DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR SATURDAY, 18 MAY 2019 "Our Patient God" by Ken Claar (Idaho, USA) from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Saturday, 18 May 2019

DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR SATURDAY, 18 MAY 2019 "Our Patient God" by Ken Claar (Idaho, USA) from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Saturday, 18 May 2019

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR SATURDAY, 18 MAY 2019   Our Patient God   by Ken Claar (Idaho, USA)

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.   (Isaiah 40:31 (NRSV))

When I was about five years old I had a heart disease called endocarditis. In those days this disease was very serious, and my life was threatened for almost a year. My family members were not Christians; but because we lived in a small town, the Sunday school in the local church heard about me and sent a teacher and a small group of kids called “The Sunshine Club” to visit me. I don’t remember much about the visit, but I recall that they gave me a small shiny plaque with a picture of Jesus holding a lamb. It said that Jesus is the good shepherd. They wrote some kind messages on the back of it, in pencil. Somehow, through all our family’s moves and the many moves my wife and I made during our marriage, I managed to keep that little plaque. The pencil inscriptions have faded but are still readable. Later in my Christian life, the plaque became one of my prized possessions. It reminded me that God is faithful and patient with us, waiting and being available when we finally realize our need for him. As the verse above says, “They who wait for the Lord will renew their strength.” I gained spiritual strength and physical healing, and I am still going strong at 85 years old. God is faithful and true, and the sooner we come to God, the longer we can honor God and walk with Jesus Christ.

TODAY'S PRAYER:   Dear Lord, bless all who have been touched by your care, and bring them to a true faith in Jesus our savior. Amen.   * * *     TODAY'S READING:   Isaiah 40:27-31. 27 Why do you complain, Ya'akov; why do you say, Isra'el, "My way is hidden from ADONAI, my rights are ignored by my God"? 28 Haven't you known, haven't you heard that the everlasting God, ADONAI, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow tired or weary? His understanding cannot be fathomed. 29 He invigorates the exhausted, he gives strength to the powerless. 30 Young men may grow tired and weary, even the fittest may stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in ADONAI will renew their strength, they will soar aloft as with eagles' wings; when they are running they won't grow weary, when they are walking they won't get tired. (Complete Jewish Bible).         THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:   I will follow as God leads me to help others start their journey to faith.         PRAYER FOCUS:   Children who are critically ill

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