Wednesday... After planting there is rest and rejoicing.

In my starting each morning with my thanksgiving I usually start with thanking God for a good night of rest and for the opportunity of a new day. The night cleanses us and shuts the door on yesterday and the morning sun comes up with a new chance, a new privilege and a new opportunity. Tomorrow is over and today has begun. But there are situations that do come from yesterday but we can look at them in a new perspective, in a new way, as a new challenge. Thanks God for the good night of rest and thanks for a new day of opportunity.

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 126:4-6 (NLT), "Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest."

It is so good for us before we go to sleep to stop and give to God the concerns and the difficulties and the challenges that we faced in our day. We give him the tears, the frustrations, the fears and then in confidence go to sleep knowing that he will be at work. Even when I wake up in the night with a concern or a problem, I stop and pray. I give it to God. And it usually means that I think about it for awhile and then fall asleep knowing that I have given it to God and that he will work on it as I sleep.

That is a part of the planting. We cannot harvest without planting. There is work, there is planting, there is preparing but at the end of the day we give it to God and then we rest in confidence.

The farmer after he plants the seed may take care of some weeds but the truth is there is nothing for him to do but rest and wait and then when he harvests he rejoices.

The Message says verses 4-6 this way. It says, "And now, God, do it again - bring rains in the drought-stricken lives. So those who planted their crops in despair will shout, 'Yes' at the harvest. So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing."

Now verses 1-3 (NLT) says, "When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! And the other nations said, 'What amazing things the Lord has done for them.' Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy."

Thanks, God for the amazing things you do for us! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

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Wednesday... It didn't just happen.

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Todays Beginning

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