughing and talking. He drove the car, I just went with Him.
The other day He reminded me of that dream but He showed me that this time I was not sitting in the front seat enjoying the ride. Although I wanted Him to carry my load, I wasn't trusting His driving. I was a back seat driver, trying to slam the brakes on when He didn't slow down or stop in my timing, trying to tell Him where to turn and when to do it, and nagging while He was supposed to be driving.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way." Proverbs 3:5-6 (Good News)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (NIV)
Are you trying to carry burdens that Jesus wants to carry for you? Do you think He cannot handle your heavy load? Do you doubt His ability or willingness to take care of the situation the way you want Him to? His Word tells us in I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you."(KJV) ; "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." (NIV); and "Leave all your worries with Him because He cares for you." (Good News).
Our God is able. He can handle any problem or concern that you are willing to truly give Him. Trust Him. He is faithful.
© 1999 Sharron Mortensen.. All rights reserved.
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10/27/00
Because of Love
Unconditional love says it matters not
Because I love
And because I love, I forgive
I care
God has given me peace--
peace to love
peace to continue
peace to stand
peace to pray
peace to fight
peace to love
peace to forgive
I will never give up
I know what God has said
I know what God has shown me
I know what I will see
I praise God for who He is
I praise God for what He will do
I praise God for what He is doing
Jesus saves, heals, and delivers
Let Him save you, heal you, and deliver you.
Let Him take away your sin and give you life.
Lord, take away the stubborn heart of stone and give the promised new heart and new mind.
Sharron Mortensen 2000
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Footprints in the Sand and More
The poem of the Footprints in the Sand has ambiguous beginnings. In order to include it on this page, I wanted to be sure that there would be no copyright infringement. This resulted in an interesting search. The earliest source that I noted so far is from the beginning of a sermon entitled, "The Education of the Sons of Man" delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on June 10, 1980. It can be seen in it's entirety at http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols46-48/chs2722.pdf . There was a hymn called "Footsteps of Jesus" written by Mary B. C. Slade in 1871. June Hadden Hobbs, who published I Sing For I Cannot Be Silent: The Feminization of American Hymnody, 1870-1920 in 1997, believes that Footprints has it's source in this hymn (page 123). Several writers have claimed to be the author of the poem. Some of these include Ella H. Scharring-Hausen (1894-1985), Mary Stevenson (1922-1999) written in 1939, Floyd Keeton (1921- ) written in 1944, Burrell Webb written in 1958, Carolyn Joyce Carty (1957-) written in 1963, and Margaret Fishback Powers (1939-) written in 1964. Some of the authors knew to copyright their version of poem, others did not. The son of Mary Stevenson filed a lawsuit in US Federal Court (Eastern District of New York) in 2008 against Margaret Fishback Powers and Carolyn Joyce Carty alleging copyright infringement.
What is most important is the understanding that God will never leave us or forsake us. He will never abandon His children. Even when we cannot see or hear Him, He is there. Isaiah 41:17 says - When my people in their need look for water, when their throats are dry with thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer their prayer; I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them. (Good News Translation)
| The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. (New International Version) |
Hebrews 13:5 says
- Keep your lives free from the love of
- money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never abandon you." (Good News Translation)
| - Keep your lives free from the love
- of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (New International Version)
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Selah (Think about it.)
Remember different times in your life when, as a believer, He carried you. Things do happen in this life that are difficult, unfair, painful. He does not abandon us during these times. The truth is that we sometimes turn from Him in our pain, anger, frustration, unforgiveness, and self-pity. That doesn't mean He isn't there. It may mean that we can't see Him through our emotions.
Don't linger in self pity. It's ugly and doesn't lead to anything good. I have found that when it is the hardest to forgive, I need to press through in prayer the hardest until I can forgive. Forgiveness is not an emotion, it isn't necessarily deserved, the person doesn't necessarily even care if they are forgiven. Forgiveness is a choice that we have to make so we can be free. He chose to forgive us, to die for us, when we didn't ask for it nor did we deserve His forgiveness.
As long as I hang onto unforgiveness I am the one who is miserable and distanced from God and from my peace. When I pray for help to forgive, He always answers me. Then I have to jump in and say that I CHOOSE to forgive and ask Him to make it real in my heart. As I do this each time I feel the pain, anger, or self pity of the unforgiveness it continues to get more and more real in my heart because I am breaking through the darkness. I remind myself that I don't want to be the victim any longer, that the offense and resulting pain were enough. I want to be free of the hold on me. The only way I can do that is to give it to Jesus, but I cannot do that until I forgive. With forgiveness I can release it to Him. He will take care of it. I may not see it, but I know that He is in control. If I have truly forgiven and released to Him, I don't HAVE to SEE God pour out His vengenance. I have peace and no longer dwell on things that I shouldn't. I am free to focus on Him and on things that are good and pure and true and I can praise Him. When I praise Him in spirit and in truth, I am blessed and so is He.
Sharron Mortensen 2009
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