Hearing God; June 30, 2026

Posted on July 1, 2026 by jgarrott

1 Samuel 3:10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

This is about as literal a “calling” as is recorded in the whole Bible! It is a story that is appropriately told in Sunday Schools around the world, because children need to know that God does speak to young people, sometimes even quite young. It also illustrated the proper way to respond to God. Eli made many mistakes, particularly in raising his own sons, but by God’s grace he gave Samuel exactly the right advice in this instance. When God talks to us, however He does it, we need to acknowledge that we are His servants, and stand ready to do whatever He says. At the time of this story, the Torah, that is, the five books of Moses, along with probably Joshua and possibly Judges, were all the Bible that had been recorded, so Samuel didn’t have a lot of Scripture with which to evaluate whether He was hearing the Lord, or some lying spirit. We, however, have the advantage of the full Bible, New Testament as well as Old, so we have a better chance of distinguishing when the Lord is speaking to us. That said, very few people expect to hear God speak to them! That actually goes against the Biblical record. Particularly since we do have the Bible, in multiple translations, even, we should be hungry to hear what God is saying to us, and read the Bible eagerly, expecting Him to speak. A literal voice, such as what Samuel experienced, is not common, but if we have an obedient servant heart, He will indeed speak to us. Far too many people think of Prayer as speaking to God, when He wants it to be speaking with Him.

I have experienced what seemed like a literal voice from God on two occasions, and both times it was a shock! That said, I have heard Him in my mind, my heart, countless times, though concrete words have not been so common. Such experiences have made me eager to have my morning devotional times, because He is more than faithful to speak to me in them. I am never at a loss for sermons, because I just have to ask Him which of the many things He has said to me I am to share. I realize that is a huge blessing, and not all genuine pastors, even, are so gifted, but I remain convinced that our Creator talks to His children, and we should be eager to hear. Jesus said repeatedly, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 11:15, etc.) I am personally commissioned to relay to others what God tells me, but I must never cook up things to say in my own mind. On exactly one occasion I remember giving a prophecy, and God stopped talking but I didn’t. That was a horrible experience, and one I never want to repeat. I am to be careful I am hearing the Lord accurately, and always strive to communicate it accurately, if that is what He wants me to do with what I have heard. Sometimes He’s just talking to me, giving me instructions. As a pastor, my chief desire for the flock is that they learn to hear and obey the Lord for themselves, not just depending on me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me be faithful as a steward of Your Word, both what we have written and what You speak to me directly. May Your Word indeed accomplish everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:10-11) just as it did with Samuel, so that Your name may be acknowledged as holy and Your rule and reign be established as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Our Calling; June 29, 2026

Posted on June 30, 2026 by jgarrott

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua’s calling was both dramatic and glorious, but we need to remember that it was preceded by over 40 years of just being Moses’ assistant. There were probably many times when he got tired of that! At the same time, the task ahead of him was huge. God’s admonition to him to be strong and courageous wasn’t just related to the military conflicts they would encounter, it was also related to the daily slog of dealing with this huge crowd of often unruly people. Joshua needed all the strength and courage he could get! At the same time, for Joshua the situation was inescapable. As the Lord said to him plainly in verse 2, “Moses my servant is dead.” That left Joshua, and God wasn’t about to abandon him. The biggest thing on this earth that Joshua had going for him was faith, based on experience. He had seen God act countless times, so he had every reason for assurance, but he was as human as any of us. God was explicit in describing the territory He was giving the descendants of Abraham, and I’m sure there were times when Joshua had to remind himself of this. We too can need encouragement in our calling. The way is seldom smooth and level! However, God will provide confirmation in various ways as we need it. We just need to remember that the necessary strength and wisdom are ultimately with Him. He will give them to us as we need them, but seldom much ahead of time! We are never to feel sufficient in ourselves, but we must always remember that His grace is sufficient for us. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This is a Word for me! I have been in Omura now for almost a full 45 years, but I feel that God’s calling is only now being manifested. The Lord is bringing more people to the church, and I’m deeply grateful. However, they aren’t the young people I had hoped for! I’m not to decide how things ought to be, but rather let God show me how He has planned things. There are countless complications, health-wise and in other ways, but God’s plan is perfect. As Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) I’m not to be discouraged at the trouble, but rather rejoice that God has already provided a way through it.

