“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭90:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Even before the earth was formed, the sea and the man, our Creator was in love with you and me. We were created to stay in God’s presence, to be at home with Him. What better place to be remain than in the shadow of His expansive, powerful, comforting wings?

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 17:8 NIV🚦

#AbideWithMe #TheShadowOfHisWings #HidingPlace #AtHomeWithHim #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭22:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭23:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Have you ever felt alone, abandoned by God one day, then the next day felt the presence of God with you? If so, you are in good company with King David, known as a man after God’s own heart. The beautiful truth is we don’t have to be guided by how we feel about aloneness or presence of God when His Word tells us, “I will never leave you nor for sake you.“ (Deut 31:6). Jesus came to set us free, and that includes being freed from the tyranny of emotions and the lies of the enemy.

“I am with you always.” (Matt 28:20)🚦

#HeIsWithYou #HeWillNeverLeaveYou I don’t believe Satanslies #Devotionals #StopLightDevotionals

Job’s friend Eliphaz responds to Job’s grief over his losses: “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭4:7-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You just need to be more positive.” “God is testing you. You need to have more faith.” “Don’t worry. It will all be fine.” “You just need to get over it.” A well-intentioned person makes light of your grief, gives advice that is hurtful or places blame on you during a gut-wrenching trial, compounding your upheaval. Isaiah states it well: “All the counsel you have received has only worn you out.”

During our darkest hours our Heavenly Father longs to be our first source of comfort and refuge. He provides shelter, wisdom and rest man cannot comprehend.

“Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power. The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Proverbs 8:14, 18:10 NIV🚦

#BadAdvice #TheNameOfTheLordIsAStrongTower #SeekHimFirst #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭42:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

From the mouth of this righteous man came the recognition that before his incomprehensible trials he did not truly know God. We can recognize, be acquainted with, perceive aspects of our Creator but still walk in somewhat of a spiritual fog, not fully engaged with Him. Unfathomable difficulties can take us to that place of complete recognition of Who God is and our humble position before Him, clearing the cobwebs in our hearts and minds.

Have you heard OF God, or do you truly know Him?🚦

#EyesToSeeEarsToHear #KnowGod #Devotionals #StopLightDevotionals

“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship”

‭‭Job‬ ‭1:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Do you really mean to tell me Job’s first response to losing his wealth and livelihood then losing all his sons and daughters in a freak natural disaster was to worship God?

No! His first responses are typical grief reactions—tearing his clothes and shaving his head. What follows is anything but typical. Instead of lashing out at God for the unimaginable losses he has suffered he falls down and worships the Lord. To lay down his grief and worship in that moment is evidence of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in Job.

How is God working in and through you to produce a completely selfless offering? Once you tune your spiritual ears to listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings you will find yourself, like Job, rejoicing in the moments when the world tells you to give up. 🚦

#griefsndworshipgotogether #trusthimalways #surrender #Devotionals #stoplightdevotionals

“So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon … in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Soul, how long since you really dove into the Word of God? After more than 100 years the Jews were excited to finally have their temple completed and city walls fortified. They requested their priest read them the Book of the Law so they better know God and obey God.

Author and speaker Rebecca Ashbrook Carroll writes: “”Follow me,” Jesus said (Luke 9:23). It sounds easy. But you won’t follow someone you don’t trust. You can’t trust someone you don’t know, and you cannot know Christ apart from his Word.“

What are you doing to know Christ more?🚦

#FollowHim #DiveDeeper #Devotionals #StopLightToDevotionals

“David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sorrow can take us to raw, painful places. Such was the case for David and his men when they returned to their homes to find the entire city burned to the ground and their wives and children taken prisoners. In their grief they were considering what would surely be regrettable action. Most of us can relate to their strong feelings on some level. David, too, was in great distress, but he took his pain to God, and in doing so he found strength, wisdom and a right path.

Grief does not have to include bitterness and vengeful behavior when we seek God as our refuge and strength.🚦

#PutYourHopeInGod #ThereIsPowerInTheNameOfJesus #HealthyGrieving #Devotionals #StopLightDevotionals

“They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭6:9, 15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What are you trying to accomplish? To build, rebuild, grow, or even lose?

With a prayer and a plan Nehemiah helped the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem following their captivity in Babylon to rebuild the massive city wall. God was with them, no doubt, and they worked HARD together. They worked with a sword in one hand to protect from their many enemies and tools in the other hand to accomplish in 52 days what had not been done in 100 years of vane effort.

Do you have a goal? What’s your plan? Is it bathed in prayer? Are you prepared for the work?🚦

#PrayerAndAPlan #YouCanDoThis #DoHardThings #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionalS

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce… Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:5, 7‬ ‭NIV‬

Do you find yourself in a season not of your own choosing? Perhaps you are there as a result of your own sin, like the Jews exiled to Babylon, or maybe its simply one of life’s many changes. God tells us no matter where we are to bloom where we are planted. Even in the tough stretches He tells us to thrive, not just survive, to be good neighbors and to look out for the welfare of our communities. This is not necessarily easy; it calls for intention and stepping out of comfort zones, but it makes for fertile ground for whatever lies ahead. 🚦

#BloomWhereYouArePlanted #SeasonsOfLife #ThriveDon’tJustSurvive #Devotionals #StopLightDevotionals

“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭20:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God told the Israelites to devote themselves to being set apart by Him. In committing to lives of obedience God promised He himself would make them holy. The Lord invites you and I into this relationship of spiritual growth in which we become more and more like Christ. Jesus was like no other person, fully God and, yet, fully man. Once we say, “yes” to this call to a life of walking with Him, the process of otherness begins. What is holding you back from the best “yes” answer you will ever give?🚦

#SayYes #AbideWithChrist #CallToHoliness #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals