“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
 
Often, people will exclaim the Lord being their shepherd. The Lord being in relationship to the people under his care. Knowing exactly what they need, when, and the direction that they need to go. On our own it can be difficult to know which direction to take, which opportunity is wise, what is the right step to take.

Shepherds were often close to the sheep that they looked after. They knew their sheep’s fears, which ones were prone to wander, and the dangers that were constantly nearby. Exclaiming the lord as my shepherd is one of close relationship. God knowing our fears, what will entice us to walk away, and the dangers to keep us from developing a close intimate relationship. When we claim that God is our shepherd, we believe that we can trust him with our circumstances no matter the situation. God cares for each one of us. 

When we allow God to shepherd us our deepest needs are met. The psalmist cries out “I shall not want” it is not bad to want possessions such as clothes, cars, or devices. Here the psalmist is stating, the essentials he is not lacking because they can all be found in God. His safety, direction, rest, and provision are found in God. We can turn to God for what we truly need.

Today there are many sources that tell us what we need, the direction we should go, and even how to get there. When we allow God to shepherd us, we no longer strive after certain effects but, learn to be content with what we have. God knows exactly what each one of us needs.
 
Heavenly Father, help us to trust you as our shepherd. When we are worried or stressed help us to place our concerns at your feet for you know exactly what each of us need.
 
Walking with you,
Stacy Watkins

"'I said, What should I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.'" (Acts 22:10)

School assigned projects sometimes are not fun since often teachers assign partners who might not be our friends. Some assigned tasks we might get at work might include administrative taking messages, answering phones, or even operational involving ensuring the work environment is clean and orderly or even supervisory assignments including hiring, training, and supervising tasks. There are tasks that we all must complete. Some are more strenuous than others and some take more energy but no matter how difficult, we must complete the work that is before us.

Often, we do not know what the next step is that we must take. We can ask the question “What shall I do, Lord?”, it marks the beginning of transformation. We stop telling God what we want and ask Him what He wants us to do moving ourselves from control to surrender. We learn to seek out the assigned tasks that he has for us and not just the desires of our hearts. Not all the tasks will be laid out exactly before us and may come one step at a time. It is okay to not know exactly what to do, and you may feel stuck however, continue to ask and seek God for guidance.

You are never alone when you feel stuck and are unsure what to do next. God promises He will never leave us nor forsake us. He also goes before us in all situations. He is always there right beside us. When you are stuck and unsure what to do, pray to God and He will give you direction in what to do next.

Heavenly Father, thank you that we are never alone that you walk beside us. When we are uncertain or plans fall apart, help us to ask what we should do, Lord?

Walking with you,
Stacy Watkins

“After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him over to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 21:10-12)
 
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The saying means when things get difficult, strong people continue and do not give up. Often, we might want to give up when facing difficult challenges since, we love things to be easy in life. We love not having to try extremely hard to earn money, at work, or make dinner. A quick-frozen pizza that can be thrown in the oven is always the perfect solution. Some can even mistake “Well, if it’s hard, it is not God’s will for our life.” Believing that everything within God’s will for their life is going to be easy. Learning to obey even when it is hard can be challenging. Not everything in life is easy; believing you can do something after you failed, starting over in life, admitting to others you’ve lost your job. When we face challenges head on, we learn obedience and build strength.

Many of us know what it is like to face tough situations and sometimes the pain is unbearable, and we wish we could just skip it. However, we need to continue to move forward walking in faith knowing that God is with us no matter the circumstance. During strenuous times we can be led by fear causing us to make wrong decisions but choose to be led by faith. Faith in God. Even in the middle of the struggle, God is working continue to obey his voice.
                 
Heavenly Father, help us to continue to obey even in the face of hard decisions.
 
Walking with you,
Stacy Watkins