Father, thank You for this Word. Thank You for yesterday and all it held. There are various things on the agenda today, but Cathy may need to go into the hospital because of low blood oxygen. I ask for clear guidance in every detail, and peace in the process, so that Your plans may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Blessings of Obedience; June 28, 2026

Posted on June 29, 2026 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 28:9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him.

This chapter should have been sufficient to keep the Israelites true to the Lord forever, but history shows that it wasn’t. This first section, that continues through verse 14, speaks of the solid, concrete, overflowing blessings that God was calling them to, if they would simply live according to the rules He was giving them. Then from verse 15 on it goes into incredible detail as to the calamities that would befall them if they discarded the Lord and ignored what He had told them. I’m reminded of something that is attributed to Albert Einstein: “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And I’m not so certain about the universe.” The Jewish nation had repeated times of revival, when the leadership would read passages like this and make reforms, but then the people would deviate from them again. It is clear that God plans good for us, but we stubbornly refuse to accept it! God’s calling is always for our ultimate benefit, even when the way is steep and/or rough – including even martyrdom. I keep coming back to 2 Corinthians 4:17. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” The devil tries to convince us that following God isn’t worth it, that it’s too much trouble, but he’s a liar, always. (John 8:44) God’s calling takes different shapes for each person, but following it always brings the best rewards.

I have certainly experienced this. I couldn’t begin to enumerate all the blessings God has poured out on me when I have been sensitive and obedient to Him, and I have had some really painful experiences when I have failed to do so. As a pastor, I seek to help others recognize and walk in this truth as well. I have had some real heartaches in trying to do that! It is simple fact that no one can follow God for someone else. When parents follow God, blessings do accrue to their descendants, but those descendants still need to choose to follow God themselves. I desire God’s best for everyone, in all honesty and sincerity, but I can’t force anyone to make the commitment that will result in that. However, I can set an example, and I can pray and speak the truth in love, and God will hold me accountable for how well I do that.

Father, thank You for this reminder. May I indeed walk in full obedience on every level, so that Your will may be done both in and through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Giving Your Life to God; June 27, 2026

Posted on June 28, 2026 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 26:16 The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.

This is a rather familiar refrain found in various places in the Old Testament, but the Japanese in this location has an interesting difference that caught my eye. Where the English says, “heart and soul,” the Japanese here says “heart and life.” Put another way, God is to die for! Actually, countless saints down through the ages have given their lives rather than deny their Creator, Lord, and Savior, and that number continues to rise even today, perhaps more than ever before. In countries like Japan and the US, we tend to overlook this fact, and the admonition in Hebrews that says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4) We need to not just be “paper Christians,” like the “paper drivers” who have a license but never drive, but rather commit ourselves to follow Christ all the way, just as He told us to. The problem is that we tend to weight the things of this world, including our physical lives, more than the things of eternity. That is shortsighted and foolish in the extreme. We need to have the perspective Paul expressed so clearly: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) Anything less is failing to obey what this verse, and so many others, command.

I’ve never been in a situation where I was threatened with martyrdom, but I realize that’s not the only way to give my life for Christ. I often think of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were both told they would “drink the cup” that Jesus was going to drink. (Matthew 20:22-23) James was the first of the 12 to be martyred, (Acts 12:2) but John died in his 90s, at least. Both of them gave their lives for Jesus, but James did it the easier way! I’m not to complain at how I am called to give my life for Jesus, but rather rejoice in the honor and privilege of doing do. The question is not my circumstances, but rather my commitment.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I’m safely at home, having this devotional time in my usual location. May I not take any of Your blessings for granted, but rather walk in total commitment all the time, for Your honor and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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God’s Calling; June 26, 2026

Posted on June 27, 2026 by jgarrott

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

We sometimes get all tied in knots over what we are called to do, when it is ultimately pretty simple. Micah distilled it even further: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) The question then becomes, what is it to love God and walk in His ways? Jesus was the ultimate demonstration of that. Whereas we will never achieve His level of perfection, He certainly set a perfect example. The problem, always, is that we give Him part of our heart, part of our soul, and try to hang onto the rest. That frankly doesn’t work. Every believer discovers that there are areas that they haven’t fully yielded to God. My father’s classic expression was, “Give all you know of yourself to all you know of Christ.” We don’t know ourselves perfectly, and we don’t know Christ perfectly, so this is a relationship that needs to be updated regularly. Daily is the best practice, starting each day in prayer and reading the Bible, asking God to show you more of yourself and more of Him, and renewing your commitment to obedience. That last part is quite important. “No” is one of the first words a child learns! Often, we know what God wants us to do, and like a little child, we stamp our feet and say, “NO!” That is never for our benefit! The one good that can come from it is if we will allow the Lord to use the experience to show us more of ourselves, so that we can then submit it to the Lord and allow Him to cleanse and grow us. The process can be painful, but that’s what maturity looks like, and that is the path of peace and happiness.

