A Prayer for Discernment in Making Important DecisionsBy Kristine Brown Bible Reading"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." – Psalm 73:24, ESV Listen or Read Below: I've always loved the poem, "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost. The poet paints such a clear picture of what it's like to stand at the divergence of two roads and wonder which one he should choose. I feel a deep connection with that place he describes each time I read it. Especially the line that says, "And be one traveler, long I stood; And looked down one as far as I could..." I can relate to the man's need to look as far as possible down one path and see what awaits him there. Many times in life I've stood paralyzed with an important decision, stretching as tall as I can to get a view of each path, hoping to see how things will turn out. I get stuck in the decision-making process, because I don't have any idea what the outcome will be. I stare at the two roads before me, but I let fear hold me back from choosing one over the other. Making decisions is a challenge for many of us. When it comes time to make an important decision, we experience things like decision fatigue or analysis paralysis. We want to be confident in the decisions we make, but we struggle to know what to do. We don't want to make a mistake that could affect our life or someone else's, so we stay stuck. Decision-making has long been a challenge for me, too. I've felt like I couldn't make a decision until I had some idea how things would turn out. I would think through every possible outcome, which only resulted in stress, worry, and sleepless nights. Of course, I knew that God was in control of the outcome, but I didn't focus on that truth. I had to learn to reframe my thoughts about decisions- from everyday choices to the big, important ones. I learned that instead of trying to make better decisions, I needed to focus on becoming a better decision maker with God's direction. Psalm 73:24 says, "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." In this psalm of Asaph, the psalmist wrestled with why the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Even though he struggled with understanding, he didn't hold back his concerns. He cried out to God in his frustration. But then, he sought discernment so that he could gain understanding. "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." (Psalm 73:16-17) The psalmist knew exactly where to go with his problem. When he didn't have the answer, he knew God would give him guidance. In the same way, we can know God will guide us through the decisions of this life. He will be with us when we stand at the place where two roads diverge. He will give us discernment to make the decision, no matter how difficult. And in the end, we can have peace in knowing we trusted God with the process and the outcome.  Let's Pray: Dear God,I have an important decision to make, and I don't know which path to choose. The more I think about the choices in front of me, the more frustrated I become. I feel stuck. Give me fresh discernment as I make this difficult decision. Lord, my struggle with decision-making has become a pattern in my life. I fear making a mistake, so I agonize over what to do. But I know you are right beside me right now, ready to guide me through this decision. I know you want what's best for me, and you will help me gain understanding of my situation. Give me clarity, direction, and confidence through your Holy Spirit. I want to honor you with whatever I decide. Thank you, God, for helping me become a better decision maker as I seek you for discernment. Thank you for walking this road alongside me and giving me peace.In Jesus' name, Amen. Photo credit: ©Getty Images/People Images For more spiritual growth resources, check out the 5-day email devotional, How to Be Free from Bitterness, by today's devotion writer, Kristine Brown. Learn more about women in the Bible and find encouragement to help you "become more than yourself through God's Word" at Kristine's website, morethanyourself.com. Related Resource: Remember God’s Enduring Love for You in this Guided Meditation on Psalm 100! This guided Christian meditation from Psalm 100 will help you experience and praise God for his unending love for you. Become aware of God's presence with you, and praise God for his loyal and enduring love from the beginning of time and into the future. Listen to every episode of the So Much More Podcast on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! The post A Prayer for Discernment in Making Important Decisions – Your Daily Prayer – October 3 appeared first on GodUpdates.

