Devotions by Meredith

I Hide Myself in You

Psalm 143:8, 9

Let the dawning day bring me revelation of your tender, unfailing love. Give me light for my path and teach me, for I trust in you. 9 Save me from all my enemies, for I hide myself in you.

Early morning is an awesome time to be alone with the Lord. There’s no cellphones pinging, or family members vying for your attention. No dishwasher or washing machine whirring loudly to irritate. Just the stillness of the early morn. A waking bird may press out a sleepy chirp as it slowly struggles to alertness once again. Morning is a time when it seems there’s a greater sense of God’s lovingkindness. Many mornings it feels like He has just been waiting for me to pull off the covers, wrap in my warm robe, and find my special place of meeting with Him yet once again. He’s never late to meet me there. I fully trust Him. Here is where He helps and directs me in the way that I should walk for this day. I lift up my inner self, my soul to Him in this secret place with Him. And of course, those enemies of my soul, the wiles of the enemy, those negative, poisonous places within me and without, daily try to overrule my mind and emotions under the influence of hell, only to try to pull me off God’s daily given path for my life. The old day, old mindsets, that crawled into bed with me the night before, fade away as I listen for the new way of thinking and believing. This is the rejuvenation worked by the power of the Holy Spirit. Daily this can be our portion if only for the slowing down and intentionality of the seeker. This is what the psalmist is talking about— “for I hide myself in you.” There is no safer place to be than hidden in the heart of the Lord. Valued friends are important in our lives, but they can only give us just so much. They cannot fill us and heal us, direct us and counsel us like our heavenly Father can who always hears us and answers our cry for help and intimacy. Psalm 138:7, 8 says, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. 8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Abba will guide you. He will encompass you with His unconditional love. Don’t listen to the lying whispers of our enemy. He will only speak condemnation and discouragement. Recognize his evil, disparaging ways. Find your place before the Lord and listen and watch for Him. He is waiting to bless and direct and bring great encouragement to you. He has so much stored up in His heart for you today and everyday. 

What about you? Do you have a strong desire to hide yourself in the Lord today? He has a special place near His heart just for you. Will you trust Him today? I pray that you will. Blessings on your day.  

Think On These Things

Philippians 4:6b-9

6b Tell Him every detail of your life, 7 then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ. 8 So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising Him always. 9 Follow the example of all that we have imparted to you and the God of peace will be with you in all things.

Some days it is a battle not to slip into thinking and dwelling on negative things and happenings in one’s life. These thoughts don’t announce themselves, like a sentinel shouting a clarion call—"I will now suggest negative thought patterns to you!” No, it’s a slow, smooth, creeping strategy that seeps into one’s mind, one small sneaky suggestion and then a few minutes later, another. And of course, we, as the slow human beings and spiritually slow discerners, buy into the enemy’s evil suggestions. Not Jesus though. When He went up on the mountain with Satan, and Satan tried so very hard to get Him to fall for his evil suggestions, Jesus always and every time answered Him with Scripture—“It is written.” “It is written.” “It is written.” Paul, the writer of the book of Philippians is giving us good instruction concerning our thoughts. He is explaining that our God wants us to draw close to Him and tell Him every detail of our lives. The Lord of all earth wants to have intimate interaction and conversation with us! Amazing! Paul tells us that that’s when God’s wonderful, full peace will rise above our human understanding (which is very limited), and He will give us the answers to us through our intimate relationship with Him. Our brain has grooves like little roads all over it. These are actually maps of our repetitive thoughts grooved into the brain. It’s called mental mapping. When we think negative thoughts so many times, our brains automatically go into the same grooves, thus thinking the same negative thoughts. We need to make new roads or grooves by practicing what Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells us to think on. We have to intentionally practice thinking on “these things.” Think on things that are authentic and real, not fake and phony.  Honorable and admirable, not gossipy and cruel. Beautiful and respectful, not ugly and dishonoring. Pure and holy, not nasty and devilish. Merciful and kind, not cruel and mean. Practicing these new ways of thinking, these new patterns, will make new mental mapping within our thought patterns, thus making room for more clarity and sense of the Lord’s Presence in our lives. Fasten your thoughts on the things the Lord is doing and give Him your praise throughout your day. If we will put these verses into practice, we are assured that the God of peace will be with us in all things. This is how I want to live.

