He’s Always Listening

by Cindi McMenamin

“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him. For God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8 NIV

I called up my friend, bursting with news to share.

“Guess what?” I blurted out as soon as she answered.

“Sorry, I’m on the other line,” she replied, cutting me off.  “Can I call you back?”

So I called another friend. No answer. Finally, I called my husband. “I’m in the middle of something right now,” he said, rather curtly. “I’ll get back to you later.”

Three attempts to share what was on my heart… all to no avail.

Then, as if remembering a friend on standby, I called on the One who is always available when I want to talk.

“Trust in Him at all times…pour out your hearts before Him,” David sang in his 62^nd Psalm about this God Who Listens.

I bowed my head and prayed. I told God all that was on my heart. And you know what? He listened.

Why do I not go to Him first when I have something to say? He’s never on “another line.” He’s never got something else that’s more pressing, or more important than what it is I want to share with Him. Like a Daddy eager to hear from His daughter, He is always listening. So why do I not tell Him first?

We often have something on our hearts we just need to share with someone. Some exciting news. Something discouraging that’s weighing us down. A bill we can’t pay. A concern for something that might happen. Who do you call when there’s something on your heart and mind that you need to share? I’ve learned from experience that if I go to someone else, I’m eventually going to be disappointed – by their unavailability, their less-than-enthusiastic response, or maybe their lack of response altogether.

David proclaimed in Psalm 3:4: “I cried out to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy mountain.”(NLT) Did you catch that? He isn’t on another call. He isn’t too busy to pick up the call. He isn’t distracted by another incoming call. He answers me.

As you go throughout this day, with all that comes your way, tell God about it first. Of course, He already knows what it is you’re about to say. But by telling Him your news first, you’re reassuring Him – and yourself – that He is the single most important One in your life. And you have a guarantee that He’s listening.

Thank you, Lord, that You are never too busy, unavailable or disinterested to hear from me. Thank You that, instead, Your ear is always tuned to me. Help me to come to You first as You wait for me to share all that is on my heart and mind.

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer and national speaker who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of 17 books including When Women Walk Alone (more than 120,000 copies sold), God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heart, and Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You. For more on her books and ministry, and free resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

Cindi’s latest publication is Seven Ways to Experience More with Your Husband. Your marriage isn’t broken, but it doesn’t seem to be growing, either. Where’s the spark and passion you experienced as newlyweds? Butterflies in your stomach, your spouse’s undivided attention, the anticipation of spending time together…how can your marriage ever get back to that place?

That spark is still there, waiting to be fanned into a lasting flame! Let noted author and speaker Cindi McMenamin show you the small changes you can make to touch your husband’s heart in a big way. Renew and re-glue your relationship as you discover how to strengthen your marriage and reignite the passion you and your husband once shared.

Join the conversation: How do you remember to pray during your day?

4 Reasons We Still Worry

by Cindi McMenamin

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Let’s admit it. We know we’re not supposed to worry and yet we do. We worry about finances, our health, and the health of those we love. We worry about what’s already happened and about what hasn’t yet taken place.

There’s a myriad of reasons why we shouldn’t worry. Worry causes stress which prematurely ages us, gives us wrinkles, and wreaks havoc on our health. Worry negatively affects our relationships with others who don’t want to be around a worry wart.

But what if I told you the real reasons you and I worry have more to do with our relationship with God than the people and situations we’re worried about? The reasons you worry probably aren’t the reasons you’re thinking, but as soon as you know them, you may be able to convince yourself to stop.

Here are four primary reasons you and I worry and how to stop it right now.

1. We worry because we forget God is all-powerful.

We worry because we forget about God’s power. We forget what He’s capable of and we start to believe we must take care of things ourselves. We start panicking that we’re on our own, and we might not be able to handle it. You know what? We can’t handle it. It’s why we need Him. God wants us to realize and admit our weakness so He can be strong on our behalf.

God often wants to do through us, what is beyond us. So when you’re faced with a situation in which you feel weak or powerless, rather than worry, call upon the Only One who take care of the situation. His power is available to you for the asking. James 4:10 says: “ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

2. We worry because we’ve forgotten His presence.

One of the first things that causes us to worry is the fear that we are alone. But when we do that, we’ve clearly forgotten God’s presence – that He’s right here with us, going before us, walking alongside us, and watching our backs.