A Prayer for Discernment in Making Important DecisionsBy Kristine Brown Bible Reading"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." – Psalm 73:24, ESV Listen or Read Below: I've always loved the poem, "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost. The poet paints such a clear picture of what it's like to stand at the divergence of two roads and wonder which one he should choose. I feel a deep connection with that place he describes each time I read it. Especially the line that says, "And be one traveler, long I stood; And looked down one as far as I could..." I can relate to the man's need to look as far as possible down one path and see what awaits him there. Many times in life I've stood paralyzed with an important decision, stretching as tall as I can to get a view of each path, hoping to see how things will turn out. I get stuck in the decision-making process, because I don't have any idea what the outcome will be. I stare at the two roads before me, but I let fear hold me back from choosing one over the other. Making decisions is a challenge for many of us. When it comes time to make an important decision, we experience things like decision fatigue or analysis paralysis. We want to be confident in the decisions we make, but we struggle to know what to do. We don't want to make a mistake that could affect our life or someone else's, so we stay stuck. Decision-making has long been a challenge for me, too. I've felt like I couldn't make a decision until I had some idea how things would turn out. I would think through every possible outcome, which only resulted in stress, worry, and sleepless nights. Of course, I knew that God was in control of the outcome, but I didn't focus on that truth. I had to learn to reframe my thoughts about decisions- from everyday choices to the big, important ones. I learned that instead of trying to make better decisions, I needed to focus on becoming a better decision maker with God's direction. Psalm 73:24 says, "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." In this psalm of Asaph, the psalmist wrestled with why the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Even though he struggled with understanding, he didn't hold back his concerns. He cried out to God in his frustration. But then, he sought discernment so that he could gain understanding. "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." (Psalm 73:16-17) The psalmist knew exactly where to go with his problem. When he didn't have the answer, he knew God would give him guidance. In the same way, we can know God will guide us through the decisions of this life. He will be with us when we stand at the place where two roads diverge. He will give us discernment to make the decision, no matter how difficult. And in the end, we can have peace in knowing we trusted God with the process and the outcome.  Let's Pray: Dear God,I have an important decision to make, and I don't know which path to choose. The more I think about the choices in front of me, the more frustrated I become. I feel stuck. Give me fresh discernment as I make this difficult decision. Lord, my struggle with decision-making has become a pattern in my life. I fear making a mistake, so I agonize over what to do. But I know you are right beside me right now, ready to guide me through this decision. I know you want what's best for me, and you will help me gain understanding of my situation. Give me clarity, direction, and confidence through your Holy Spirit. I want to honor you with whatever I decide. Thank you, God, for helping me become a better decision maker as I seek you for discernment. Thank you for walking this road alongside me and giving me peace.In Jesus' name, Amen. Photo credit: ©Getty Images/People Images For more spiritual growth resources, check out the 5-day email devotional, How to Be Free from Bitterness, by today's devotion writer, Kristine Brown. Learn more about women in the Bible and find encouragement to help you "become more than yourself through God's Word" at Kristine's website, morethanyourself.com. Related Resource: Remember God’s Enduring Love for You in this Guided Meditation on Psalm 100! This guided Christian meditation from Psalm 100 will help you experience and praise God for his unending love for you. Become aware of God's presence with you, and praise God for his loyal and enduring love from the beginning of time and into the future. Listen to every episode of the So Much More Podcast on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! The post A Prayer for Discernment in Making Important Decisions – Your Daily Prayer – October 3 appeared first on GodUpdates.

October 3, 2024 While We Wait on God's PromisesLYSA TERKEURST Lee en español "Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust ..." Psalm 40:4 (ESV) Are there deep disappointments in your life that seem to be lingering? Do you feel like you've prayed the same prayers with little to no change? I understand how hard that is. And although the circumstances of your life may be different from mine, we all have our middle-of-the-night moments wrestling through tears. Some memories still hurt. Realities that make you wonder if you'll ever feel normal again. Sufferings that seem forever long. And you're disappointed that today you aren't living the promises of God you've begged would come to pass. In your most private moments, you want to scream at the unfairness of it all. But then there are more hopeful moments ... when you want to turn up the praise music, lift honest prayers, and declare God is good even when the situation doesn't seem good. Hurting but still trusting - that's the human journey. And that's where we find David in Psalm 40. In the first 10 verses, David praised God for delivering him, but in verses 11-17, he cried out for God to deliver him again. Trusting doesn't mean we ignore reality. It means we acknowledge reality in the very same breath that we acknowledge God's