What about you? How’s your thought life? Take a moment and really evaluate it. Could it be better? Ask the Lord to search you and know you and then invite Him to come and dwell in a stronger and richer way in your life today. Have a great day in Him.     

You are Able

2 Corinthians 3:5, 6

5 We don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering Presence. 6 He alone makes us adequate ministers who are focused on an entirely new covenant. Our ministry is not based on the letter of the law but through the power of the Spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life.

As a young in training musician, my parents had me practice one half hour a day. if I missed a practice, my one-half hour was added on to the next day. This was pretty much a hard and fast rule. My parents were paying my way to go to conservatory where I was being trained by professional, classical musicians who had very high expectations, so not practicing wasn’t much of an option for me. Finally, I was asked if I would like to play in our church orchestra. Excited doesn’t fully describe how I felt about this. Marimba was not a well-known instrument that I was familiar with, but soon would become very familiar with it. The church purchased a marimba and then eventually a xylophone which was to be my beginning instruments and entrance into the orchestra. This was very serious business to me as a young girl. Honestly, I thought I would mess everyone else up. Margaret Washington was our pianist, and I mean she could really play beautifully! I actually aspired to play like her with her awesome style. Down deep inside I didn’t believe I ever would, even with all the practice and training I was receiving. Then it happened. Margaret was not going to be there for services for a few weeks and guess who they asked to fill in for her, me! I immediately became a wreck! I didn’t want to mess up and fail! As a young teenager, this was big stuff for me! I prayed and cried out to the Lord asking Him to please, please, please help me do my best. The day came for my debut on the big grand piano in service. I think I prayed and probably heaven thought, “Would she just stop already! The Lord has heard her prayer.” The worship service went well and if I remember correctly, Pastor Crabtree even asked for a chorus I had never played before and I was able to “play it by ear.” All of the hours of practice and training had paid off, yet down deep in my heart I knew that the Lord was the one who was making me an adequate minister. I felt His touch and presence. It was His strength and His strength alone that launched me onto the level where I could begin developing as a worship leader. I have served as a worship leader for many years now. I have learned I cannot lead others where I have not been, so in order to do that, I must spend time privately with the Lord in worship and press into Him knowing that nothing else really matters, not my skill or ability. It’s not about being a star or focusing on myself. My worship is all about Him, lifting Him high and helping people enter into the waters of intimacy and His overwhelming love. I realize even though I am well trained, that it is not my ability, but all His and His alone as I become a conduit of the power of His Spirit.

What about you? are you trying to do life, yet feel incapable to live each day well? Realize it is all Him. Draw away daily and yield your all to Him. He will make you very capable to do whatever He has called you to do. Trust Him fully today.    

There is a Rest for the Weary

Hebrews 4:9-11 TPT

9 So we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest” waiting for believers to experience. 10 As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates His finished works and rests in them. 11 So then we must give our all and be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.

