Realising Our Worth

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same  -  Anne Frank.
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Happiness feels so close and yet so far away.  Perhaps we look to a person for it, or to a job, or to a new winter coat.  We deserve happiness, we know.  Yet, we learn so slowly that happiness can only be found within.  The person leaves; the job goes sour, the new coat is quickly out of style.  Elusive, all of them.

But the happiness that comes from knowing who we are and how our lives fit in the grand design of the Creator never eludes us.  We are one of a kind.  And there is no other who can offer to the world of friends just what each of us can.  We are needed, and knowing that, really knowing it, brings happiness.

We can celebrate our worth, by realizing it.  We can celebrate it now.  We can glory in our worth, our specialness, and we can cherish the design.  We can cherish our parts and cherish the part each person plays.

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Combined, we are as one big orchestra.  The conductor reads the music and directs the movements.  Being in tune with the conductor feels good.  I can call it happiness.  All I need do is play my part.

K. Casey

*** DON'T Forget Me, LORD ?? !!! ***

DO you ever wonder if the Lord has forgotten you? Does it seem as if He's not paying as much attention to you as He once did? IF so, remember that appearances can be deceiving. Regardless of how it looks right now, the Lord is not far from you. He may be giving you an opportunity to trust Him and wait for His help rather than rely on your own resources.

We are all familiar with a similar kind of testing in everyday life! What parent has not told his child to stay in a certain place until he returns? And what parent is not distressed if that same child is unwilling to wait but quickly runs off on his own?

David, the author of Psalm 13, reflected the thoughts of a child of God who certainly must have pleased the heavenly Father. He was being put to the test. He knew the experience of feeling that he had been abandoned by the Lord. Yet he remained convinced that his only real hope was in God, and that He would reward his faith.

Are you being tested right now? Does God seem far away? It's your opportunity to learn what David learned - that the Lord never leaves you. * He sustains all who put their trust in Him. - Mart De Haan

I'll walk this day in faith, dear Lord,
No foe, no storm I'll fear;
But trusting in Your precious Word,
I'm safe, for You are near. - Anon.

How long, O LORD?
Will You forget me
forever? - Psalm 13:1.

* READ Psalm 13.

* Trusting God's faithfulness dispels our fearfulness!

FAITHFULLY !!

"...give your bodies to God, Let them be a living sacrifice, holy - the kind he can accept..." (v. 1)
* Romans 12: 1-8.

PRAYER: Thank You, Father, for showing me the need to discipline myself. HOW glad I am that I do not have to rely on my will-power alone, but as I surrender fully to You, all your power sweeps into my being, helping me to become the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.

*Study/Matt. 25:1-13; Prov. 18:9, 6: 6 -7; Heb. 6:12

1. Why did the maidens miss the wedding?
2. WHAT picture does the Bible give us of diligence?