“A Surprising Answer”

By  Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.   "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

          

Devotion:

I hate you!” she said as the door slammed behind her.  I recalled with a sigh, the ten long years that I had been praying for the Lord to bring my stepdaughter a Christian friend. Since she was living in another state, we held little sway of influence as Christian parents. My husband and I longed to raise her in our home.

Now however, she was sixteen and attending high school. I doubted we would ever have the opportunity for her to live with us. So what could I do? I prayed for a Christian friend to move into her life to introduce her to Jesus Christ.

I prayed. I wrote in my prayer journal of the desires and concerns regarding my stepdaughter. Yet, I saw few positive results.  Although familiar with Psalm 139:4, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord (NIV),” I began to question if God heard my prayers.

Through some unusual events my stepdaughter came to live with our family. She arrived angry and full of rebellion.  Little did I know I had just begun one of the most difficult seasons of my adult life.  As a blended family adjusting to a new member, we felt we were being pureed in a family-dysfunctional blender. We fought, we cried, and we prayed. I did not believe we would survive. My faith ran low in believing any change could occur. Although my faith faltered, my prayers prevailed.

One night I curled up in bed discouraged and exhausted. Again, the question surfaced, “Lord, do you hear me at all?” I picked up my prayer journal from the nightstand, thumbed through the pages of the past year. The written record of my prayers pleaded, “Lord, bring her a Christian friend!” Suddenly, I saw the answer to my prayer. God could use me to be the friend who would point her to God.

From that moment on, I worked diligently to win her confidence and trust. Was it easy? No. Did we still struggle with life issues and rebellion? Absolutely! Do I still pray for her? Yes, indeed!  But I know God hears and answer my prayers, but not always in a way I can predict.

The Lord affirms our key verse in my life time and again, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.   "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV).” He surprises and challenges me with His answers.

What surprise answers lay within your prayers?

Prayer:                                                                                                                                                             

Dear Lord, remind me how You always hear my prayers.  Open my eyes to the answers You give in response to my requests.  Help me to understand when You answer my prayers in completely different ways than how I expect.  Let me accept that Your thoughts and ways are higher than mine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application steps: 

If you record your prayers in a journal, take 15 minutes to review past prayer requests.  Ask yourself, Has God answered any of these prayers, and have I overlooked His obvious answer? Or begin today to record your prayer requests in a notebook.  Jot down the date and the request and allow room for notes on how God answers your prayers in the future.

Reflections: 

Do I believe God hears my prayers?

Do I dictate to God how He should answer my prayers?

How has God surprised me with an answer different than the one I expected?

Do I acknowledge that His ways are “higher than my ways” when I pray?

Power verses:

Psalm 91:15, “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” (NIV) 

Isaiah 58:9a, “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”(NIV) 

    

Psalm 34:17, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (NIV) 

                                

©© 2009 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

“Crossroads”

by Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse: 

Jeremiah 6:16, “This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls…” (NIV)

Devotion:

“I don’t remember the bushes on the side of the road looking so green,” I thought to myself. Within the next 30 seconds, I drove over a bridge. The water below was boldly identified as the Colorado River. Then a large yellow sign welcomed me to California. I was supposed to be entering Nevada. Somewhere at a crossroad, I made the wrong turn. I didn’t realize my mistake for over an hour.

Sheepishly I called my husband to tell him my news: 

“Hi, it’s me” 

“Hi, Honey. Are you almost home?”

“Not exactly, I’m in California.”

“What? Are you lost? Didn’t you read the map?”

“No, I didn’t look at the map. I thought I knew the right direction, but I must have made a wrong turn at the crossroads in Arizona. I am turning around.”  

My “detour” added an additional two hours to my long drive home. If only I had read my map or asked for directions, I wouldn’t have found myself in California. I wouldn’t have lost valuable time and energy.

Often, I make the same mistake in my spiritual life. Big decisions loom ahead. I think I know the right course. So off I go without taking time to pray or read my Bible and my choices go awry. Eventually I realize, “Oops, I should have sought God’s advice.” 

God promises that when we stand at a crossroads He will guide us. We need to stop and listen with our spiritual ears for the correct course to take. Proverbs 3:6 advises us to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will make our paths straight. I prefer my path straight over crooked, don’t you?  

So the next time life presents a quandary, let’s stop at the crossroads of our decision.  Let’s ask Him which is the better way. Let’s reach for our Bible and let God’s Word become our roadmap. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path,” Psalms 119:105 (NIV). God’s Word promises to show us the right way to proceed in life. 

Prayer: 

Lord, today as I make my decisions help me to remember to ask You for Your direction.  Guide me so that I do not take a wrong turn. Give me light for my path. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.  

Application steps:  

Review the power verses for today. Select one to memorize. Then pray this verse when you reach a crossroad in your life.  

Refection points:

Do I seek God as a part of my decision making process?

What decisions loom in my life today?

How can I be more attuned to God’s direction in my life?

Power verses:  

Isaiah 58:8, “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” (NIV)

Isaiah 30:21, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (NIV)

Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)

Isaiah 35:8, “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.” (NIV)

John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (NIV)

© 2006 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

“The Committee”

By Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:
  You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4 NASB).