In Psalm 139:7 David asks “Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee your presence?” And then he answers his question by explaining the staying power of God’s presence. Read it. Highlight it. Believe it. And ask for God’s power to live it.  When you’re tempted to fret that you are alone in your worrisome situation, remember His presence. And start talking to Him as if He’s right here. Because He is.

3. We worry because we try to control our lives and the lives of others.

It is in our human nature to try to control our lives and the lives of everyone else around us.  We believe, at times, that it’s up to us to right all wrongs and fix all things broken. But only God can restore the broken, heal the hurting, and bring ultimate justice.

After a season of life in which he was convinced he had no control over what God had clearly allowed, Job said: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted” (42:1). And in case God’s people became prideful and started to think their victories were at their own hands, the Psalmist corrected them when he sang: “It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them” (Psalm 44:3 NIV). 

Worry dissolves as you surrender to God and admit you are not in control of anything– He is.

4. We worry because we don’t really believe God is good.

God is good … all the time. As the perfect parent, He wants only the best for His children (Matthew 7:11). God is good because He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). So trust His goodness. He wants for you what will shape you for eternity. That means you don’t need to worry about what happens around you. Nothing can come close to you that hasn’t first passed through His loving hands (Romans 8:38-39).

Can you surrender your worries to the Only One who can work all things out according to His good and perfect plan?

For help battling the worry bug, see Cindi’s books, 10 Secrets to Becoming a Worry-Free Mom, and Women on the Edge.

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker, Bible teacher, and award-winning writer who helps women and couples strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of 17 books, including When Women Walk Alone (more than 150,000 copies sold),  Find out more about her speaking ministry, coaching services for writers, and books to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, at www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.  

Every woman, at one time or another, has felt as if she’s “on the edge.” She has felt unappreciated, unsupported, and weary. Such frustration can drive her away from God or toward Him. In Women on the Edge, Cindi shares how women can thrive even in the hard times and learn to live with joy, as they pursue God in exciting new ways.

Join the conversation: Can you find the reason you are worried right now in the article above?

Giving God My Anxiety

by Cindi McMenamin

There was much on my mind and I couldn’t sleep. My mind was racing through all that had happened that day, all that I needed to do the next day, and all the possibilities of what might happen if I couldn’t get it all done.

I got out of bed, grabbed my Bible off of my nightstand, and went into the other room, where I turned on the light, so I wouldn’t disturb my sleeping husband.

I turned to the Psalms because I remembered they were songs of human emotions written by songwriters who felt many of the same things I do. Did they ever worry? Did they experience sleepless nights? Did they understand worry and even bouts of anxiety?

As I searched through the songs in Scripture that night, I learned that those songwriters indeed experienced anxiety and worries. But instead of lying awake at night, trying to work through their concerns, they recounted Who God is and applied it to their situations. I learned from them that:

• “The Lord is my light and my salvation” and the “stronghold of my life.” Therefore, whom or what should I fear? (Psalm 27:1 CSB).
• “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them” (Psalm 34:7 CSB), so I can sleep, knowing I’m in His protection.
• As I “take delight in the Lord,” He will give me my heart’s desires. As I commit my way to Him and trust in Him, He will act (Psalm 37:4-5 CSB).
• Although there are uncertainties in this world and everything is constantly changing, He is my “rock of refuge…where I can always go” (Psalm 71:3 CSB).
• I can rest and trust that the Lord will accomplish what concerns me (Psalm 138:8 CSB).
• In vain I rise up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food and work everything out because He gives such things to His beloved in their sleep (Psalm 127:1-2 CSB).

With those comforting truths, I was able to return to bed and sleep soundly, knowing my Heavenly Father is the One who “gives sleep to the one he loves” (Psalm 127:2 CSB). God already knows what’s on my mind, but as I give it to Him each night before laying my head on my pillow, I can be certain His peace will not only guard my heart and mind, it will help me sleep better, too.

