Michelle Medlock Adams - Trusting Jesus Every Day: Devotions to Increase a Womans Faith

2016 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Print ISBN 978-1-63609-345-1

Adobe Digital Edition (epub.) 978-1-63609-5370

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Text previously published in Secrets of Beauty, Secrets of Confidence, Secrets of Happiness, and Secrets of Serenity, all published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

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Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked CEV are from the Contemporary English Version, Copyright 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

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Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O L ORD , do not abandon those who search for you.

P SALM 9:10 NLT

T rusting Jesus is easy on some days.

When you and the people you hold dearest are healthy. And gainfully employed. And generally happy. Youve goterJesus has got everything under control, right?

Except when things feel out of control. The car doesnt start. Theres a rumor going around about downsizing at the company. A relationship crumbles. A bank forecloses. A routine test shows something suspicious.

But the fact is that Jesus is there in both scenarios. The Lord, the creator of the heavens and the earth, yearns for you to put your full, complete, total faith in Him. And that means choosing to trust Him every day.

What does that look like in your life? Think about some practical steps you can take to rely less on yourself (or a spouse, or a parent, or a friend) and rely more fully on God. Maybe that means stepping out of your comfort zone and sharing your faith with someone. Maybe it means following a dream that youve been too fearful to pursue.

Today, trust that Jesus has your back. Trust that He loves you, and He wants the absolute best for you today and always. He formed you to be the unique woman you are, and He wants you to live a life in Himto the fullest!

Each time he said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. Thats why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 C ORINTHIANS 12:910 NLT

F anny Crosby would no doubt agree with Pauls words about his infirmities. Blinded when she was six weeks old by a man posing as a doctor, she never wasted a moment in anger or self-pity, later writing, I have not for a moment in more than eighty-five years felt a spark of resentment against him, because I have always believed that the good Lord by this means consecrated me to the work that I am still permitted to do.

A gifted, prolific poet, Fanny was already well-known for her readings and published poetry by the time she was accepted at the Institute for the Blind when she was fifteen. With a mind like quicksilver, she memorized great works of literature, including most of the Bible. She remained a student at the institute for twelve years, then was a teacher there for eleven. All the while her poetry circled the globe, and the young girl found that by eighteen she was receiving visits from presidents and dignitaries.

At twenty-three she stood before the U.S. Congress, and at twenty-four published her first book. But she was not yet a Christian. Fanny had loved the language of the Bible, but its message had never opened her heart. Finally, at thirty-one, she received the Lord in a revival meeting, describing her own conversion as a flash of celestial light. God touched her mind and soul, and the floodgates opened.

Over the next sixty years, Fanny wrote more than 8,500 hymns, sometimes as many as seven a day! Inspiration came to her from everywhere, from ordinary sources, such as a carriage ride, to events that rocked her life, like the death of her infant daughter, for whom she wrote Safe in the Arms of Jesus.

What Fanny could not see, she could feel, and Gods love and blessings on her set aside her blindness in favor of a wisdom and a sight that few other people have experienced. Yet all of us can follow her example in finding the confidence to use what gifts God has bestowed on us, no matter what infirmities challenge our everyday lives.

A merry heart does good, like medicine.

P ROVERBS 17:22 NKJV

E ver notice that when you smile its like an instant face-lift? Your eyes look brighter. Your cheeks appear lifted. You just look better with a grin on your face. Not only does smiling make you look better, but also it is good for youespecially when your smile is accompanied by a chuckle or two.

According to information on the Discover Health website, by the time a child reaches nursery school, he or she will laugh about three hundred times a day. Know how many times a day an average adult laughs? Only seventeen giggles a day, and thats just not enough. We need to laugh on a regular basis, and laughter starts with a smile.

Proverbs 17:22 says, A merry heart does good, like medicine. In other words, laughter is good for your body. Laughter actually stimulates circulation, produces a sense of well-being, exercises the face and stomach muscles, stimulates the production of endorphins (the bodys natural painkillers), and provides oxygen to the brain, to name a few benefits. Here are a few more facts to encourage your laughter: