Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason for the way caregivers feel. A day can be going along fine and our routine normal and then out of nowhere comes a wave of emotions or depression. Some days I wake up and am overcome by the mere thoughts of the day's tasks that lie ahead. Today is one of those days. How can I be tired before I even get started? And how can I be running behind before one task is done? I don't know. It can be difficult to determine  the exact cause of emotional distress. No matter what lies behind it, it must be worked through to finish the day's tasks. Days like this are simply tiring but I'm afraid caregivers have many of them. How do we find encouragement and strength to get through the day and get everything done? No one is going to give us a day off ! That's for sure. We find ourselves needing to dig down deep to encourage ourselves to keep putting one foot in front of the other. David found himself in a position where he was all alone ...

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...

Have you ever just waited in silence for God? A lot of times I find myself whining, screaming and crying at Him! But there are those times when words for whatever reason just do not seem appropriate, or they seem unnecessary. Like there is some sort of mutual understanding. I do not need words, I just know that He understands my painful heart. Perhaps that is what David was sensing when he penned Psalm 62:1. He speaks of waiting in silence for the Lord.  David speaks twice here about waiting in silence before the Lord. He says one time it is because his hope is from Him and the other his salvation is from Him. But then two other times David says this: He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. That's in verse 5, but in verse 2 he says I will not be greatly shaken . I do not know about you but there is a great shaking of the faith when tragedy strikes. At least it is perceived as a shaking of faith - circumstances only shake what we have been taugh...

I am not sure we can fully understand what a stronghold is today. Or maybe I should say that I don't know of a literal stronghold. That just means that it is time to use the imagination!  I would think that it is a safe place, a place to be able to fight from and not give up any ground to the enemy. Since I didn't know - I googled it! My concept was pretty close. It's what I would call a fort ; definitions I read said it was a fort made of wooden stakes and usually located on a hill. But it also said that a castle was one of the most common types of strongholds. And get this - who lives in a castle? "the king or territorial lord." Okay - now I'm rolling with it! God is our king! He is also the territorial Lord of my whole being. He won this territory of my soul a long time ago as I surrendered my territory to His Lordship! And now - I live in His castle with Him! I am crucified with Christ, right? (Gal. 2:20) I don't think I could come up with a safer...