Isn't it awesome how God places certain things in our lives, like this devotion, in such perfect timing! Last weeks devotion on prayer and this weeks devotion on meditation were definitely what I needed this week. Right after I finished my post for last week I logged on to Facebook to find that a girl from my school that I played soccer with and sang in choir with a few years back passed away very unexpectedly, it was just the flu gone bad in a matter of hours. So, to say the least we all were caught off guard and it hit me and most people at school hard, especially because I have friends who were close with her.
This week's topic of mediation was perfect because by the end of school Monday I felt so drained from the emotions of the day, but I was remember thinking about how through Him I find strength to make it through the day, even when I have none, and meditation is such a great way to gain His strength. Like in Psalm 23:1-3 "...He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul, ..." Continually throughout the week I'd find myself hurting again mostly because it was hard to watch my friends hurt so much and just because we were all trying to understand it all because she was such a great girl and it was hard to grasp because she was only 16. But, when I would stop and listen, I was reminded that the questions of why weren't for me to worry about, He's got it all taken care of.
What also stood out to me this week was the part that said, "the fullness of your creator is not something that you acquire. It is freely and extravagantly given. What lacks is the discipline and resolve to commune intimately with the creator's abundance." For me this was God going, Sydnie, you don't have to try and figure out a time where you stop and do nothing so that you can spend time with me, I'm already here waiting to talk. I struggle with feeling like I have to get all these things done so that way I can spend time with God, or if I don't wake up early enough to have some quiet time with Him then I missed it for the day. I started to realize that I can meditate whenever throughout the day. For instance, yesterday while I was cleaning, I plugged my iPod into some speakers and put it on shuffle and through a bunch of the different songs that came on throughout the day I totally felt like I was listening to God speaking to me through the lyrics, because I don't have to work for the ability to hear God, I just have to take the time to listen, and really listen. He's always there waiting for me, Sydnie Guzman, to just open the door so He can come in and spend time talking with me, and that is so awesome. It's awesome and encouraging because the creator of the universe, the almighty God, wants to spend time with me!
I hope everyone has a great week and I can't wait to read everyone's posts again this coming week:)
-Syd
Sydnie,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friend. News like that is never easy and I'll be praying for you and your friends and especially for her family.
I hope the LORD continues to bless you with His peace and comfort. Rarely do we receive an answer to that "why" question, and I'm encouraged by your giving it up to Him. You are living out the John 9 passage- your testimony is not that you have answers but you are only proclaiming what you have seen Jesus do and say. May Christ move powerfully through your dependence on Him to comfort your friends who are hurting.
Also, I just LOVE this:
"He's always there waiting for me, Sydnie Guzman, to just open the door so He can come in and spend time talking with me, and that is so awesome."
I look forward to the next time I grab my ipod and will think of you as I enter into another opportunity to worship and commune with our creator :)
i love how optimistic you are! everything is going according to His plan, and He knows what's best - we sometimes question God and wonder what He's doing, but He's in control!
ReplyDeletei also love that verse psalm 23:1-3, how God refreshes our soul, and how we can experience this at any part of our day!
it's so sobering to experience a friend's death; a friend of mine passed away last november, and it reminds me of a verse in James 4:13-15 - “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”
while we live on this temporary earth, we have to just keep the faith in our holy almighty everlasting God, who was and is to come; we have to remember the joy that comes gracefully through Him!