How often do you find yourself struggling not to be up tight, nervous, or anxious over someone or something? Do you find yourself concerned and restless about what the future may hold, or discouraged over how things may have turned out unexpectedly different than what you had thought? We can also get anxious over what God has prophesied and promised that would happen in our lives, forgetting that His timing and ways are perfect. His Word tells us He will make our way perfect as well. God, our heavenly Father offers us “rest” that is our opportunity that is to be ours and not passed by. God rested on the seventh day after He had finished creating the heavens and the earth and all that is on the earth, including man and woman. He finished His work and then He rested. The Lord would have us as well, enter into His rest that He offers to us. This is not only a physical cessation from work to commemorate God’s perfect creation, but also a spiritual entering into God’s rest, that was made possible through Jesus’ complete redemption. We can rest in His promise that He will make us more than a conqueror and will help us to rest in His victory as we take care of ourselves and honor God. Then, we are to rest our faith in Christ, to trust Him, and to be content and joyful not burden or stressed. In the King James translation, the term “labor into the rest” is penned. Our soul and human nature long to have complete rule and reign in every area of our lives. It is a give and take tug of war between our spirit and our soul as we look to the Lord to submit our soul—our will, emotions, and intellect to the Holy Spirit. Just like a child who has bumps, scrapes and bruises may need a cleaning, salve, and bandages, we too may need the Holy Spirit to interact with us to review and process the happenings of our day, helping us to receive the guidance and care of the Holy Spirit to help us enter into the genuine full rest of the Lord. Our heavenly Father who loves us so wants us to have the rest that is rightfully ours. As a mother longs for her children to be able to have a deep, peaceful sleep, so our Father longs for us to let Him be our great Burden-Bearer, casting all our care on Him for He cares for you.

What about you? Are you anxious, maybe even distraught over things that are troubling you today. Can you carefully and fully give them over to our great Burden-Bearer and let Him carry them, while all the while releasing His great rest to you and me? Trust Him today. His rest is to be your portion today and every day. Remember, He loves you so!   

God Will Fulfill His Promise

Hebrews 6:13-15 TPT

13 Now when God made a promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater than Himself, He swore an oath on His own integrity to keep the promise as sure as God exists! 14 So He said, “Have no doubt, I promise to bless you over and over, and give you a son and multiply you without measure!” 15 So Abraham waited patiently in faith and succeeded in seeing the promise fulfilled. 

We can get a little perturbed at Abraham and Sarah forgetting that they waited for many years for their promised Isaac to arrive. They made their mistakes along the way, (and I haven’t had to wait as long as they did to receive many of the promises God has made to me), yet I have admittedly, at times grumbled and allowed myself to become discouraged. The Lord would encourage us today to persevere in love and good works so that by imitating the faith of the old covenant saints, we might prove the power and authenticity of our own faith in the Lord. Sometimes we can even doubt the promises of our full salvation, especially on harder days. It can seem as if God is delaying in bringing about our much-needed answers to our prayers. Yet in our passage the author reminds us of the oath God swore to Abraham that confirmed the earlier promise to bless and multiply Abraham, Hebrews 6:13. In the ancient world, oaths were very important as a way of confirming a person’s trustworthiness. God was reaffirming that He would certainly fulfill all of His promises He had spoken to Abraham. Abraham is an example to us of our need to persevere. He was someone who obtained the promise only after he “patiently waited” for it as written in Hebrews 6:15. The reference here also of the story of Abraham’s willingness in obedience to sacrifice Isaac to prove that Abraham’s faith was not in himself but in God. Abraham knew that God would accomplish His promises to give him descendants, even if that meant resurrecting Issac, Hebrews 11:19. Isaac was spared, and Abraham did receive the promise of faithful descendants as his descendants did come through Isaac. We sometimes can feel that God is taking to long to bring His promises to pass in our lives. We can become weary, heavy hearted and impatient to the point of even wanting to give up. But rather isn’t it better to exercise our faith and trust and wait on the Lord to bring it to pass? Though God seems to take a long time, we have to endure our waiting time the same as Abraham. Don’t let this make you think that He will not do what He has promised. It would be wise to ask the Lord to forgive our impatience with Him and remember that He will most assuredly fulfill His promises to us. 

What about you? Are you struggling today? Have you waited a long time for God to bring to pass what He has promised you? Lay all of these emotions, doubts and fears at His feet and refocus your spirit back on the Lord. He sees you and hears your cries. He is for you and not against you. Trust His timing and His ways today and wait expectantly for Him to bring to pass what He has promised in His timing and way. Blessings on your day.    