Devotion:

A committee of voices live in my head. Most days they are quiet. However, when a pivotal decision develops they all want to chime in with their points of view. All the personalities clash and clang about making a ruckus and no decisions. Here’s an example of the conversations that might be heard on any given day.

Miss Scaredy-cat whispers, “Don’t do it. You’ll fail.”

Mrs. I Can Do shouts, “Go ahead. Go for it! What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

Ms. Prideful says, “What will other people think? I wonder what they will say?”

Miss Procrastination states, “Just wait to make the decision. Wait another day.”

Now I know that Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me, (John 10:27 NIV). Yet, I admit sometimes His beloved voice gets lost in the clatter of The Committee. I lean toward being a type-A personality with lots of ideas and dreams. So, my own strong personality voices are difficult to squelch. Unfortunately, God’s voice is usually the quiet whisper among the din of fear, pride and procrastination.  

The Committee visits me frequently, but the bigger the decision the more noise erupts in my thoughts. Life-changing choices create the biggest clash of voices. Decisions concerning relational conflicts, career changes, and ministry efforts generate non-stop thoughts in me.

So how do I keep The Committee subdued? For myself, I have found that I need to physically go to a place of quiet where I can sit and listen. I take my Bible and read a few Psalms. I sit. I wait. I still my mind. Eventually, it takes time, but my spirit, and my personality calm down and then I can begin to discern God’s quiet voice. The Committee takes a recess and God takes command. When His voice is in control, I feel the “peace that passes understanding.” It enables me to think rationally without all the emotional inner dialogue

Although the decision making process will never be easy for me, I can make the process more palatable by listening for God’s direction. I need to appoint the Holy Spirit as the chairperson. I must sit quietly and  still The Committee in my head so that I am able to discern the whisper of God.

Prayer:          

Dear Lord, quiet my thoughts. Teach me to sit still and listen. Train me to hear Your voice. Grant me the ability to discern Your thoughts and will for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application steps: 

Determine to set aside 30 minutes for a time of stillness. Choose a quiet place to sit and reflect. Read three or four Psalms. Close your eyes and listen.  Ask God to speak to your heart.

Reflections: 

Do I consider making decisions a difficult process? Why or why not?

What types of “voices” try to influence my choices?

When a decision needs to be made, do I try to listen to the God’s voice?

 Power verses:

Isaiah 28:23, “Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.” (NIV)

Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (KJV)

1 Kings 19:11-13, “The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (NIV)

© 2010 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

“Instead of Shame”

By Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:

 “Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.” (Isaiah 61:7 NIV)         

Devotion:

I turned and walked away from God in anger and disappointment. I tossed away the calling of ministry on my life. In my own perception, the Lord had hurt my feelings. So, I left my faith to find a fresh path.

This happened during my twenties. With two toddlers climbing up my legs during the day and crying intermittently during the night, I was physically exhausted. Emotional turmoil began to disintegrate my marriage. My immature faith lacked the stamina to hold to God tightly. So, for seven years I wandered through sin, divorce, and miserable meanderings of my own making. It was a time of spiritual drought—the years of shame.

Although I walked away from God, He did not walk away from me. The Lord allowed me to experience life in the wilderness of doubt, but He was right there watching over me and waiting for me to return to the call of ministry placed on my life at age eighteen. 

Eventually, I allowed myself to feel His presence in my life. Little by little, the Lord Jesus wooed me back to Himself. I remember the exact time and place that I felt Him whisper to my spirit, “Let’s start over and do it right this time”. I wept with relief and joy. I began to study the Bible and allowed it change my damaged spiritual heart. This time it wasn’t going to be head knowledge, but heart knowledge.   

My faith was back on track, but I did not think my calling to ministry could ever be restored. Hadn’t I traveled too far off the godly path? Surely, God didn’t want me anymore in service to His Kingdom. Surely, He had more qualified daughters that could minister to others without the shame of my own sullied past.

However, that is not how God thinks at all. The Bible says, “For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). The Lord desires for us to move past the shame of past mistakes and into His calling for our lives. He will restore us to useful service in the Kingdom. It takes time and it is a process, but the Almighty God still has a plan for each of our lives. He intends to replace disgrace with rejoicing, so that we may show our world that we are living miracles.

Do I hear an, “Amen”?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for having mercy on me. Display Your will for my life. Enable me to fulfill the gifts and call in my life, so that others will understand your grace and mighty power. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application steps:

Consider the years of your life you feel might have been wasted. Reread and memorize Isaiah 61:7, our today’s key verse. Cast away your shame and look for your double portion of inheritance. Rejoice in God’s mercy and grace.

Reflections: 

Do I feel I have lost my chance to use my spiritual gifts?

How can I begin to use my spiritual gifts to display God’s mercy in my life?

  

Power verses:

Joel 2:26, “You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.” (NIV)

Psalm 36:5, “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” (NIV) 

Romans 11:29-30, “For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience.” (NIV)

© 2010 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.