Daily Devotions for Caregivers

These handful of scriptures in Psalm 9 really say a lot. Verses7-8 describe the Lord, our God as a judge. He sits on His throne which He established for judgment. Our concept of judgment is a harsh, cruel rule. But it is simply making decisions regarding matters. Which of course, God always does in righteousness. Think about the decisions that you have to make each and every day. This can be a huge responsibility. Yet God makes decisions about all humanity - and all who have been and will be throughout time- all the time. What a huge responsibility! He has the weight of the world on His broad shoulders! Yet this judge - this righteous decision maker - is our stronghold. He will not forsake those who trust in Him. It is easy to feel forsaken. And it's not one of those real to me kinds of things. Many times we have truly been forsaken. Friends, church and even family do not always know what to do with us as our lives are lived so differently. In many ways, our home imprisons us

This morning I was reading through some of Psalm 18 and how David had triumphed over his enemies. To be quite honest, I wasn't feeling it. So I thought to myself No, I need to read the one he wrote in the cave. So I turned over to Psalm 57. It's the one David wrote while he was hiding in the cave while Saul was pursuing him.  He starts the Psalm out with a prayer asking for God's mercy and then a declaration immediately following. The soon-to-be king cries out to God and says Have mercy on me O God, have mercy on me! He had to be in anguish. Here God had told him he was to be king, and he could battle Saul and rightfully take the position according to the culture of the day. But he (rightly) chose not to lift his hand against Saul...to run instead. And now, he's in the cave...waiting...  But immediately following his anguished prayer for God's mercy he makes his personal declaration: I look to You for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of Your Wings un

The story of Gideon in Judges 6 has always fascinated me. Here is Gideon determined to not let the enemy have his crops. The scene opens with him hiding from the Midianites and this angel appears and actually calls him a man of valor. Could he not see that Gideon was in hiding ? The fact was that Gideon was hiding from the enemy - the truth was that inside he was a mighty warrior. We've given him a bum rap all these years over the facts and forgot about the truth that God saw concerning Gideon. The facts for a caregiver are that we feel very incapable at times, feel alone and many times very weak. But the truth about us is that we are able to face another day because of the strength God provides. The truth is that God is walking this journey with us and we are never really alone (no matter how deep that valley may feel!!!). And the truth is that we may look weak - but it takes more courage for us to get up each morning to face a new day doing what we do - than pretty much anyo