Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
    giving them the lands of other nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are established for ever and ever,
    enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
He provided redemption for his people;
    he ordained his covenant forever—
    holy and awesome is his name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
    To him belongs eternal praise.

• Psalm 111:1-10

“Our bank account was overdrawn. My wife’s surgery had rendered her temporarily unable to keep the toddler she had been caring for, and in her pain-induced state, she had forgotten some monthly drafts. We had until 5:30 p.m. to offset the shortfall. This situation capped off months of fighting to pay the rent and utilities and to buy groceries. That’s when my mom visited the bank and deposited our shortage.
“From the cradle to the grave—especially as king—David experienced a lifetime of watching God provide for him and others, and he praises God for such provision in the psalms. No, God doesn’t promise to give us everything we want, but God does provide what we need to survive and to do what the Spirit leads us to do. God’s provisions, gifts, and talents will always suffice for the opportunities. Never doubt God’s ability to provide for you.”

• Martin Wiles, The Spirit Provides, devotion for 25 January 2021, in Those Days

“If God brings you to it, He can bring you through it.”

• Suzanne Woods Fisher

I was about to throw away an old quarterly devotion.  My wife stuck by those monthly devotions and quarterly devotions that are in the literature display at the church.  Maybe it was due to her being in charge of the things when she was a deacon the last time.  An old deacon showed wisdom.  He knew my wife was not as spry as some of the others.  He whispered for her to volunteer for that one.  It was less physically demanding than the other things being assigned to people.  She had to do her research.  Within her budget, she bought what she could each quarter.  She had advice pamphlets for people who were suffering, at wit’s end, with strong willed children, a variety of topics.  And most people ignored the display.  Half the time, she only bought new devotionals due to the old ones being for the previous months.

But as I tossed the devotion in the trash can, it stared back at me.  “You silly old fool, do you not know that God’s word is timeless?” it seemed to say.  It landed on something dry, so I fished it from the trash, and it did not take long to find this devotion.  Indeed, God speaks to us in a variety of ways.

I probably could have thought of many things to write about, but I have had a wrestling match with God today.  I worked most of the day on the church’s prayer list, but then, with only an hour and a half of sleep, I did a lot of goofing off.  {Note to Self: When you really love something, but it has things that can set off an IBS attack, do not go back for seconds.}  The Holy Spirit had put on hob-nailed boots today, but I was in a bad mood anyway.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit gives us guidance, but we have cranked up the “stereo of life” to such ear-splitting decibels that we cannot hear God’s voice.  But then on other days, we sit in our easy chair with a big case of the “I-don’t-wanna.”  And when we don’t wanna, it might not happen.

Well, the prayer list is edited, and this is my second post since then.  I chose to fight through the headache and lack of sleep.

Maybe sleep will come early tonight…

Please, Dear Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.