I too am in the middle of this. Last night the last leg of our trip home from the conference was truncated when the trains stopped running toward Nagasaki because of the severe rain. We kept getting conflicting reports of what was happening, and so didn’t move to get our tickets refunded until much later than would have been wise, and then we were in something of a panic reaction, not knowing where we could spend the night. A friend, contacted by phone, gave us some stability, and even made a reservation for us at a hotel right in front of the train station, that we hadn’t spotted because of the rain and because it occupies the upper five floors of a tall building. The experience is to teach us flexibility, to trust that God has everything in control whatever it feels like to us in the moment. We do have the issue of my wife’s medicine supply, but when her medicine intake was quite varied because of time zone changes during our trip to the US a couple of months ago, this shouldn’t be a major issue. As God told me many years ago now, we need to rest, relax, and rejoice, knowing that He is God and He loves us.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I do ask for clear guidance and protection as we make our way home today. This compresses the time we have to be ready for the service Sunday, but it’s certainly nothing You can’t handle. May we continue to grow, to become and be all that You desire of us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Jealousy; June 25, 2026

Posted on June 26, 2026 by jgarrott

Numbers 12:2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

Jealousy is a deep-seated human problem. It inspired the first recorded murder, when Cain killed Abel in Genesis 4. That, however, is no excuse for it. It’s certainly not something we can get away with. Just as I commented three days ago about Moses reporting to God what the people had said, the idea of God needing to be informed of anything is rather amusing, since He is aware of everything in the universe. Jealousy stems from not understanding that God’s grace and power aren’t a “zero-sum game,” where one person getting more means someone else gets less. God is infinite, and there is no limit to His grace and power, even when expressed through human beings like us. Rather than becoming jealous when God uses or blesses someone other than us, we should rejoice that He has seen fit to do that with any of His children. Aaron and Miriam’s problem was that they knew Moses too well. In particular, Miriam could rightly say that Moses owed his life to her, since she was instrumental in his being adopted by Pharoah’s daughter. (Exodus 2) However, rather than being jealous of his being chosen and used the way he was, she should have been grateful and proud to have had even a small part in that. I really think that’s why the punishment fell on her, rather than on Aaron. All that aside, we need to learn from this story never to question God’s choices of people to use. After all, Moses’ job was far harder than even Aaron’s, much less Miriam’s. We need to seek to be available to God however He wants to use – or not use – us. Sometimes it’s the “not use” part that’s most difficult! Our ambition should be for God’s will to be done, His plans to be manifested, and not for personal pride of any sort. Once again, pride is the villain, as it has been ever since it got Lucifer thrown out of heaven. We need to be totally humble before God, recognizing that everything exists because of Him and for Him, and offering ourselves to fulfill whatever role He intends for us, great or small, for His glory alone.

I grew up “knowing I was special,” you might say, because I was a Caucasian in Japan, for starters, and my father was certainly highly respected in every circle I was involved in. I don’t remember being jealous, other than in areas like sports or popularity with girls, and even there, I don’t remember it as being controlling. God is gracious! Interestingly, it has been as an adult that I have been tempted to jealousy, as others have had more success or recognition than I have. That’s precisely the trap Aaron and Miriam fell into! I must never think I am somehow above any temptation, but rather be aware that my very existence is by the grace of God, and be on my guard against every lie of the devil. He certainly knows my weaknesses! The speaker last night is likewise the son of someone “great” in the eyes of many, and God has used him from his youth, but he definitely delivered a Word from the Lord that blessed many, including me. I have no jealousy that he was so used, and I am to be grateful and available for however the Lord wants to use me, not demanding any particular place but being available for anything at all, so that the Body of Christ may be built up and God’s kingdom advanced, totally irrespective of me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the reminder last night to allow You to renew the dreams You have given me. Thank You that Your plans for me fit perfectly with Your plans for everyone else, as my father noted in his letter to us as a family just before the surgery from which he woke up in heaven. May jealousy have no place in me, but rather, joy and gratitude that You would choose to use any of Your children for Your purposes. Thank You. Praise God!

