Devotions by Meredith

So Blessed I Chronicles 29:12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign overall. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.   The other day I saw a short video online of this poor, young African emaciated girl who could not even walk. I would guess she had never had the proper nutrition to be able to grow normally, and because of that, s...

Give God His Due   Malachi 3:7-10 7 Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you...

Give Thanks, He Knows   Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.   There will be many trials in life. The question is how will we walk through then? Some people become confused when we discuss trials and tribulations. They wonder if they are supposed to thank God for the trial. They wonder if they are supposed to thank God for the t...

In Wisdom’s House   Proverbs 21:20 TPT In wisdom’s house you’ll find delightful treasures and the oil of the Holy Spirit. But the stupid squander what they’ve been given.    There are those specific people who you meet in life who you can be at ease with. You can laugh deep belly laughs with them at some hilarious story, and you can also cry hot, gushing tears with them over a traumatic happening...

My Presence Will Go With You Exodus 33:15 KJV Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.”   I have heard it said, “So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence.” I have lived my whole life in church. From my earliest memories to my present life, I have spent a good portion of my time in church from dead, dry s...

God Will Teach You Isaiah 48:17 NKJV Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God Who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go. The word “teaches”—lamad—in Hebrew, means to instruct, to train. It also means to prod, goad; teach; to cause someone to learn. I was raised on a Hereford beef farm in a little town called Exeter, located in centra...

I Can Do All Things   Philippians 3:13, 14 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:13 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.    There are times in our l...

Friends   Proverbs 17:17 TPT A dear friend will love you no matter what, and a family sticks together through all kinds of trouble.  Proverbs 18:24 TPT Some friendships don’t last for long, but there is one loving friend who is joined to your heart closer than any other.    Proverbs 17:17 NKJV reads, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A true friend can be defined a...

Hateful Speech   Matthew 5:21-24 21 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger...

My Presence Will Go With You Exodus 33:15 KJV Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.”   I have heard it said, “So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence.” I have lived my whole life in church. From my earliest memories to my present life, I have spent a good portion of my time in church from dead, dry s...

In Wisdom’s House   Proverbs 21:20 TPT In wisdom’s house you’ll find delightful treasures and the oil of the Holy Spirit. But the stupid squander what they’ve been given.    There are those specific people who you meet in life who you can be at ease with. You can laugh deep belly laughs with them at some hilarious story, and you can also cry hot, gushing tears with them over a traumatic happening...

According to His Will   Ephesians 1:11 NKJV In Him also we obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.    When the Word of God speaks about “the counsel of His will,” it is telling us that God has an eternal and unchangeable plan. There is a pretty heavy thought in theology and doctrine that can take us years...

Are You Listening?   Proverbs 8:34 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me (wisdom), 35 For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord.    So often in life, it will look like someone is really listening only to see them cool off in their walk with the Lord. They continue to have a form of godliness, but they truly are falling asleep when it comes to connecting, learning and matur...

Alone, By Yourself   Acts 7:30 And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.   Before Moses could be the one to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he spent 40 years in the wilderness tending sheep. When Moses was still living in Egypt, a much younger man, Acts 7:23 tells us, “Now when he was forty years old, it...

Come to Jesus   Matthew 11:28-30 TPT 28 Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to Me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. 29 Simply join your life with Mine. Learn My ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in Me. 30 For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.    Jesus doesn’t tell us when we ar...

God Knows the Way I Take   Job 23:10 But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested (tried) me, I shall come forth as gold.   Just as gold is refined in the fire, so too your character is being refined in quiet seasons with Him. We may face some spiritual battles, even as Jesus did when He was driven into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. This time of being alone is not meant to harm...

Your Yard   I Thessalonians 4:4 That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.    No one can be responsible for you. Here’s a good way to illustrate this. We each have our own yard. No one else can step onto your yard and plant flowers or shrubs just because they want to. No one can decide to dump their garbage each week on your lawn, or let their dog do it...

Alone in Preparation   Exodus 3:7, 11 7 And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmaster, for I know their sorrows. 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”   Lamentations 3:28 28 Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God...

Who Can Stop the Lord?   Isaiah 14:23 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand. Isaiah 43:13b I work, and who can reverse it?   Years ago, as a young couple raising a very young family, finances could at times, be very tight. It seemed like several unexpected expenses came up that needed to be paid rather qui...

A Higher Place   Psalm 105:23-26 TPT 23 So you were fed up and decided to destroy them. But Moses, your chosen leader, stood in the gap between you and the people, and made intercession on their behalf to turn away your wrath from killing them all. 24 Yet they still didn’t believe your words and they despised the land of delight you gave to them. 25 They grumbled and found fault with everything an...

We Will Be Known   I Corinthians 13:12 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known.    The other day while waiting for my husband to get his haircut, I was listening to a woman’s tragic story on my phone. Her husband, little boy, and herself were struck by a car and devastatingly injured in the crash. Her husb...

Waiting Psalm 40:1 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.   In the Passion Translation Psalm 40:1 reads “I waited and waited and waited some more, patiently, knowing God would come through for me. Then, at last He bent down and listened to my cry.   Are you a good waiter? I’m not. I always tell myself whenever I’m in a waiting scenario, that I will wait patientl...

When I Was a Child   I Corinthians 13:11 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.   Oh how tough a lot of the lessons in growing up can be! I remember feeling like I was going to die because some of my lessons were wrenching my very soul and reshaping my emotions. We all love puppies and kittens b...

Confidence in God   Psalm 55:5, 6 TPT 5 Fear and dread overwhelm. I shudder before the horror I face. 6 I say to myself, “If only I could fly away from all of this! If only I could run away to the place of rest and peace. I would run far away where no one could find me, escaping to a wilderness retreat.”   This psalm is written by King David. Ahitophel was a friend and counselor to the King and wa...

Hateful or Hopeful?   Ecclesiastes 2:27 NIV So, I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me…   What a hard thing to hear, “I hated life.” Have you ever heard anyone say that? Maybe not in those exact words, but maybe “My life stinks,” or “I wish I was someone else,” or some thought that was sad and negative. Have you ever felt that way? To hear someone say that the...