Devotion 13
Empty Tank!
It happens sometimes. I just run out of steam, and I have to give up and rest. This time it should have been a "no brainer"; October was a long, long month for us. But sometimes I'm a slow learner!
So what do I do at times like that? I'm so glad you ask that question. Some of students will remember that I pulled out my old stand by: Psalms 103:1-5. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is with me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."
Then David goes on to list five major ones: salvation, healing, protection, loving kindness and tender mercies and "good things" for my mouth. That covers a lot of territory, but the thing that always amazes me is the reason God is generous with these benefits: "so that my youth/strength shall be renewed like the eagles." Study for yourself the benefit the eagle receives when he molts.
That's always my first place to start. I also have two other standbys. One is the blessing of music. I like many kinds, but at times like this I'm drawn to old hymns and classical music — preferably piano or symphonic. The first reminds of God's goodness; the second blocks out the world and I concentrate on the gift of the masters, blessed by the Master, as they weave their intricate melodies that lift my spirit.
And always — always — there is God's creation. Lines of a hymn spring to mind, combining two of my revitalizing techniques:
This is my Father's world;
He shines in all that's fair.
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass.
He speaks to me everywhere.*
From the endless surge of the tide as it crashes onto the shore to the valiant stand of the tiny yellow buttercup, standing tall in the spring grass, I am overwhelmed by God's attention to detail. I am also encouraged in my faith as I look at the universe. . Luke 12:6
tells me that even a single insignificant sparrow, five sold for only two farthings, is not forgotten by God. If God remembers every single sparrow, surely He knows me! And the next verse tells how much he knows about me Every hair on my head is numbered! Why bother if I'm just an insignificant detail in the overall scheme of things? He knows how tired I have been — not depressed, angry, or even desperately sick — just tired, and it matters to Him.
Every time I start with verses like Psalm 103:1-5 and move through the healing components of music and appreciation of the universe, I am renewed. Of course, He still expects me to do the no-brainer things myself.
* This Is My Father's World," words by Maltie D. Babcock (1858-1901) andmusic by Franklin L. Shepphard (1852-1930)
For Further Consideration:
Psalm 139
Psalm 23
Nature Sings of God
There is a living melody
That nature loves to sing to me,
A winsome, lively, lovely song
Of trust in God when life is wrong.
She hums a high exquisite air
That bees and birds and wild things share.
With notes as light as a fawn's footfall,
She hums and strums, "God cares for all."
She sings a lullaby with rain,
Keeps time upon my windowpane.
Her theme song, with rapturous flare,
Says, "The Lord our God is everywhere."
She trills a bright sweet harmony
Of wild life moving swift and free,
Composing melodies that grow
Into song that breathes, "God knows, He
knows."
It swells with sounds of life that grows,
Of water that falls and overflows,
Of rippling sunlight in golden streams,
Of deep cool woods in early spring.
The song she sings is e'er the same
In sunshine, shadow, snow, or rain.
So many shades of tone has she
To create this living rhapsody.
It's whispered song on forest floor,
Rising lighter and higher as it soars
To Him who made all thing that are,
To echo praise on moon and star.
Dorothy Ruth Harris Teel
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