[Membersandfriends] Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Mon Oct 18 22:01:36 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Tuesday, October 19, 2004

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The Upper Room Living Prayer Center

The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by Christian volunteers. Submit prayer requests online or call and speak to one of our volunteers at 1-800-251-2468 (U.S. and Canada) or 615-327-4673 (International).
http://www.upperroom.org/prayer_center
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HOPING IN GOD
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Isaiah 40:27-31 (NRSV)

Why do you say, O Jacob, 
     and speak, O Israel, 
"My way is hidden from the LORD, 
     and my right is disregarded by my God"? 
Have you not known? Have you not heard? 
The LORD is the everlasting God, 
     the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
He does not faint or grow weary; 
     his understanding is unsearchable. 
He gives power to the faint, 
     and strengthens the powerless. 
Even youths will faint and be weary, 
     and the young will fall exhausted; 
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, 
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, 
they shall run and not be weary, 
     they shall walk and not faint.

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Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.
- Isaiah 40:31 (NRSV)
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WAITING is difficult.  Waiting for a wayward child to return to God, waiting for a decision on a new career opportunity, waiting for the results of medical tests -- we spend a lot of time waiting.  Life would be much easier if God acted according to our timetable!

However, when I look back over my life, I see that times of waiting were also times of great spiritual growth.  While I was waiting, I learned to pray for the wayward child and I began to look at my own life in light of what God wanted for me.  Over the days and years I opened my life to God and began to trust God's decisions and timing.  I also learned that I do not always have the right answers and that God's ideas are better than I could ever imagine.

If I never had to wait, I would have no need for hope in God and I would say fewer prayers for God's guidance.  In times of waiting, I have learned about God's faithfulness and found strength for the next challenge in my life.  I trust God because my experience tells me that God has been faithful in the past and will continue to be faithful in the future.

Prayer:  Dear God, you are the source of all love, power, and strength.  Help us to live trusting in your love for each new day.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Remembering God's past faithfulness helps us to trust God with our present and our future.

-- Marie Willner (Florida, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Runaways

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RELATED READING ...

In his latest book, J. Marshall Jenkins asserts that only when we become consciously aware of God's gracious activity in the detail of our everyday lives, can we transform and find purpose in our lives today.  A WAKEFUL FAITH includes a model for embracing that awareness during any given day.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=12680

PLEASE SHARE THIS MINISTRY with a friend. Invite them to sign up for the free E-Mail Devotional by visiting: http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/email/.

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The scripture quotation is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright (c) 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.