John 7:37-39 Holman Christian Standard Bible
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Romans 12:14-16 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Psalm 37:1-2 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Davidic.
Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.
For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.
Proverbs 23:10-11 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Don’t move an ancient boundary marker,
and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
for their Redeemer is strong,
and He will take up their case against you.
Matthew 22:37-40 Holman Christian Standard Bible
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Isaiah 26:1-6 Holman Christian Standard Bible
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city.
Salvation is established as walls and ramparts.
Open the gates
so a righteous nation can come in—
one that remains faithful.
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You
in perfect peace,
for it is trusting in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!
For He has humbled those who live in lofty places—
an inaccessible city.
He brings it down; He brings it down to the ground;
He throws it to the dust.
Feet trample it,
the feet of the humble,
the steps of the poor.
Psalm 36:10-12 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Spread Your faithful love over those who know You,
and Your righteousness over the upright in heart.
Do not let the foot of the arrogant man come near me
or the hand of the wicked one drive me away.
There the evildoers fall;
they have been thrown down and cannot rise.
Proverbs 23:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Don’t speak to a fool,
for he will despise the insight of your words.
Exodus 23:1-3 Holman Christian Standard Bible
“You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness.
“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
Deuteronomy 8:6-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible
So keep the commands of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper. When you eat and are full, you will praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.
Psalm 36:5-9 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Lord, Your faithful love reaches to heaven,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains;
Your judgments, like the deepest sea.
Lord, You preserve man and beast.
God, Your faithful love is so valuable
that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They are filled from the abundance of Your house;
You let them drink from Your refreshing stream,
for with You is life’s fountain.
In Your light we will see light.
"Have you not heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding." Isaiah 40:28 (NLT)
Life. Day in, day out. One responsibility after another. This child sick, this bill over due. Fear of what the doctor is going to say. Afraid to ask what else could go wrong because you just might find out.
Been there? Are you there now? We all know the weariness of carrying one worry after another. Everyone has experienced sleepless nights that lead into those days of just putting one foot before the other to keep going.
For me, three consecutive years come to mind immediately. In 2007 I was helping to take care of my parents. I had moved them from east Texas to be near me after my father had suffered a heart attack. He was my mother's caregiver. She had been in poor health for many years so it was imperative that they be where someone could help them. They had been there for a couple of years, then in November of that year, my father got up one morning and passed away in his chair. Now my mother was my responsibility to see after.
In 2008 the economy was suffering. Layoffs were occurring throughout many industries. One of those effected was my husband. He called me one day at work and told me he had just been laid off. The income, and insurance, that we counted on would be gone when his severance package ended.
In 2009 he continued to seek employment, I continued working and taking care of my mother, and we continued to raise our teenage daughter. Then in September I got a call from the rehab center where mother had gone to gain some strength that they had found her dead on the floor in the middle of the night.
I'm sure every person reading has gone through their own times when they wondered how they were going to keep moving. The weights upon the shoulders grow heavier and heavier until you think for sure you will break. But somehow, one breath leads to another and living goes on.
Today's verse is such a reassurance. We can turn to the One who never grows weak or weary. Our Creator has always known what joys and hardships we would face in our lives and He already knows what it will take to get us through them. He doesn't promise us easy lives, but He does promise us that we will not walk our roads without Him by our side. And it sure does help when we can slide our tired hands into His and allow Him to take the lead.
I know many who are suffering right now. I am praying for several who are ill, grieving, battling depression, looking for jobs or are swimming in unceasing tears. I don't have a magic wand to make all the troubles cease. But, I know the great I Am, who has all power and can bring rest where it is needed.
My encouragement is to turn to the Peace-giver. Go to the foot of the cross and cry out for help. He never slumbers or sleeps and is never to busy to listen. There you will find hope and help for carrying your burdens.
May His mercy and grace be abundant and your heart find relief.
Proverbs 23:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Don’t speak to a fool,
for he will despise the insight of your words.
Isaiah 61:10-11 Holman Christian Standard Bible
I greatly rejoice in the Lord,
I exult in my God;
for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation
and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness,
as a groom wears a turban
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
Lamentations 3:59 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Lord, You see the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
Psalm 36:1-4 Holman Christian Standard Bible
For the choir director. A psalm of David, the Lord’s servant.
An oracle within my heart
concerning the transgression of the wicked person:
There is no dread of God before his eyes,
for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much
to discover and hate his sin.
The words of his mouth are malicious and deceptive;
he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.
Even on his bed he makes malicious plans.
He sets himself on a path that is not good
and does not reject evil.
Proverbs 23:8 Holman Christian Standard Bible
You will vomit the little you’ve eaten
and waste your pleasant words.
1 John 5:11-12 Holman Christian Standard Bible
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life.
Philippians 4:8-9 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Psalm 35:27-28 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Let those who want my vindication
shout for joy and be glad;
let them continually say,
“The Lord be exalted.
He takes pleasure in His servant’s well-being.”
And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness,
Your praise all day long.
