Great Peace

“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165, NLT).

Peace doesn’t mean everything in your life is at rest. Peace is knowing rest when everything in your life is not at rest. Child, my peace rises to each occasion when you allow me to manage the turmoil. Be still. Be quiet. Quit your striving with your problem. Give it to me. Seek my peace which surpasses your human understanding. No man—no person—no stress—no hardship—no problem has the power to destroy my great peace. But you can destroy it by allowing worry to claim your mind and distractions to rob you of its promise. You can destroy it by trying to control what only I can control. You can destroy it by opening your heart to despair and your mind to the enemy who whispers his lies. However, when you focus on my Word and the love I have for you—when you surrender all that holds you in bondage to fear, I speak my life into your very being.

Allow nothing to destroy your faith in my love for you. Focus your mind on my truth, and rest your heart. Retreat from seeking the advice of others whose ideas promise peace. Perhaps they have good advice, but it may not be mine. Seek what I have for you. My advice brings great peace. Never let others rob you of your peace of heart and mind. Recognize each problem that arises as a step towards acquiring my great peace. It is real and it lasts in the face of all opposition. Each obstacle has the power to bring you closer to its promise.

You have great peace when you love and live what I instruct. Nothing will make you stumble. When you allow me to guide your life—when you allow selfishness to be crucified at my altar—when you seek my righteousness, you receive all of me. Love me with all your being. Love my Word, and you will discover the power of faith that grants this peace. It is my gift that calmly holds you no matter what the world throws at you. It is real, and nothing can destroy it when your heart continually seeks me.

I am your greatest peace. There is no other.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Known Beyond Myself

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

—Psalms 139:1–6 (NIV)

To realize that I am so greatly and so deeply known by you, Lord, goes beyond my limited human understanding! I open up my heart to you, and my soul yearns for you to continually search me. I thirst for you with an unquenchable thirst that you alone quench. You are the living God! I cannot move without you knowing it. Every step I plan may be formed in my mind, but your Spirit directs my steps. My thoughts may not be as high as your thoughts, but you impart the wonder of yours to my heart. You know when I am at ease and when I am distraught. You know when I have the faith to move mountains and when I need rest to be revived. You are familiar with every part of me. Before I even speak, you know what I am going to say. Because you know my heart, you know if it is pained or if it rejoices. You understand me, your child, because you became one with me in your suffering. In your death, you brought me forgiveness and grace. In your resurrection, you brought new life. You have placed your hand upon my life. Such knowledge is beyond my understanding—too incredible. Oh, Lord, you know me better than I know myself.

Why would I ever live without hope? I have the promise of hope in you, Lord. Because you know me and created me, I am yours—and you are mine. I pray right now before a word is ever spoken that my words are directed by you, Holy Spirit. I long to have a joyful heart that speaks life. You discipline me, Lord, and guide me in your direction. You chastise me when I fail, and you encourage me when I succeed. You have placed your hand upon my life, and I am always aware of your steady and unrelenting pressure. Your love and your call upon my life are too much at times to even fathom. Just to know you loved me enough to lay down your life for me is too incredible. To know you raised me to love with your heart and purpose, it is joy beyond my ability to comprehend. I give you my limited life today because that is all I have—a limited life unfulfilled without you—a limited life, needing to know that I am known beyond myself. Take my limited life—and complete me with your purpose. Take me—and never let me claim myself again.

Form Me, Fire Me, Fill Me (Page 97)

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com.

Surrender

God’s way is best; heart, cease thy struggling
to see and know and understand;
forsake thy fears and doubts, but trusting,
submit thyself into His hand.

—Charles W. Naylor

Lord, if I had chosen your will for my life, I probably wouldn’t have chosen right where I am at this moment. I wouldn’t have chosen this hardship and heartache. I would have chosen something easier. I would have chosen things that bring happiness instead of things that develop character. But you know what brings out the best in me. You know how each hurdle rising before me will inspire my greatest effort. You know what event or circumstance or problem that I face will bring out my best for tomorrow’s greatest joy.

Lord, I thank you for this hard time that will make me stronger. I don’t have to tell you, Lord, that praise in this valley is so much harder than praise on the mountain. Praise right now calls for sacrifice of all I perceive, and it calls for me to place my trust in you. This moment is not only about surrender of my will to yours. It is about surrender for who I am for who you know I can be. You always wish to do something new in me.

