July 27, 2012   

Today's Photograph . . . . Bearing Abandonment   (MQ)

Bible Study Verse

Jeremiah 29:11-13 

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.  (NIV)

Thoughts

The hunts were great and each an adventure, but not enough . . . The harvest was eaten and built health, but didn't preserve the life . . . What does one do when the love of his or her life, companion, hunting partner, best friend is gone . . . 

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly," Psalm 84:11, (NKJV). Dear God how can your word tell me "no good thing will You withhold" when you allowed?????  One never signs up for this!  

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him," Job 13:15b (NKJV). OK, I've been slayed! You took, and now I am to trust you more? If you've never lost, your turn is coming. The statement that you don't know what you have til it is gone . . . rings loudly in the aftermath.

The abandonment comes in various nightmares . . . emotional  and appetite changes encouraging  drifting away through selfishness, adultery, divorce,  or death. Now what . . . ?

(JQ)

Action Point

The promise in Jeremiah can be trusted. Your choice, Your responsibility is to follow His leadership through your personal relationship. Lean on Him and trust as if your life depends on it - cause it does!!!

How does one trust . . . "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God," Romans 10:17 (NKJV). You got to be reading and soaking in His Holy Living Word, the Bible. The more you absorb, the easier to trust Him through knowing His precious promises. 

Remember, you have not been forgotten. "Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand [the side not carrying a shield]. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore," Psalm 121: 4-8 (Amplified).

   

Hebrews 10:23-25 encourages, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near," (NLT). A church family is so needed and necessary. You don't have one, gotta let the Holy Spirit lead you to one.  

I John 2:27 instructs, "But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true-it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ," (NLT). 

Seeking Him with your whole heart . . . easier said than done, but you must. He knows your every thought, every doubt. But, you must choose Him and follow Him with your WHOLE heart.  

Sportsmen's Tip of the Day

Many of us journal our hunts. Why not journal your prayer journey along with your hunts? My prayer journal has increased my faith in how God answers prayer over and over again. I just need to be reminded as I read back through the past. At first I used a waterproof notebook, which didn't last well. Now a bound book does well especially being hauled to the great outdoors in extreme weather and back to home and then to Bible study.