An Adulterous Woman

John 8:4-5,6b-8 TPT

4 Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the very act of adultery. 5 Doesn’t Moses’ law command us to stone to death a woman like this? 6b But Jesus didn’t answer them. Instead he simply bent down and wrote in the dust with His finger. 7 Angry, they kept insisting that He answer their question, so Jesus stood up and looked at them and said, “Let’s have the man who has never had a sinful desire throw the first stone at her.” 8 And then He bent over and wrote some more words in the dust.

In the Old Testament when someone committed adultery it was made clear in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22-24 that both the man and the woman were to be stoned to death when they committed adultery. How easy it is for mankind to change the whole meaning of something to fit what is comfortable for them. In the Greek the word anamartetos means more than general sin, but is better translated “a sinful desire.” Who has never had a sinful desire? In Jeremiah 17:30 Jeremiah prophesied that those who forsake God by committing spiritual adultery will be written in the dust. Everyone of those men who were there that day with Jesus were guilty of having forsaken God, the true Living Water, and yet here they were so anxious to stone this poor woman to death. Think about it. This was the same finger that wrote the Ten Commandments in stone who I believe, was writing in the dust the name of each one of this woman’s accusers. Or maybe Jesus wrote Jeremiah 17:30 out for them. Jesus was exposing their hypocrisy right there before their own eyes. When this woman’s accusers heard Jesus say, “Let’s have the man who has never had a sinful desire throw the first stone at her,” these accusers slowly left the crowd one at a time, begging with the oldest to the youngest, with a convicted conscience. Until finally Jesus was left alone with the woman still standing there in front of Him. So He stood back up and said to her, “Dear woman, where are your accusers? Is there no one here to condemn you?” Looking around, she replied, “I see no one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Then I certainly don’t condemn you either. Go, and from now on, be free from a life of sin.” We all have sinned, every one of us! The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Where do you fit in in this story? Would you be a accuser or one who is accused? Jesus sees us all and sees our most intimate closed door happenings done in secret. Yet as we come to Him, He never condemns, always extends forgiveness and cleanses and brings healing to our hearts and minds. He tells us along with the adulteress woman to go and sin no more. If you are an accuser, think again. Are there sins that are ok, like being accusatory and judgmental in a nasty way? Jesus didn’t find these men pleasing to Him or His Father. So who was the greatest sinner among all of the characters in this story? They all were just like you and me. Don’t receive others condemnation and don’t you shell it out on others. Let’s receive Jesus’ forgiveness and be merciful to others as well. 

What about you? Have you been under a sense of condemnation because of someone else’s self-righteousness? Have you been full of self-righteousness yourself? Let’s open our hearts to the searching light of the Holy Spirit and enter into His alignment with His mercy and grace today. Blessings on your day.     

You Never Know

Acts 16:25 TPT

Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship. Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose. 

While in the Ivory Coast, our ministry team was taken to a slave castle there along the ocean. It was a very eye-opening experience. Our guide took us down into the dungeon section where all of the slaves were held for long periods of time. The ceilings were only about four to five feet in height, meaning anyone taller than that had to walk hunched over all the time, never being able to stand up straight. The walls were damp with dew and trickles of stinky water were running down their sides. A strong, sickening musty smell reeked, and felt like it would permanently be in my nostrils with no hopes of ever leaving. This is the atmosphere that Paul the Apostle spent for even years of his life, and amazingly wrong a large part of the New Testament from. He wrote and taught the Early Church as well as us today, about joy and peace and rest in the Lord in this horrible place, a dank, nasty dungeon. He and Silas didn’t succumb to having a pity party with wailing and woe is us comments. They worshipped! How amazing! I wonder if they were awesome singers, as the rest of the prisoners listened to their worship. What are you like when you find yourself right in the middle of a poor situation? Do you murmur and complain? Do you shut down and retreat? Do you give the sacrifice of praise and tell stories of previous victories God has brought for you? Do you sing and worship or do you mope? Paul and Silas most likely, were also placed in stocks which has got to be very uncomfortable to say the least. The jailor woke up startled and saw all of the cell doors standing open. He immediately assumed all the prisoners had made a dash for it. He drew his sword and was about to commit suicide when Paul shouted out of the darkness, “Stop! Don’t hurt yourself. We’re all still here.” What an example of trusting the Lord even to the point of giving the sacrifice of worship in such a hard, hard place. Can we trust God in the hard places, in the hurting places, in the places of confusion when there looks like there is no way out? Paul and Silas had even been beaten in the public square. They never got a fair trial. Everything was stacked against them, yet they still worshipped and blessed the Lord. What an example for us today. Paul and Silas had no idea if and how the Lord would rescue them from assured physical pain and suffering. What a depth in the Lord they had! I want to, by faith, worship the Lord in the hard places of my life. The magistrates even went to the prison and apologized to Paul and Silas. Can you believe that?! God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. Worship Him today. Trust Him today in all your situations and watch to see what He will do on your behalf.