What tends to keep you awake at night? Is it something God can take care of? Give it to Him daily so you aren’t carrying the burden yourself. Psalm 4:8 CSB assures us: “I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.”  

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker, Bible teacher, and the author of 17 books. For more on sensing God’s presence and listening for His voice, see her books: God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heart, Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs, and When Women Long for Rest. You can find out more about Cindi’s speaking ministry, coaching services for writers, and resources to help you grow in your walk with God, your marriage, and your parenting at www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

Join the conversation: What keeps you up at night?

Why Isn’t God Answering My Prayer?

by Cindi McMenamin

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 CSB

Are you wondering why God isn’t answering a particular prayer of yours? Maybe He seems silent and you’re wondering why you should pray at all – especially if God doesn’t appear to be doing anything about it.

Oh, how we hate the silence of God. And yet, God does some of His best work in the quiet.

It’s easy to get the idea that because we pray, God is obligated to answer. Yes, God is good. Yes, He is loving. But He also promises to work all things for our good, when we love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Sometimes our waiting – and unanswered prayer — ends up making us more dependent upon God, like His Son, Jesus. And when we become more like Jesus, God is working our situation for our eternal good (Romans 8:29).

 God is also eternal, meaning His idea of time is different than yours and mine. God may choose to wait a whopping 10-20 years to give you something you’re asking for. For you and me, that seems like an eternity. To God, it is just a moment in time. And yet, His timing for your life and mind is perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Sometimes, God’s work is in the eternal realm where we can’t see it. Proverbs gives us good advice when we can’t see what God is doing: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 CSB). Trust that what He does in the silence is in the scope of the billions of consequences and details that He is ever aware of and that you may never be able to see this side of heaven.

Sometimes God’s refusal to answer your prayer is His way of keeping you close by…still asking, still waiting, still relying on Him. Show God that He can trust you to be faithful even in the silence. Even in the uncertainty. Even in the dark.

Psalm 84:11 tells us, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor;
he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity” (CSB). That promise of God assures us that if we are living with integrity and God doesn’t appear to be granting our request, it either isn’t good for us or it isn’t time. Trust Him with the silence. 

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker, Bible teacher, and the author of 17 books. For more on drawing closer to God during disappointment, see her books, When God Sees Your Tears, God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heart, and Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs. You can find out more about Cindi’s speaking ministry, coaching services for writers, and resources to help you grow in your walk with God, your marriage, and your parenting at www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

Join the conversation: Have you experienced an answer to prayer after a long wait? Were you able to see God’s goodness in His timing?

Letting Go of the Guilt and Shame

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

I listened to Jean cry as she told me she could never forgive herself for committing what she believed was an “unforgiveable” sin.

It’s one thing when pain happens to us. It’s another thing when something we do—or fail to do—results in our pain or someone else’s. We tend to put that pain in the category of something that for which God will never heal us or forgive us.

Yet, as I explained to Jean, Jesus’ death on the cross was enough to heal the very deepest of wounds– even the self-inflicted ones.

If you’re holding onto something and continuing to grieve over it, thinking you are showing God that you really are sorry for your actions, hoping that this might somehow make up for your wrongdoing, be assured that God doesn’t need all of that. The reason Jesus had to die for us is because we are incapable of appeasing God on our own efforts… or with our penitence. If you believe God could never forgive you, or if you are struggling to forgive yourself for something in your past, remember these three things:

1. God hears the cries of the brokenhearted. The Scriptures are full of stories of people who blew it and then cried out to God from a broken heart and were healed and restored. Tell God you need His love and forgiveness. Psalm 34:18 says “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (NIV)
2. God forgives, heals, and purifies. First John 1:9 tells us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (NIV). Notice the verse says He will purify us of “all” unrighteousness — even the acts we believe are unforgiveable.
3. You can hide IN God, not FROM Him. In Psalm 32 (NIV), King David wrote: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (verses 3-5). Then, two verses later, David was able to say to God: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (verse 7). While David started out hiding from God because of his sin, he ended up hiding himself in God. Once you tell God all that’s on your heart, you will find He is a refuge for you—one to run to and not from.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 NIV

TWEETABLE
Letting Go of the Guilt and Shame – encouragement from @CindiMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker, certified writing coach, and author of several books, including When Women Walk Alone (more than 150,000 copies sold), When God Sees Your Tears, and When a Woman  Overcomes Life’s Hurts, from which this devotional  is adapted. For more on her books and free resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, or parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com

Join the conversation: Has a confession ever set you free from your guilt?

