Author: Barbara

My passion is to encourage women wherever they are on their life journey. In everything I write and in every opportunity to speak, my goal is to offer hope. May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

Summer Psalms: Shielded

~ Barbara ~ 3 Comments

Psalm 18 is one of my favorites because its assurances give my heart courage. Complementing last week’s focus that God keeps us safe, Psalm 18 affirms that we are shielded from our enemy. Let these verses assure your heart:

  • “The Lord is my shield.” As One who shields us, God puts Himself between us and the threat. He meets the danger we face and protects us from the blow. As our shield, He minimizes our wounds and saves our lives. (v2)
  • “He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.” He protects us by giving us a safe place to hide. The only requirement is that we run to Him to take advantage of that refuge and hide behind His shield of protection. (v30)
  • “You give me Your shield of victory.” (v35) The Lord is always the victor, and His shield assures that He includes us in that victory. Are we under fire? Yes, but we are victorious because we are His.

Because God is our shield, we enjoy the other “S” words in Psalm 18:

  • He is our salvation.
  • He supports us.
  • He brings us to a spacious (safe) place.
  • He strengthens us to scale a wall. (My favorite!)
  • He enables us to stand on mountaintops. (Maybe that’s my favorite.)
  • He sustains us.
  • He stoops down to make us great! (I can hardly take this in.)
  • He subdues nations under us.
  • He saves us from our enemies.

My friends, do not fear what you see. You are guarded, covered, protected.

The Lord is our Shield.

Image from Kar3nt at Pixabay.com

Summer Psalms: Safety

~ Barbara ~ 2 Comments

Happy 250th birthday, America!  We have cause to celebrate, even though we are relatively a young nation, an adolescent compared with Europe and the Near East. Like anyone in their teens, our country has experienced emotional upheavals, divisive warfare, and rages of temper with name-calling or worse. Hopefully, those of us who belong to God have matured and demonstrate the grace to forgive, the mercy to react with love, and a trust that combats fear.

And our young nation has a lot to fear, doesn’t it? We have a lot to fear—violence in our streets, economic failure, duplicitous politicians, imperiled troops on deployment, malicious infiltrators. This doesn’t even list personal troubles, whether relational, physical, or financial.

Fear not! There is good news. We can enjoy dual citizenship, pledging allegiance to the United States of America and also to the Kingdom of God. Our earthly national residence could be Israel or Iran, Fiji or France, Haiti or Honduras, Canada or Cambodia, Bahrain or Brazil—you get the idea. But when we ask God to rule and reign in our lives, we become a spiritual nation of believers, a blessed people who are kept safe in our Father’s care.

As His people, we enjoy the hope and consolation of Psalm 33, regardless of the earthly nation we live in. Savor the Bible’s assurances of safety and security:

  • The Lord foils the plans of the nations.
  • He thwarts their schemes.
  • His purposes stand firm, forever, through all generations (250 years and beyond).
  • He looks down from Heaven and sees us—He formed our hearts and considers everything we do.
  • He delivers us from death—not warhorses, armies, or weaponized drones.
  • He keeps us alive in times of drought (personal or physical).

There are wars and the threat of war worldwide. Who knows how the Iranian conflict or the Ukrainian/Russian war will end? What will be the next war, and will it involve our country? Who can predict how America will be governed in the future? What threats will menace our “United” states?

During our tenure on Earth, we are safe. God has revealed His sovereignty to us, assuring us of His protection. Let’s focus on the safety of our souls and not fear what man can do.

Remember your heavenly residency, for the One who created us is preparing a place for us.

Time Out from Summer Psalms

~ Barbara ~ 3 Comments

 I can’t remember ever neglecting to post on a Thursday morning, but time got away. We spent a few days in Lancaster County, enjoying the peace of the countryside and bringing David to the high point of his year—a show at Sight & Sound. We saw Joshua and, as usual, the performance was fantastic.

We’re home now, recuperating from all the social connections David initiated. The hotel’s breakfast room was filled with about 40 people each morning—all were friends David had not yet met. He was more or less the hotel greeter, with us running behind him to make introductions and attempt to translate his gestures.

I’ll be back next week with a Summer Psalm. See you then!

Summer Psalms: Surrounded

~ Barbara ~ 3 Comments

In a warfare context, “surrounded” sounds threatening, but in a social setting, we are comforted when surrounded by friends. That is the same relief we enjoy when we learn that God surrounds us. He protectively encircles us, lovingly enfolds us, and faithfully encloses us in safety.

The news reports much about being surrounded by danger as wars rage around the globe and social wars disturb America. But there is One who surrounds us and protects us. He is before us, behind us, above us, and beneath us—all around us.

Let these verses from the Psalms comfort you:

You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head. Psalm 139:5

He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:4

I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:8

Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever. Psalm 125:2