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Matthew 6:34 – Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (NKJV)
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (NKJV)
Christians say that we trust in the Lord, but what does that really mean in practice? Recently, my neighbours, who took in an evacuee from a wildfire, were able to see the trust component of faith at work.
Elise, 90 years old, had made her confession of faith and began learning of God at the young age of 8, as she began to build a relationship of knowing Christ. Then, she became part of the Child Evangelism Fellowship. She continued in church ministry all of her life. While building her faith and delighting in the Lord, she learned that God is always reliable and stands by His Word, time after time. She turned to Him instead of to people who tried to influence her the opposite way. She walked through each challenge of life following God's lead while her confidence and dependence on Him grew. She learned that it was wiser to trust in His understanding than in her own.
Having to move to a place of safety from the wildfire, she is confident that God has the resources to best handle the situation in His plan and purpose, which means that even if her home and mementoes of family history burn, He will carry her forward within His plan. She trusts that she will never be separated from His love. She knows and accepts His pattern of faithfulness, and she comments softly, "Everything will be all right."
While Elise is with my neighbours, she is spending much of her time resting comfortably, showing no sign of fear or anxiety, as she leans back in a big recliner chair in their living room. She trusts in and waits on the Lord to handle the situation. Because of her trust, she can accept whatever is to come.
Doing well for her age, as she waits to hear news, she shows no sign of anxiety, turmoil, disorientation, fear, or other signs of worry. Her years of walking along God's pathway have taught her that she can depend on and trust Him. Her heart is prepared to accept whatever outcome He provides. She prays and reflects on God's promises and protection over her life as she reclines in her friend's big chair. She has a knowing that all is well with her soul. As she has said before, "God knows best."
What a blessed example Elise is setting for my friend. What wisdom she is sharing by her presence in my friend's home. May we all learn to understand how to trust our Saviour as Elise does as she relaxes and waits upon the Lord, her soul at rest in her friend's big chair.
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, give us Christ's courage to do what we are called to do in a crisis. May we relinquish our control, trust in Your outcome, and let go of our own mindset so that we can replace it with the mind of Christ, Who trusts You perfectly. Amen.
P.S.: After three days, Elise, filled with gratitude, returned to her home that had suffered only slight smoke damage.
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Thursday, January 23, 2025 – In Europe — Pray for the Jewish community to be encouraged and feel the love of their non-Jewish Christian friends. Pray that the Holy Spirit would open the hearts and minds of these secular Jews, and for God's leadership in my work.
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A beautiful story.
Thanks for the encouragement, Karen.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing the story of this rich woman! Blessings.
Would that we would all have such a faith. Always enjoy your devotionals. Thank you.
A wonderful story with a very important lesson for us all. Thanks and blessings, Karen!
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us! What a blessed testimony to God’s care! Blessings.
Very moving and utterly true, Karen. Thanks for sharing it.
I prayed for Elise today as we perhaps all did who read your message.
Dear Karen – thank you for sharing this inspirational story of Elise’s faith. A humbling example for me today. God Bless your continued writing.
Thank you, Karen. This is a reassuring testimony. I also have a 90-year-old friend with a testimony. She became paralyzed 3 months ago from a surgery. Confined to a wheelchair, her faith remains strong.
Greetings Karen,
Many thanks for this beautiful and most meaningful write-up this morning. Wonderful to read how Elise was taken in by friends and how she left the whole situation in God’s hands knowing He would handle the situation in the best way.
Truly shows how important it is that we keep the faith, and the Lord does not fail us. Good news that Elise was able to safely return to her home. Blessings for your very thoughtful writings.
Definitely the kind of faith for each of us to strive for! I received a letter from a friend asking for prayer for a pastor friend suffering from anxiety. This request caused me to consider what faith in Christ should really mean. I concluded that the bottom line is that no matter what is going on in our life we must strive to embrace the promises of Scripture and truly trust that God is in control and that everything will be alright, for His perfect love casts out fear and does not create anxiety. Your story of Elise, backs up this conclusion. It is simply far too easy for us as human beings to allow our mind to be overrun with all the negatives, doubts, and fears of this world, rather than disciplining ourselves to stay our minds on Christ and the promises of God, which transform anxiety into peace.
Be blessed.
Good morning, Karen,
I was grateful that you added the P.S. so I knew the outcome for Elise’s experience. I admire your friend for taking someone in who needed a safe place. She also has faith to trust in the Lord, I believe, in the willingness to open her home to help out a stranger.
Elise’s trust is remarkable and wonderful and hopefully many of us will reach that level of trust in our Lord. It sounds like a simple thing when life is purring along lovely, but when a crisis comes along, it is more difficult and takes a lot of prayer and thought to get there. To trust in God all the time is an amazing feat, but when we remember all the times he has helped us in the past, we can achieve some part of it.
Very encouraging to hear about Elise and her strong trust. Thank you for sharing and encouraging all of us of the importance of giving up our own will for God’s will no matter what the circumstances.
Elise felt like a member of the family, or any of the residents in my building by the end of the story. We can all learn from her. Thanks for sharing this. Bless you and yours.