What about you? Have you been a grumbler or a worshipper? Will you join me in giving Him thanks and praise in every situation that is occurring in our lives?  We walk by faith and not by sight. Let’s trust the Lord and believe for great things and especially great deliverances in His Name today. Blessings on your day.   

Quit Your Grumbling

Psalm 78:14-20 TPT

By day the moving glory-cloud led them forward. And all through the night the fire-cloud stood as a sentry of light. 15-16 In the days of desert dryness He split open the mighty rock, and the waters flowed like a river before their very eyes. He gave them all they wanted to drink from His living springs. 17 Yet they kept their rebellion alive against God Most High, and their sins against God continued to be counted. 18 In their hearts they tested God just to get what they wanted, asking for the food their hearts craved. 19-20 Like spoiled children they grumbled against God, demanding He prove His love.

I would like to be able to say that none of us have ever acted this way towards God, but I know I would be wrong in saying such a thing. How often have we prayed demanding, childish prayers, like the child who stands up with their hands on their hips and stomps their feet in an angry, demanding way? Oh, how patient our heavenly Father is with us. He could have smote us and us be gone in wisps of smoke if He so chose to do so. I believe we can grieve and even anger the heart of God with such foolishness. When we act this way, we are turning away from putting our faith in God and allowing our hearts to become riddled with fear. Yet God in His mercy and all-knowing kindness, still opened up the windows of heaven for the children of Israel and poured out food, the quail and the manna. The Bible calls their food the food that the angels ate, the meal of the mighty ones, and their food flooded down on them.  Abba, in His great grace, gave them more than enough! The succulent quail quieted their hunger as they ate all they wanted. Their provision floated down right in front of their eyes. This generation could have crossed the desert we are told, in eleven days, yet it took them forty years because their hearts were filled with grumbling and complaining. It seemed like nothing was ever enough, not good enough, not fast enough, etc. They were not good at learning the lessons God had for them to learn. Psalm 78 goes on to tell us that in spite of all God did for them, verse 32, “Yet in spite of all this, they kept right on sinning. Even when they saw God’s marvels, they refused to believe God could care for them. 33 So God cut their lives short with sudden disaster, with nothing to show for their lives but fear and failure. 34 When He cared for them they ignored Him.” Oh, how sad! I pray I never act like them, and I pray you never do either! Let us be humbly thankful for all He daily does in our lives! Our health, our strength, our family, our great provision, the family of God, the list can go on and on and on. Let us take our requests humbly before Him in faith that He hears every prayer and knows exactly how to answer our cries.

What about you? Have you ever acted like the Israelites in the desert? Do you have a humble, thankful heart for all He has done for you? Let’s examine ourselves today and draw close to Him with grateful hearts of thanksgiving. Blessings on your day.  

Keep Trusting the Lord

Psalm 37:3, 4 TPT

Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in His eye. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on His faithfulness. 4 Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and He will provide for you what you desire the most.