sovereignty - His absolute ability and power to work as He sees best. Our trust can't be tied to whether or not a circumstance or another person changes. Our trust must be tied to the unchanging promises of God. We hope for the good we know God will ultimately bring from our situation, whether the good matches our desires or not. And sometimes that takes a while. The process often requires us to be persevering and patient. Honestly, I know that can feel a little overwhelming. I want the promise of Psalm 40:4 - "blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust" - but I forget this kind of trust in God is often forged in the crucible of long-suffering. God isn't picking on me. God is picking me to personally live out His promises. It's a high honor. But it doesn't always feel that way. I've got to walk through the low places of the process before I'm perfectly equipped to live the promise. We read about this in Psalm 40:1-3: "I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD" (ESV). The idea of waiting patiently is incredibly important in this psalm. The Hebrew word for "waited" in verse 1 indicates it's ongoing, and it holds a sense of eager expectancy and hope. So while I want the solid rock on which to stand, first I have to wait patiently for the Lord to lift me out of the slime and mud and to "set my feet" (Psalm 40:2, ESV). That word "set" in the original Hebrew is qum, which also means "arise or take a stand." God has to take me through the process of getting unstuck from what's been holding me captive before I can take a stand. I also want that new song promised in Psalm 40:3. Did you notice, though, what comes before it? Many cries to the Lord for help. The most powerful praise songs are often guttural cries of pain that have turned into beautiful melodies. I know this is hard. So let me be the one to lean in and whisper these words to you as we begin to wrestle through this journey together: God is working things out. He's not far away. He is right here with us. Even if our prayers aren't answered in the way and the timing we want. Even when this process feels messy. We can trust that God is good. Lord God, I know You often work in ways I don't understand. There are parts of my story that feel incredibly hard to live in, but I trust You are making something beautiful even out of those parts of my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.  OUR FAVORITE THINGS There are only a few days left to preorder Lysa TerKeurst's new book, I Want to Trust You, but I Don't, and receive these FREE gifts: 1) three chapters you can start reading immediately; 2) a special discount on tickets to attend the Trust Again Tour with Lysa and Natalie Grant in a city near you; and 3) access to three never-before-released Therapy & Theology episodes with Lysa, counselor Jim Cress and Dr. Joel Muddamalle on the topic of red flags. These offers won't be available once the book releases on October 8, so preorder now! ENGAGE Find real-life encouragement when you connect with Lysa TerKeurst here on Instagram. FOR DEEPER STUDY Psalm 40:17, "But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay." (NIV) As you experience a delay or waiting season, how are you leaning on the Lord as your helper and deliverer? We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments. © 2024 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post While We Wait on God’s Promises –  Encouragement for Today – October 3, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

Few sounds in life are more universally pleasing than a happy baby’s laughter. Even the grumpiest curmudgeon can’t help but smile when they hear that gleeful sound. Julia Mae Dorriety caught some of her infant son’s first big laughs on camera. Baby Jack’s giggles are contagious, and the video is a must-see. @jmdorriety I was trying to make a wrap for lunch and he though the bag was the funniest thing! #babiesoftiktok #laughingbaby #happyathome #happybaby #memoriesareforever #memories #momsoftiktok #fyp ♬ Wash. – Bon Iver Julia Mae Was Just Making Lunch When The Baby Laughs Began She captioned her TikTok post, “I was trying to make a wrap for lunch, and he thought the bag was the funniest thing!” Julia Mae grabs the plastic bag and tosses it on the counter, delighting her baby boy. Jack lets out a huge laugh, which makes her laugh, so she does it again. The baby is just as amused the second time around and every time after. Jack has his momma wrapped around his finger, and she wants to share his glorious giggles with the world. Her view video has been viewed 766,000 times, with fans unable to stand the cuteness. The laughter brought back a sweet memory for this mom. “I remember my baby girl’s first laugh! I think it releases a special chemical in our brain or something bc I wanted to sob and crack up.” It served as a great pick-me-up for this TikToker: “This made me laugh, and I’m going through a really tough time right now. Thank you, sm.” This mom’s daughter laughs just like Jack when she sees a silly dig. “My girl thinks the dogs are the most hilarious thing! Baby giggles are the cutest.” A keen-eyed TikToker noticed that Jack isn’t the only one having fun. Julia Mae clearly loves it, too. “Everyones only talking about ur baby not to say she’s not absolutely adorable but you two laughing together is just too cute.” Huggies chimed in from their official Instagram, “The gift that keeps on giving.” Thank you, Julia Mae, for sharing Jack with us. His giggles truly made our gloomy day brighter. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Mom Catches Baby’s First Laughs On Camera— Experience The Joy With Her appeared first on InspireMore.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The following article, Poll Reveals Vance The Clear Winner Of Vice-Presidential Debate, was first published on Conservative Firing Line. Polling by the Daily Mail just…

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