Corona Devo 1965

I'm not sure why, but on the one day a month that I visit our local nursing home, the scenario is always the same: 

  • I never leave enough time for my food/books/activities preparation
  • It's never an ideal day for me to be absent from work for a couple hours
  • It ends up being one of my most spiritually-fulfilling days of the month
I was rushing around on my visit morning, and while looking forward to the time with my elderly friends, the stress-of-preparation and circumstance made me question if this was what I should be doing that day?  Life pulls us in a million directions: how do we know which one is God's will for us today?

The answer (always) is: Ask God. 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (8) For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  ~Matthew 7:7-8

I (ashamedly) did not sit down (first) with God and His Word that morning, which is most likely why I wasn't experiencing peace in the first place.  But I knew I needed the Lord now, and before I left for the day, and so I finally sat down with Him.

I didn't really have "time" to do so, but I also couldn't not make time to do so.  
I only had a minute to read a verse or two, and (of course) God knew that.  

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  ~James 1:27 

There are 31,102 verses in the Bible, and that's the one that God gave me on the morning I was supposed to visit my orphan and widow friends in the nursing home.  

After sitting (if even for a few minutes!) with the Lord, my preparations just seem to fall into place.  

Earlier that morning I had found a container of sand dollars that our family had collected and saved from a beach years ago, and I remembered a little Bible devotional about connecting sand dollars to Christ's love and sacrifice for us.  

You would be amazed at how happy my older friends were to receive a real sand dollar to place on their window sill or dresser, and how much joy it brought them to talk about and remember beaches that they had once walked and gathered shells from.  

One (seemingly non-responsive) man that joined our group stared straight forward in his wheelchair and didn't move a muscle when I bent down and looked in his vacant, cloudy eyes and introduced myself with a warm smile.  

One of the regular residents then warned me that "He gets loud".  

And loud he did get.  

He spoke and shouted mostly unintelligible things as I read some stories and chatted with the other gathered residents.  And I almost didn't notice when his yells switched to a humming of sorts, and then I realized he was "singing" a hymn.  It still gives me the chills to type, because we weren't singing hymns, but we were talking about God and His love for us when this man started "singing" church songs.  

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  ~James 1:27 

~~~

What are our plans for the day?

Have we thought about caring for orphans and widows in their distress?

There are orphans and widows of all ages who are in distress today.  God calls us to be a conduit of His peace into their distress.

It doesn't have to mean visiting a nursing home, but it could.  
It might not be deciding to be a foster-care provider, but it might. 
Is there someone in our family/in our neighborhood/or on our heart that is an orphan or widow?
 
We may not have known that God says in His Word (the Bible) that pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress, but He does.

Let's be moved today to remind an orphan or widow that they matter.  
And as we put this into action, or begin to organize our effort, let me warn you: 

  • You won't have enough time 
  • It's never an ideal day 
  • It will end up being one of your most spiritually-fulfilling days of the month
There's 31,102 verses in the Bible, and God's giving us this one today: Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  ~James 1:27 

Life pulls us in a million directions, and so how should we care for orphans and widows in their distress today?  

The answer (always) is: Ask God. 

He'll tell us.  He'll show us.  He will press something, someone, or some effort onto our heart...and then our role is (simply) to do it.  




Blessings,  

sarah  

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corona Devo 1156

Image
At work, we provide Trainings for customers, so that they can be updated and educated on all of the latest features (and how to use them) within our product.  Many companies do this--sharing "Best Practices" are a way to ensure positive outcomes on the customer and vendor sides of things. My kids often offer me "life hacks" that they have learned from watching an online video promising to "save time" and "make your life easier".  And just this week, my husband enlightened me about the "tear-away" feature built into most plastic rings holding cans/bottles of pop or Gatorade together.  When separated, the plastic rips open easily, releasing the bottle--saving wildlife that might be caught if it is discarded as trash, and saving me  frustration or angst because I no longer have to pull with all my might to get a bottle out of the plastic rings.  ( Who knew? )  Life hacks do save time and make your life easier! Who couldn't benefit from...
Read more

Corona Devo 1217

Image
The unanswered “why’s” of life, the disorder of our days, and even the unfairness of our struggles can cause us to question ourselves and also to question our God. But the order-of-Creation and the systems that God has set in place are undeniable answers that swing back and forth like God’s pendulum-reminder that He set the world in motion, and He continues to keep order, even when it seems as if we and our world are in dis- order.   Job was a man going through some heavy and hard stuff.   Maybe we are too.   Job’s trials had caused him to question the order of life, and possibly God’s dominion over it.   We can relate.   The “Why’s?” and the “Why Me’s” can stack up in our minds and hearts, but like a parent exercising loving-authority over a child, God reminds Job and us--of His power, omniscience and of His ultimate authority over everything: Creation… and us today .   Then the  Lord  answered Job from the whirlwind: (2) “Who i...
Read more

Corona Devo 991

Running low on " good things " today?  Doesn't it (sometimes) seem like/trend like/read like/tweet like/water-cooler-chat or backyard-fence-visit like/intimidate like/depress like... there are no  good things in the land? . I know. It's no secret that many have abandoned  the Law of the  Lord,  and at times, that's us .   It is evident all around us that people have  followed each other  in this sin.  When we look around...or when we live our days...we can wonder: Are there  any  good things  left in the land? There are still some good things in the land ...and no matter how bleak we feel the "forecast" for today is...there will always  be  some good things in the land, because God is in the land.   T he Bible reminds us of that today.   ~~~ The Israelites (and their king, Rehoboam ) were God's people, but like all of us at times/seasons of our lives...they wandered from Lord and His ways....
Read more