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Transmitting Gifts; June 24, 2026

Posted on June 25, 2026 by jgarrott

Exodus 35:34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.

Here Moses is quoting what the Lord said back in 33:1-6, that was covered yesterday, but this detail is added. Bezalel and Oholiab weren’t just gifted to do things themselves, they were called to teach others how to do the things they could do. This is something a lot of gifted people miss. Actually, some things are very difficult, if not impossible, to transmit to others, but that’s not the case for the majority of abilities God imparts. How well those things will “take” varies widely, but gifting from God is never just for the direct recipient. In every case, in one way or another, our gifting is to bless others, and we must never forget it. In an example currently in the news, Elon Musk, though not currently an active disciple of Jesus Christ, is massively gifted in the areas of technology, imagination, and implementation. He has used those gifts to accomplish things that others had flatly deemed impossible, and in the process has benefitted huge numbers of people, and he’s hardly through yet. I certainly pray that he will discover and commit himself to the One who so gifted him, but the fact remains that he has inspired many to recognize and exercise their own gifting. When that dynamic operates in the Body of Christ, wonderful things happen! We need to take inspiration from those who have gone ahead of us in the faith, so that we may in turn inspire others to press in to know more of and do more for the Lord, just as Jesus told us to pray that God’s sovereignty may be established as His will is done, for His glory.

This is an area where I frankly am not proud of my track record. I have been gifted in many areas, but I have done little to transmit those abilities and gifts to others. I am grateful that my ministry has generated several “full-time Christian workers,” as the saying goes, but that hasn’t been by my specific intent. As I have commented, I think some of them took that path because they felt they could be a better pastor than I was! All too often, I have failed to delegate as I should have, because it weas simply easier to do whatever it was myself, rather than teach someone else to do it. That’s ironic, coming from someone with Teacher gifting! Part of the issue is that I never specifically learned those abilities myself, they just “came naturally,” as the saying goes. That, however, is no excuse. I need to be intentional in passing along what God has given me, so that the Body of Christ may be built up.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for getting us here to this conference safely yesterday. Thank You for the message last night, about Fresh Oil. I could certainly use an oil change! Help me be open to hear and receive all that You want to say and impart to me in this conference, not to keep it to myself but to transmit it to others, so that all of us may grow as Your children, Your disciples, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Calling; June 23, 2026

Posted on June 24, 2026 by jgarrott

Exodus 31:2-3 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.”

Sometimes God’s calling is evident simply by the abilities God has given them. Bezalel seems like a really cool guy to me, and I look forward to meeting him in heaven! It’s quite possible that after God had given Moses such detailed instructions about all the things involved with the tabernacle, he had been wracking his brain about how on earth he could make all of that. God is now saying, “I’ve got this. Here’s your craftsman.” The point is that all his varied abilities came from God – which is actually true of everyone. We almost certainly aren’t as exceptionally gifted as Bezalel, but everyone is gifted in some ways, (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 12:7) and we are accountable to God for how we use those gifts. This in itself can be a clear indicator of how God has called us. I, for example, am certainly not called by God to be an Olympic athlete! Everyone has things they can do that seem simple enough to them, but other people struggle to do them. That is certainly an indication of gifting, and by extension, calling. We need to do individual personal inventory of our abilities and opportunities, and then ask God what He wants us to do with them. One point in this passage is that God said all of Bezalel’s abilities came because of being filled with His Spirit, when we don’t usually think of the things listed here as “spiritual gifts” at all. We do ourselves, and the Church, harm by putting things into rigid boxes, when God hasn’t planned things that way at all.

The Lord has been very gracious to me in the area of abilities, so the question is always, what have I done with them? I have not been a perfect steward by any means, and that is something I will have to answer for before the Lord. That’s scary, but I throw myself on His grace. I seek to help the believers understand that they too are gifted, and are called to use those gifts to serve God. Right now we’re going through Discover Your God-given Gifts, by Don and Katie Fortune, and the response has been all over the place. Some people are soaking it up, and some are running away as hard as they can. They don’t want to be shown how they are gifted, and so be accountable for their use of those gifts! What they don’t realize is that they are accountable anyway, whether or not they acknowledge the gifts. In fact, refusing to look at them is refusing to use them as God intends. That is painful to me as a pastor, but I have to speak the truth in love and release them into God’s hands.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that we’ll be going to the Japan Pentecostal Fellowship meeting today, for the next three days. I ask for travel mercies, particularly for my wife, and I pray that we would both receive and transmit all that You intend in this time, so that the Body of Christ may be built up according to Your plan, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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A Kingdom of Priests; June 22, 2026

