Happy Friday!

Psalm 138:8 says, ‘The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever, Do not forsake the work of Your hands.”

This was the scripture lesson from my drive time devotion this morning. The story that went along with the scripture was a story of a mother sitting at the bedside of her dying daughter. Due to the closeness of her story to my own story I am driving in a total heap. This woman spoke of having a wave of fear that swept over her as she thought she was watching her daughter slip away. But then as she was praying at her daughter’s bedside she felt a wave of praise come over her as she remembered this scripture. God said in His Word that He would fulfill His purpose in her daughter. His love would endure forever, and for her to not forsake the work of His hands. She claimed this scripture for her daughter. Her daughter survived.

As I listened to this scripture and this story this morning I began to meditate. God began to reveal what this scripture meant for me. God had a plan for Casey. God did not plan for Casey to have cancer. Cancer just happened. But God still had a plan for Casey. After Casey was diagnosed with an incurable cancer, the plan for Casey changed. I feel pretty certain that God knew Casey would not live in this world a long time. So God went to work and made His presence known to Casey, God made sure that Casey knew Him very well. When the time came for total surrender Casey was prepared and at peace. God fulfilled His plan of faith in Casey in a year. Casey received a lifetime of blessings in the last year of his life. Casey spent the last year of his life getting to know the One with whom He would spend eternity. Because Casey knew his heavenly Father so well, when it was time to die in this earthly life, Casey went unafraid because he knew where he was going and Who would be there when he arrived.

As I continued to think all of this through and allowed God to speak to me I realized what God had allowed me to see. God allowed me to see each day what a life lived in faith looks like. As Casey’s earthly life and his body weakened, the strength of Christ grew within him. Casey developed the heart of surrender.

God wants the same type of relationship with each of us. He wants to know each of us so well so when the ultimate is asked of us we will respond in faith and not in fear.

This relationship develops over a lifetime. A life time can be decades long, in a few short years or even less than a year. Don’t miss out on the accomplishments God has in store.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all so very much, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.