Find Your Hideaway

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 NIV

My friend was at her wits end. She was overwhelmed with all there was to do while being stuck at home with three children, a stressed-out husband, a pile of laundry to do, a pile of dishes in the sink, two barking dogs, and a fish in a tank that needed cleaning.

When I called she was nearly at her breaking point. She vented. I listened. We talked about how sometimes it’s life. Sometimes it’s unexpected circumstances that take us by surprise. And sometimes, we just need to get away from it all. I asked if she had somewhere – anywhere – to go in her house where she could be quiet and alone and we could pray.

“Maybe the closet!” she said, exasperated.

“Go to your bedroom closet and shut the door,” I instructed.

She brought the phone upstairs and into her large walk-in closet and shut the door. She sat on the floor and we prayed. There in the dark and quiet of her bedroom closet, my precious overwhelmed friend found her hideaway with God.

It’s when we find our hideaway with God that we can begin to hear His sweet songs of deliverance.

“You are my hiding place,” sang David in Psalm 32:7. “You protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.”

When I imagine God as my “hiding place,” I realize I can go away with Him in my heart at any time and find that quiet place of rest and worship. But sometimes it’s not so easy, when we have distractions all around us and noise in every direction. That’s why it’s important to find our “hideaway” and retreat there often.

Maybe your hideaway is in your living room chair in the early morning. Maybe it’s your study where there’s a fire going and a cup of hot cocoa on your desk. Maybe you’re like my friend and your hideaway is on the floor of your bedroom closet. Or maybe you have to resort to the quiet of your car, even if it’s parked in the driveway as an escape from the noisy house. Wherever that quiet place is, go there often and thank Him for meeting you there.

 Lord, lead me to my hideaway in You so I can get quiet, sense Your presence, and hear Your sweet songs of deliverance. Thank You for always meeting me here in the quiet.

TWEETABLE
Find Your Hideaway – encouragement from @CindiMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer and national speaker who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of 17 books including her best-selling When Women Walk Alone (more than 145,000 copies sold), Women on the Edge, and When Women Long for Rest: Finding Peace for Your Overwhelmed Life, all on sale at her website now: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

Join the conversation: Where is your favorite hiding place?

In the Palm of His Hand

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

…In your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.                                                                                              Psalm 139:16 NASB

It’s easy to feel right now that the world is spinning out of control. Disease runs rampant. The economy is struggling. Our fears or concerns mount. Yet, our God has it all under control. He has the world – and all who are in it – in the palm of His hand.

Psalm 139 tells us how intimately acquainted God is with all of our ways. Not only does that verse tell us God has searched us and known us and that He knows our every whereabout, but it also says He protects us.

“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me” (verse 5).

What peace there is in knowing God is here with us in the dark, in the light, waking up, going to sleep, going out, and coming in.

Psalm 139 reminds me that I never need to worry about anything concerning my life or the lives of those I love, because of God’s ever-present watchfulness. From Psalm 139 alone, I am assured that God is One who:

• searches us and knows us from the inside out (verse 1)
• knows our every action and thought (verses 2-3)
• knows what we will say before we say it (verse 4)
• “encircles” us and places His hand of protection upon us (verse 5)
• follows us everywhere we go – or stays with us when we can’t go anywhere (verses 8-12)
• formed us and watched over us while we were in the womb (verses 13-15)
• wrote out our life story in His book before we even lived it – meaning even this time of quarantine doesn’t take Him by surprise (verse 16)
• thinks innumerable thoughts of us (verses 17-18)
• knows our concerns and anxieties – especially during uncertain days like these (verse 23)
• convicts us of our offenses and leads us in the right direction (verse 24)

That Psalm reminds me that God is intimately acquainted with us and our loved ones. And He is aware of what is going on in the hearts and lives of those we can’t be with on a daily basis. It assures me that there is nothing I can do, and no place I can go where His love doesn’t follow. That means there is never a reason to worry or feel alone. I am safe – and you are safe – in the palm of His hand.