We have close friends who can testify about their lives being filled with the miracles of God. They tell the story of when they had small children, and his work was scare with very little finances coming in the home. They felt themselves battling discouragement with the temptation of not going to church this one Sunday morning. Yet, they decided it would be best to stay faithful in their commitment to serve the Lord, no matter what. They got themselves and their little ones ready, and off to church that went to worship the Lord. Upon arriving home, they had nothing to feed their little ones. And to top it all off, it was one of the children’s birthdays, yet they had no birthday dinner nor a birthday cake to celebrate their little one’s special day. The dad told his wife to put a pot of water on to boil as an act of faith that God was going to provide them with food. She looked at him in an inquisitive manner but went ahead and did as he had asked. They set the table and prepared as if there was a full course meal that was going to be served. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Upon opening it, it was a neighbor who lived just down the road from them. He had bags filled with a hot meal. Dishes of delicious food, vegetables, meat, all kinds of sides, and drinks. What a beautiful meal was coming their way! The friend explained that his family had already served him a delicious meal and he had already eaten. He had prepared this present meal yet was already overly full and thought of his friends and decided to bring this all to them. As he was getting ready to leave, he turned and said, “Oh, I almost forgot. This was going to be my birthday dinner. And here, is another little something to go with your meal.” Out of the bag he pulled a beautiful birthday cake with all the decorations and a pack of candles to place on top of it. What a powerful blessing!! Everything, and I mean everything, God had brought to them, special delivery! They had fixed their hearts on the promises of God and He brought them to His table to feast on His faithfulness. They were faithful to serve Him on their Sabbath day, battled down their onslaught of depression and the Lord lovingly gave them what they needed and desired. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust Him along the way you’ll find He pulled it off perfectly! 

What about you? Are your eyes stayed on Him today? Are there needs and things you are asking Him to do in your life? Serve Him faithfully with all you heart. Trust Him and He will give you the desires of your heart. He loves you so.  Have a blessed day in Him.  

His Eye Is On the Sparrow

Matthew 6:25-27

Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Upon my arrival in Accra, Ghana, the other ministry team members’ luggage arrived safely, yet not mine. I had a change of underwear in my carryon and my toiletries. That was it. For the next eight days, I wore others’ borrowed clothes, mostly African style. I was taken care of. It was discovered my luggage had been left at Heathrow Airport in London. I love the old hymn, I believe beautifully sung by Ethel Waters, “His Eye is On the Sparrow,” and the line continues on—“and I know He watches over me.” I have thought of it often as we launched our five children, one at a time, to go to college, etc. As I reminisce over those years, it felt like a piece of my heart was going with them. Yet I knew down deep inside that the Holy Spirit actually was going with them and would guide, protect, and provide for them just as He had done for Stephen and I when we headed out for our college in Providence, Rhode Island those many years ago. We only had $100 in our pockets and an iffy Vega car. We made it, found an apartment with a discount for helping around the apartment building with the first month free, purchased our textbooks and found some good part-time jobs. He took care of us. The thought must never leave our minds—God is faithful. He knows our littlest needs. Here’s a question to ponder—why would He not take care of you? If you are anxious, afraid, and doubting, there is a powerful truth in our passage for today we need to hear. God never gives up on us. He never leaves us, or abandons or forsakes us. What we have need of, will be given. He knows our situation and He will provide. We all still need to be reminded of this fact daily. God is the provider of our needs. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will wear or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.” These were the words of Jesus, Matthew 6:25. Yes, the basic necessities of life will always be there. We can live in a state of constant worry, and this posture will have a huge impact on our peace of mind and our physical health. If all looks good, food in the cupboard and money in the bank, we feel confident, yet if we are living paycheck to paycheck, we often focus just on getting by. He is asking for faith despite our situations of life and what they look like. Remember the widow’s mite. God challenges us to lay down our worry, and our needs at His feet. “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” We truly are in His hands. Let Him prove Himself to you today. May worry hold no power over you, in Jesus’ Name.

What about you? Do you have needs and concerns you need to lay down at Jesus’ feet today, totally surrendering them to Him? Will you take time right down to do just that, releasing it all to Him, and then watch to see what He will do? He loves you so, dear one. How much more does He care for you than even the little sparrow, yet He cares daily for them. You have a blessed stress-free day with your eyes focused on Him.