Posted on June 23, 2026 by jgarrott

Exodus 19:6 “‘You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

This verse is famously referenced by Peter in his first letter. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Peter expresses the reason for God’s choice of Israel: declaring the praises of God. Put another way, that means telling other people about God, that is, evangelism. The Jews had a lot of trouble getting that through their heads. They thought God had chosen them because they were so wonderful, when that was hardly the case, as they proved repeatedly over the succeeding days, years, and centuries. The idea of salvation by grace and not works was not at all something they grasped easily. God expressed it here by saying, “a kingdom of priests.” The function of a priest is to be an intermediary between God and man. It’s a little amusing that in verse 8 it says that Moses reported the words of the people to God, because God knows everything everyone says or does, but Moses was functioning as a priest. That God called them “a kingdom of priests” is pretty shocking, because such a thing had never been thought of before. This brings to mind something the Lord said to Jeremiah many years later: “No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Jeremiah 31:34) Until that blessed day, everyone who does know God, who is included in His family by faith, is to be telling their neighbors about Him, so that they too may repent and believe for their salvation.

As I was sharing with the believers here yesterday in a class on Motivational Gifts, I am not by personality or inclination evangelistic, but particularly in recent years the Lord has been giving me joy in telling others about Him. That’s a good thing, because if I want the believers to be evangelistic, I’d better set the example! I do especially delight in teaching those who are already believers, and I don’t feel particularly gifted in sharing Christ with total novices, but my gifting is never to be an excuse not to do what God has clearly told all His children to do. After all, just before His ascension, Jesus famously said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20) That doesn’t leave anyone out. I too am to make disciples, which starts with letting people know they have a heavenly Father who loved them so much He sent His Son to die for their sins.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the class yesterday, and for the response of those who participated. Those who chose not to participate sadden me, but I yield them to You. May we all grow to be better disciples, which certainly includes making more disciples, functioning as a kingdom of priests indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Responding to God; June 21, 2026

Posted on June 22, 2026 by jgarrott

Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

It’s interesting how many people respond to God’s calling much as Moses did. Conversely, the ones who respond with “I can handle that,” seldom do very well! The middle road, and the best one, is to say, “In myself I am nothing, but if You, Lord, work through me, anything is possible.” That, frankly, is neither easy nor common. Moses’ issue here, and the issue for most of us, was faith. When we are focused on ourselves, it’s extremely difficult to trust God fully. The plain fact of the matter is that none of us have the ability in ourselves to work God’s works. At the same time, it is manifestly true that God is omnipotent, so He can use anyone or anything to do what He wants. A case in point is His using Balaam’s donkey to talk to him, as recorded in Numbers 22. Don Francisco used that memorably in a song, in which he said, “So if the Lord starts using you, don’t you pay it any mind. He could have used the dog next door, if He’d been so inclined.” That is spot on! I’ve mentioned before that we had a refrigerator magnet that said, “Where God guides, He provides.” That applies to abilities, too! It is God’s business whom He chooses and sends, and we must never forget it. We are to be like Isaiah, volunteering to be available, (Isaiah 6:8) but never thinking our own strength and abilities are up to the task. It is His strength and His ability that accomplish His will, for His glory.

This is, frankly, something I’ve struggled with most of my life. A lot of it was from the point of conceit – sure, I can do it – and the Lord has had to beat that out of me. I’m grateful, because pride can never stand before the Lord. I couldn’t begin to say how many times I’ve referenced Ephesians 2:8-9, about how our salvation comes from faith and not works, so that pride is excluded. At the same time, I’ve got to keep remembering verse 10, that says that God has prepared good things for us to do. Calling comes firmly in that area. If God has prepared things for us to do, then He also prepares us to do them, whether we realize it or not. Being aware that we can’t get the job done in our own strength and wisdom is a good thing, if we at the same time trust God to do it in His strength and wisdom. I’ve got to exercise the faith God has given me, believing that He has things for me to do and applying myself to them, at the same time knowing that my own abilities are certainly not up to the task. If I will do that, then His power will be manifested in my weakness, (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) accomplishing His will for the benefit of many, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the scare I had yesterday, and the reminder that Your plans are always good. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, today and every day, so that Your plans may be fulfilled however You want to do it, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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