God knows every detail of the paths we walk, the decisions we make, the words we say and the actions we take. He also knows every detail about the world we live in. He will never let us out of His sight or out of His heart.

Lord, thank You that You know the condition of this world and the condition of my heart. Thank You that Your love follows me everywhere I go and I am safe and secure in the palm of Your hand.

TWEETABLE
In the Palm of His Hand – encouragement from @CindiMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer and national speaker who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of 17 books including her best-selling When Women Walk Alone (more than 145,000 copies sold), God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heart, and Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You. For more on her books and resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, or for more information on her coaching services to help you write the book on your heart, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

Join the conversation: Which truth from Psalm 139 means the most to you this morning?

 

 

Focus on the Facts

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.                                                                                                                                     Psalm 16:8, ESV

I remember the week I wanted to quit the ministry. (As a pastor’s wife, I haven’t quite figured out what that means, except that it’s a low point of discouragement and sometimes it feels good to say “I want to quit.”) My husband and I had just met with a couple from our church who listed the ways we had let them down over the past couple years. As I sat there, listening to how we’ve disappointed them and anticipating that they would leave the church for such reasons, I was feeling frustration, pain and anger. As I drove away from that appointment in a separate car, I cried out to God, and told him how I felt.

“God I don’t want to do this anymore!” I yelled through tears. “I don’t want my husband to sit through one more meeting and hear how he has let someone down. I’m tired of pouring out, because everyone just takes and takes and leaves in the end.

That’s how I was feeling: I have nothing left to give and everyone eventually leaves, anyway. But in prayer, I was reminded of the facts: God can fill me up again and He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

Instantly, God spoke to the recesses of my heart: I went to the cross for you. And in light of what I did for you, do you know how many times you have disappointed Me? Do you realize how many times you have failed to meet My expectations? And yet, I have never left. And I never will.

 In the moment my heart received that truth, everything changed. I remembered Whom I am serving: The One who will never leave. It was all about the facts (that He is a faithful God and worthy to be served) and not my feelings (that it’s hard sometimes and I just want to quit). My prayer of complaint turned to praise: God, I can’t do this, but You can. And I will gladly serve You because of what You have done for me.

 When my feelings lead me down a dark tunnel of despair,  I know now to switch on the light of what I know about God to find my way back out.

Psalm 16:8 gives me clarity and helps me focus on the facts of Who God is, rather than on what I feel. “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8, ESV).

Thank You, Lord, that You do not shift and change along with my feelings or circumstances. You are the Rock. Steady. Constant. Persevering. Thank You, too, that You promise to never leave.

TWEETABLE
Focus on the Facts – encouragement from @CindiMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer, national speaker, and certified writing coach who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of several books including When Women Long for Rest, When You’re Running on Empty, and Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You. For more on her books and resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, or for more information on her coaching services to help you write the book on your heart, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

What Readers are Saying about When You’re Running on Empty: “Truly, there is not a woman out there who cannot relate to When You’re Running on Empty.” – Cheryl M. Anderson, Director of Women’s Ministry, Morrill Baptist Church, Morrill, ME

Join the conversation: What fact about God encourages you when you are feeling discouraged?

 

The Quiet Room

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

Do you ever just need to get away from it all?

Whether it’s busyness, constant noise, people who are making demands on us, or you’re feeling the need to be still, it would be nice to slip away to a quiet place.

I remember doing just that.

I grew up in a small two-bedroom house for my parents, myself, my two brothers and a sister. Shortly before my youngest brother was born, we added onto our house. We literally tore the wall down in a closet and attached a long hallway that led to two large bedrooms, a utility room and office, and another bathroom. But the first door you came to in that long hallway was what we called “The Quiet Room.”

My mom insisted on having a little room built, no larger than a closet, as a “sanctuary” in the house. There was just enough room for a desk, chair, and lamp. It was where she wrote music, read her Bible, and prayed. It was the room (with a lock on the door) where anyone could go to shut out the world and pray. We didn’t use that room at all as kids. (Since when do children need to get away from it all and have some silence? That’s what they get for punishment, not a reward!)

