Aug

19

When All Goes Wrong

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Job 1:22

God has allowed Satan to take away all of Job’s blessings, except his own life.  Yet Job never doubted or cursed God for what was happening to him. I have had “Job” seasons in my life. I’m sure you have as well. That seems at times to be what defines this life on earth. It is full of heartaches, disease, unfair acts, even death. How easy it is to blame God, to shake our fist at Heaven. Yet Job didn’t? What was his secret?

Faith. Father And I Together Henceforth.  Job knew whatever happened to him, God would do three things -

  1. Be there and not leave him (Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20)
  2. Give him the strength to endure  (Philippians 4:13 and Psalm 46:1)
  3. Comfort him and love him (2 Corinthians 1:4, Isaiah 51:3)

Job didn’t have the Bible passages to reassure him, but he had raw faith. When life smacks you in the face or punches you in the gut, realize you are never alone. Your Father in Heaven who loves you so much that He gave up a part of Himself, Christ on the cross, to ensure you’d always have access to Him, is as close as your next breath.  It is not so much for us to ask why things happen, but to ask “Where are You? Show Yourself to me in this.” He will, in small whispers and large acts.

Aug

17

Eye Lifts

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


  To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Psalm 123:1

There are commercials in magazines, on TV and bannered on the web that tell us we can look younger - get a facial lift in a bottle. Wrinkles disappear in a few uses,  puffiness and dark circles vanish – limited time offer.  But, there is an eternal eye lift that can lift your whole spirit. That is when you lift your eyes to God.

There are two stances before God – praise and prayer. In prayer, we squeeze our eyes shut, bow our heads and open our hearts. We shut out all around us and concentrate on the still small voice that can move mountains and change lives. We come with a contrite heart knowing we can’t do it all on our own.

But when we praise, we lift our hands and our heads upwards. Why?  Same reason. We realize we can’t do it all on our own.  We stop looking at the world in front of us and stop seeing what we think lies ahead. We raise our eyes to the vastness of the sky - a symbol for eternity, for majesty and power, and for the unknown.  We take our eyes off ourselves and our finite view of things. It makes us realize how much bigger the whole picture is and who is in charge.

If you need an eye lift, lift them to the One who loves you more than anything else, Christ the Lord. The One who created your world, knows your circumstances and understands you better than you understand yourself. He is the one who stilled storms, defeated death and continues to touch souls. Have a good long talk with Him today- in prayer and praise. It is the best eye exercise you can do.

 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2

 

for more devos from the Psalms, dedicted to this webite and the women who find wisdom and strength here, please consider my new book,
SONG NOTES  now available on Amazon.com.

Aug

13

Like A Sparrow

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


…  I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. Psalm 102:7

We’ve always fed birds. Wherever we have lived, one of the first things that gets unpacked, after the coffee pot and the toilet paper, is the bird feeder. It doesn’t take long for the word to get out in the bird world that there is fresh seed at our place. Within a day or so the first brave soul lands, checks it out and spreads the word to the others in the flock who are perched somewhere within range. Then another comes, then three more, then a whoosh of wings as whole flocks arrive. Sparrows, doves, finches, blackbirds. Suddenly our backyard is alive with flutter and song.

Our habit is to fill the feeder when we get home from work. There have been times when we’ve come home and found  the sparrows and doves are all lined up on the apex of the roof, waiting. The feeder is empty. I think they know our car!  They know when it enters the driveway, food is on the way. But the only time we see a sparrow on the roof alone is when it is ill. The flock rejects it.  Most likely, it is in it’s last day. It is always very sad for me to see a little creature isolated like that.

The Bible says in Matthew 10: 29 says that not a single sparrow will fall to the ground without God knowing it.  A popular hymn says His eye is on them.  Sparrows are very common and numerous, yet God knows each one- just as He knows each of us.

If you feel as if you are alone on the rooftop while everyone else is fluttering around in a flock, take heart. God is sitting there with you. His eye is on you.  These are not your “last days”. His love can be the balm that heals wounds of the soul, brings joy back into your heart and strength back into your wings.  You can belong to a greater flock – an eternal one. Turn, look and see - He is watching over you.

Aug

5

Blueberry Days

By Julie B Cosgrove | 2 Comments


Things had been building up for over a week.  Like microscopic cactus thorns embedded in my fingers I could not remove, the “go wrongs” were multiplying. I tried to keep a positive outlook, telling myself there were lessons in these, that God loved me and was in control, and this was another test of faith I was determined to pass.  My favorite passage, Matthew 6:25-31 kept seeping into my mind – “be ye not anxious . . . seek ye first the kingdom . . .”

I went to the grocery store early in the morning to avoid the 100 plus Texas heat. I lugged in bag after bag and began to put things away, already sweltering. Heat and I do not get along.  I reached for the flimsy clear plastic box of blueberries and squeezed too hard. The lid popped open and blueberries flew all over my kitchen, rolling like marbles under the cabinets, between the bins in the fridge, across the tile. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I sat in the  middle of my kitchen scooping up blueberries and bawling like a baby, crying out to God. Enough! 

Luckily the only other heartbeat in the house was the cat, who sat crouched on the counter wondering what was going on. Until I felt the heartbeat of God.  As I gathered blueberries, He gathered me – all my broken pieces scattered willy-nilly, all the little “go wrongs”. Then as I washed off the blueberries (they are too precious and pricey to throw out), He washed me of my angst and told me I am too pricey and precious, too.  I put them in a sturdier container, and He placed me in His sturdy arms.  My cat still sat perplexed. I had to laugh. What a scene!

Once again, I learned I need to trust Him to be in control of the good and the “go wrongs”, to come to Him in prayer not determined to past the test on my own but to humbly receive the lessons He has for me. I know there will be more blueberry days, but perhaps next time I’ll remember to laugh and find joy in the midst of it sooner. 

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say- REJOICE!  Philippians 4:4

Jul

30

Until I went

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God.  Psalm 73:16-17

I sat in the pews as if struck by lightening. All the people around me faded into a blur. The rest of the sermon sounded like background noise. One sentence spoken from the pulpit was all it took. A question I had, a deeply seated doubt, had been answered before I had found the time to really get down on my knees and ask it. From the lips of a man of God came the voice of God.  My angst melted into humbleness. God had reached down into my soul and touched me – again. 

And to think I had contemplated staying home that day because I was having one of those chronic pain days. Yet experience told me to go. How many times has Satan stepped on my back - yet I got up, got going and later found out why. Each time, God had an answer for me-in the hug of a friend, in the words of a hymn, in the midst of prayer, or from the pulpit. And each time, it humbled me to know He actually hears, cares and responds.

Our God is a creative God. He loves to act and interact through us imperfect humans. Sure, He can speak to us at anytime, but He calls us to come together for a purpose. United we are stronger. The Christian walk is going against the flow. We need to push forward arm in arm and with His help, help each other so we can in turn help others.  That is the purpose of coming into His sanctuary. 

Until I went, the deepest confines of my heart were still unrevealed. Until I went, I was not able to plainly hear His response. Until I went, I was not yet awed by His grace filling me with His presence and showing me how He can use others and myself to help Him touch lives.

This Sunday, get up and get to His sanctuary. Answers, comfort and strength await you. Who knows, something you do or say may be what the person in the next pew needs, or they may be just what you need. Go, and watch God in action.

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