By surrendering my control to your control, I discover enough clarity of purpose to trust you for the next hurdle—and the next and the next. “I am about to do something new,” you whisper. “I have already begun. Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through your wilderness.”

As I surrender my life, you grant direction. Your living water flows through me, reviving hope. What I had thought was my time of greatest hardship shall prove to be my time of greatest victory.

Form Me, Fire Me, Fill Me (page 31)

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Morning Comes

Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. —Psalm 30:5 NLT

Yesterday, I sat beside you, holding your limp hand. You slept most of the time, but sometimes your eyes would open just a little and stare into a world that I don’t know.  Even though you couldn’t speak or respond, I spoke to you. I sang hymns you love. Grady came to visit. I told you that he had come. I was moving around you at one point when I noticed a wetness on your cheeks. Your chin trembled a little. You knew we were with you.

We are losing you. I thought it was hard with Mama, but it is nothing like this. Writing about the pain helps for a while, but often it resurfaces with a sting which tears the heart to shreds. But I can’t live by the feelings pain brings, or they would consume me. They are real. I will not deny they are there, but with His help, I can’t allow them to claim my mind. With the Word to encourage and guide me, I will make it through dark days that never seem to end. I can do all things with His strength and grace.

Weeping lasts for the night, but the Lord promises that joy will come with the morning. This will not last forever. This night of heartbreak will end. Morning will come. One day, Daddy, you will square dance joyfully again. I remind myself every day that the Lord’s strongest children are those who, in the night of weeping, choose to believe in the promise of joy in the morning.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Remember Me

Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people; come near and rescue me. —Psalm 106:4 NLT

On the wall she has a poem by Owen Darnell that she reads each day. The last four lines reach into her heart, and stir her unshakeable love for her husband—my father.  “Just remember that I need you,” the poem reads, “that the best of me is gone. Please don’t fail to stand beside me. Love me ’til my life is done.” And without hesitation she lives her love for him over and over again. Through long days and endless seasons, Daddy lives at Autumn Cove—dementia claiming this man we all love. Jeanie, his wife of almost three years, stands beside him. She is the reason he has fought to live this long, and she is God’s gift to a man who unselfishly lived for his first wife through her years of illness.

God did not send just anyone to my father. He sent an angel who had taken care of her first husband for over twenty years of illness. He sent an angel who brightens Daddy’s day like no one else can—who touches a place in his heart that is for her alone. He calls her “My Jeanie”. I think of this verse from Psalm because the Lord has remembered my father, and shown favor to him by sending Jeanie. She rescues his fearful heart with her gentle and strong spirit. She draws him, from long ago places which have claimed his mind, back to the present. She has been his anchor in a sea that is slowly drowning him. Each day that sea takes him a little further away from his Jeanie—from all of us. And that sea will one day close over his mind, and he will no longer remember any of us.

We will always remember him. He is husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great grandfather. He is Bud Hampton, who stood strong and tall—whose committed heart always loved—whose inquiring mind constantly searched—who took joy in what others often passed by. He is Bud Hampton. There is no other like him, and will never be.

Love us while we lose him, because we will not always be strong. Forgive us when we fail, because we shall make many mistakes in this journey—not only with each other, but with everyone else. Walk the journey with us when we need your hand, and understand when we don’t. There is no script to read and live that can make this road easy. But there is a love that exists beyond blood. There is God’s love that knows no boundaries. And He can send an angel, not just to Daddy, but to us. 

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Do you settle for less? Do you have trouble understanding and even believing who Jesus Christ says you are? If you will grasp your identity in Him, and allow it to penetrate your spirit, He will transform you. You find your identity in the Word! You are new! You are not who you were! You are valuable to Him! You have His Spirit in you! He has chosen you. Get into the Word, and learn to understand what He has really done for you on Calvary!

In 1994 my parents asked how I felt about them moving to Anniston and living near me. They wanted to be near family to take care of them as they got older. Young and flippant I said, "Of course!"  Little did I know the pain and even the beauty of this journey.

My Daily Call

(new) 

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it —1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV

He calls me, and I will obey. If I stay focused on His purpose, whatever comes against me will not succeed. Hard times come, but I choose to keep calm in His never-changing purpose and unlimited power. If I lose my peace for even a moment, I retreat into His presence and give Him my struggle. I will regain His peace. I can accomplish nothing when I am upset and stressed out. In giving Him all that I face, I get rid of my selfish needs, and concentrate on His purpose for me.

