Take it Personal

We've all taken something personal at one time or another. There are times when maybe something was aimed at us personally, and other times when they were not - but we still took it personally. Dealing with offense as a believer is another whole topic. Lol. But we've all done it, right?

I was thinking this morning that maybe some things, at least a few things, should be taken personally. Mostly, I'm referring to passages in the Bible. Take the 23rd Psalm, for example. David starts out talking about God in the second person. The Lord is my shepherd. He makes me... He leads me... He restores me.. Even though David is acknowledging God's work in his life, he is speaking of God distantly. But when he gets to verse four, something changes.

In Psalm 23:4, David makes it personal. He says, even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me. Now, he has shifted to speaking to God, not just about Him. It's such a subtle shift, yet it's David's way of bringing God right into his day, right into his now.

There is something about saying out loud to God - You are with me. It levels up our trust by at least one step. I wonder what type of impact it might have on our day if we took all the scriptures personally. If we could just add that personal touch to our favorite verses. Psalm 46:1 would start with God is a present help in trouble,  to something even more personal like, God, You are my present help. You are here to hold me up in trouble. Your hand of grace is gripping my heart, and You will not let me go. That's powerful.

Today, I will focus on how up close and personal God is with us. I'll read and reread Psalm 23 today, and I'll even read it out loud, declaring the nearness of my God. My heart will be thankful that He didn't sign off on being my shepherd when caregiving began. My heart will be glad that His mercy and goodness are still following me - still chasing me each day of my life. And today, I will pause and let them catch me as I trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

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Now Published in Paperback!

I have created a video series on my  YouTube channel. It goes over the affirmation each morning. The videos are only a couple of minutes long, and the first one was downloaded this morning! You can get the Affirmations for Caregivers book in several places. You can download it and have the eBook right now from my bookstore. It's also now available on Kindle or in print from Amazon. 

There is a video for each affirmation. Here is today's video.