But during the three months before I married, I moved back home and the little “Quiet Room” became my sanctuary. It was where I spent the first hour of my morning with God, pouring into His Word, pouring my heart out to Him in prayer, and just listening to Him in the quiet of the morning. I look back on those days now as precious times in the sanctuary of “The Quiet Room.”

How I long for a “Quiet Room” today!

God says our bodies are His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). That means there’s a sanctuary – a “Quiet Room” – in our hearts where we can hide away with Him every day. I don’t have to be in a certain physical place to find Him, I only have to get quiet enough to hear His voice. I just have to enter the “Quiet Room” in my heart and meet there with God.

When Moses had been with God on the mountain for 40 days, his face shone brightly as he came off of that mountain and everyone knew he had been with God (Exodus 34:29-35). When I emerge from my “Quiet Room,” it is my prayer that everyone will know that I, too, have been with God.

 Lord, thank You for the way you call me to a quiet place to commune with You.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” Psalm 23:2 ESV

TWEETABLE
The Quiet Room – encouragement from @CindiMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer, national speaker, and certified writing coach who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of several books including When Women Long for Rest, When You’re Running on Empty, and Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You. For more on her books and resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, or for more information on her coaching services to help you write the book on your heart, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

What Readers are saying about Cindi’s book, Running on Empty: “Truly, there is not a woman out there who cannot relate to When You’re Running on Empty.” – Cheryl M. Anderson, Director of Women’s Ministry, Morrill Baptist Church, Morrill, ME

Join the conversation: Where do you go to be alone with God?

 

He Gives Back to Us

by Cindi McMenamin @CindiMcMenamin

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.  2 Corinthians 9:8 NASB

I remember the day I was supposed to meet Alice for lunch. I didn’t want to go. It had nothing to do with Alice. I just felt I was running on empty, I didn’t have much time, and I didn’t have much to give.

Alice didn’t have a problem she wanted me to fix, or any type of issue with which she wanted me to help. She simply wanted to meet a friend for lunch. As we sat there and talked, I learned a lot about her that day. And I learned a lot about myself. We talked about raising daughters, and how we each were raised. We expressed an appreciation for how God works in our lives. I shared with her some encouragement from Scripture and then prayed with her, asking God to give her wisdom and discernment as a parent. Then she prayed for me.

I left that lunch feeling grateful that I had met with Alice. I felt rejuvenated, refreshed, and refueled for the day. What had happened?

God works in ways we sometimes don’t anticipate. I’ve noticed that when I have little left to give, but I show up anyway, God makes sure I’m blessed just for showing up. Sometimes God has a way of either filling me with the same energy I just infused into someone else, or He causes me to be encouraged by the person whom I thought I was going to encourage. I went to lunch that day expecting to pour myself into Alice, but she poured herself into me instead.

It must have something to do with the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The golden outcome of that, I believe, is that as we “do unto others” (in this case, provide encouragement, just as we’d want to be encouraged), God makes sure that encouragement comes back around to us. Sometimes God repays us through the kindness and encouragement of others. Whatever the case, I’ve found, most unexpectedly, that God often infuses energy into my life when I’m simply obedient and do what I know He wants me to do.

What goes around comes around in the name of Jesus. Second Corinthians 9:8 tells us: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

Lord, help me to be open to the divine appointments You send my way, not just so I can fill others, but so that You, through others, can fill me.

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He Gives Back to Us – encouragement from @CindyMcMenamin on @AriseDailyDevo (Click to Tweet)

About the author: Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning writer, national speaker, and certified writing coach who helps women strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of several books including When Women Long for Rest, When You’re Running on Empty, and Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You. For more on her books and resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, or for more information on her coaching services to help you write the book on your heart, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

What Readers are Saying about Drama Free: It was a book I didn’t want to put down. It was packed with Scripture, biblical truth, and helpful resources on how to diffuse drama that we all face in life.

Join the conversation: What life-supplying encouragement has God sent to you lately?