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A BEAUTIFUL THING
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Day 1 Devotional (Week 3)
Monday, April 25, 2011

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." -- Isaiah 40:31

As new parents, we were quickly humbled by our newborn.  If we ever thought we were in control, we definitely weren't anymore.  Sometimes she cried inconsolably.  We had no idea what was wrong or how serious it was.  Thus we didn't know how to fix it.  After trying several different soothing techniques, one method seemed to calm us more than the others.  Holding her in our arms, we would sing "Everlasting God" by Lincoln Brewster as we bounced to the beat.  It didn't always make her stop crying, but it made both of us feel better.

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
wait upon the Lord,
we will wait upon the Lord;
Our God, You reign forever,
Our hope, our strong deliverer.
You are the everlasting God, The everlasting God,
You do not faint, You won't grow weary;
You're the defender of the weak,
You comfort those in need,
You lift us up on wings like eagles!

Our perspective changed when we sang.  The situation was not overwhelming when we would focus on God's power instead of focusing on our own lack of sleep and inexperience.  The scriptural truth of the song reminded us that God was in control of all things.  He would provide the strength we needed to persevere through the unknown challenges.  We just had to wait, trust and hope in Him.

We want our daughter to grow to understand what we have learned:  There is strength and hope when you trust in the Lord.  He is the only one who will never fail.  We will continue to sing of the hope we have because of our God.

Lord, we praise you that you know our trials, you hear our plea for help, and you understand!  Thank you for being our everlasting hope and strength regardless of our circumstances!

Prepared by Brent and Ann Blaha


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