I will listen to what God the LORD will say; He promises peace to His people, His saints – but let them not return to folly. Psalms 85:8.

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2.

To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:17.

The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted. When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation. Proverbs 10:24-25.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 67: The mouths of babes perfect His praise. Psalm 8:2: From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. And, Matthew 21:16: And (they) said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”

I’m not sure why or if there is something wrong with me, or if in getting older, I am just getting weak everywhere – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. My emotions are increasingly raw in a way deeply troubling, and that makes it that much harder as I try to pray for others and usual words fail me. And I feel overwhelmed. I know giving thanks and praise to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, is needed and good in every situation both good and difficult. And He reminded me in prayer that giving thanks to Him is not then relying on my own strength when the difficulties I pray for don’t go away. It’s turning to Him during the difficulties, because I am not strong enough to hold them or understand their import being lived in our lives. I think that’s what the fourth Scripture verse cited above shows. The wicked are those who do not choose God no matter what the circumstances are, and are lost completely in the fears their way of living without God naturally brings. The godly are those whose hope is in God. And storms of life come to both, the wicked and the godly. The only true foundation not swept away is the foundation built by choosing God. Fear is no foundation as we have all experienced in our lives. I think the difference is in what we hope in. I can be battered by storms that seem to be raging within and by fears for my body changing increasingly toward less strength; but I know Whom I am clinging to and held by. I give thanks for Him. He is my strength and comfort. Always.

***MORNING DEDICATION Almighty God, as I cross the threshold of this day, I commit myself – soul, body, affairs, and friends – to Your care. Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, and bless me. Incline my heart to Your ways. Mold me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay. May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound Your praise. Let those around me see me living by Your Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconformed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clad in the entire armor of God, shining as a never-dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings. Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, and hands. May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain…Let my affection be in heaven, and my love soar upward in flames of fire: my gaze fixed on unseen things, my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities. May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of my LORD, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth…May I speak each word as if it were my last word and walk each step as if it were my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day. Bennett, Valley of Vision, 119, Adapted.***