Encouragement from the Living Word!!

The following scripture is from my quiet time this morning. The Lord so sweetly used it to encourage, comfort, and strengthen me; and I just wanted to share it with you:

Psalm 138:2-3; 6; 8 (Amplified Bible)

"I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self.
For though the Lord is high, yet has He respect to the lowly [bringing them into fellowship with Him]; but the proud and haughty He knows and recognizes [only] at a distance.
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever - forsake not the works of Your own hands."

Psalm 57:2 (Amplified Bible)
"I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me [Who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them]!"


How thankful I am that the Lord hears me when I call to Him! Think about that... that the God of the universe, who controls the whole world, hears me when I call to Him! That is too much to truly comprehend! That He hears me every time I call Him is so comforting and encouraging, especially since I have to call on Him innumerable times throughout my day (as you can imagine, being the mom of twin boys who are almost 4)!

And it even gets better than just the fact that God hears me, He also responds to me! And in His response He strengthens me with might and inflexibility to temptation, now that is something I desperately am in need of. I am tempted everyday to "lose my cool" with my boys as they speak disrespectfully, act defiantly, and just flat out disobey me. Sometimes it is so very hard to respond out of love rather than react out of frustration or anger, but if I have spent time with my Lord He has provided me with the strength and might I need to respond in a way that is honoring to Him and is more beneficial to my children. I just have to chose His strength and His course of action rather than my own "fleshly" response.

And to top that off, the Lord so encouraged me by reminding me that He "will perfect that which concerns me." Well, my children definitely concern me; will they ever learn to obey quickly without arguing or complaining, will they ever learn to speak respectfully, etc. I have God's Word which tells me that He will perfect them, how wonderful!! How wonderful to know that God is perfecting my boys and me, transforming us to the image of His dear son, Jesus Christ.

What about you, do you spend time with your Lord everyday? If not, try it out... let His Word speak to you, change you, encourage you, strengthen you, guide you, direct you, and make you more like Him. God's Word is "living and active"!