I will always believe that I can do what He has called me to do. He is faithful and will do the work. But His work is only accomplished by His Spirit working through me. I must surrender all my desires for His. I must surrender what I consider my inadequacies for His ability. I must surrender. In my surrender I discover His power.

Focusing on His call, I will concentrate on the daily things which need be done to work toward His vision. If I lose the focus, I will lose the purpose for my life. If I rush the work to attain His purpose, I will become discouraged by the immensity of it all. Daily I lay down my cross, and ask Him to come, and lead. I will remember each day that He never asks me to do something without providing the power to accomplish it.

And that is enough for this journey.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

Different Yet One

(New)

Differing approaches and insights to ministry, which sometimes bring division in a church, can actually bring healing to the whole body–when each considers the other as valid as his own. If my goal is God’s truth, and it is the same goal as another’s goal, then any differences are nothing in comparison to the ultimate purpose of His Good News.

One of the greatest examples of this is found in the lives of Paul and Barnabas. Paul was a leader. His mind was on the overall mission ministry. His focus and his purpose was to spread the Good News. Barnabas, even though he was part of this mission ministry, was not focused on that aspect of ministry. His mind was focused on the potential of John Mark, who needed guidance and encouragement. What was Barnabas' goal? It was to help John Mark mature enough to be a strong and viable witness. The approach was different, but the ultimate goal was the same. Read about this in Acts:

Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. —Acts 15:36-41 NIV

Paul and Barnabas disagreed, and they parted company. It was necessary for Paul to keep the overall ministry going. Paul did not have time to be weighed down with John Mark, who had once before deserted them. He had little use for him. Paul was ready to move on. However, Barnabas saw something in John Mark that Paul could not see. He realized John Mark's potential. He believed if he invested his time in John Mark's life, then John Mark would mature into a strong witness for Christ.

Both views of ministry are absolutely necessary and each is as important as the other. Without leaders whose minds and hearts are focused on the corporate ministry, there would be no ministry. Without ones like Barnabas, who realize potential and focus on individual growth, there would be no individuals to participate in ministry. The beauty of this story is that after Barnabas took time with John Mark, and he had matured, Paul invited him back into ministry. If Barnabas had not believed in John Mark, he would have never found his way back. If Paul had not believed in the overall ministry, and had allowed John Mark to go with them, then the overall ministry would have suffered. The two approaches ultimately came together for God's purpose.

God calls each one of us in specific areas. When we see things differently, instead of thinking they are so far apart, we need to realize that they really aren't. That is how the body works when approach to ministry is different. You see the promise in each perspective, whether it is corporate, like Paul's, or individual, like Barnabas'. The end result is a beautiful tapestry of God's making. It is the different parts of the body, working together in unity to weave His best.

 (New devotion)

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com

God, My Rock

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. —Psalm 42:9, 11 NIV

If God is my rock, my anchor, my purpose, then in the depths of my soul, even though I may not feel His presence, I know He has not left me.  He has not forsaken me. I may cry out “why have you forgotten me,”, but deep inside my soul I know He is still my strength. Even though I might not “feel” Him, I know He is my God, my support, and my only hope. Yet sometimes I mourn what I perceive to be the loss of His presence, and feel so alone. I remind myself I am never alone no matter whether I feel His presence or not.

Fear can keep me from feeling His presence, and then a lack of feeling His presence can make my sense of desertion even worse. Into my life shines His hope! Hope urges me to grab His hand, and place my mustard seed of faith into what I cannot see. That ray of hope begins to spread and dispels the darkness of my despair. And as it spreads throughout my soul, faith begins to rise. Why should I be so downcast or disturbed? I choose to place my hope in my God. I choose Him instead of a feeling of despair. I choose to praise Him for He is my Savior and my God. In this choice I find greater faith to believe.   

I choose hope in Him. I choose to believe. I choose praise. “God, my Rock” becomes more than just something in which I am expected to believe. He becomes my anchor, my strength, my sanctuary, and my purpose. There is no need to think I’m abandoned. I’m known, and placing my hope in Him. I will yet praise Him—my Savior and my God!

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(I have had questions asking if these devotions are in the book. Most aren't. If they are, I will say that they are. This devotion is not in the book.)

 © 2017 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com