The most worthwhile thing you and I can experience on earth is nothing less than God himself!

I confess with my lips this is true. However, my life says otherwise. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I’m giving myself to my kids, the laundry, and errands. This list is long. So my prayer life consist of reading a devotion and a quick prayer—or plea for God to HELP me get through the day.

I’ve discovered this kind of prayer life doesn’t work. It’s not that God doesn’t want to help me. He does. In fact, he’s already given me everything I need to succeed.

Did you know that when you became a believer in Christ, he deposits within you a portion of His divine power? He does! Yet many believers today are not experiencing the power within to deal with the power of the word that comes crashing in on us each day.

Why?

Devotion to God.

You and I were created to seek, know, and love God. Let’s be honest. It’s not going to happen if we only take 15 minutes a day to converse with him.

As glorious as God is, so is the glory that begins to work in the hearts and lives of those who give themselves to live for God. It a great step forward when you and I truly seek to know God—to adore God—to love God.

This is what God desires from you. It’s though prayer that he enables you, with divine power, for daily living.

It’s what you’re looking for and what your heart truly desires. Let’s make Ps 63:1 the beginning of our prayer every morning.

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirst for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

Repeat these words of David until the Spirit makes them real in your heart. Then, wait. Wait on God until you realize what a great blessing it is to meet with him. As you do, you begin to grow in your devotion to God, and also come to expect his presence and power daily.

Dear Lord, I confess that I know little of you. I fail to seek you for Your sake first. Create in me a hunger and thirst for you. And help me to wait on your presence and power to live this day.

I’m giving away a journal today so that you can begin to seek God. Write your prayer in the journal, and then, add to it how God responds to you. This is a great practice for growing your relationship with God. Share your desire to know God, and enter to win!

If you’ve tried to visit over the past few days, I apologize. My site was down for updates. Ugh! It was frustrating for me and perhaps for you, too. Good news. Everything is back to nomal–whatever that is!

In case you missed it, my devotion, I Can’t, But God Can, was featured on Daily Devotions, by FaithGateway.com

However, this devotion isn’t just for Mother’s Day, but for every day as we need God’s power to help us live moment by moment. Without futher adieu…

I CAN’T, BUT GOD CAN!  

Doing laundry. Raising well-adjusted kids. Building a good relationship with my husband. Even answering the phone. So often I feel like the responsibility for everything in my life depends on me. And honestly, I doubt my ability to get it all done, and do it all well.

I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. Who doesn’t feel the pressure of higher grocery bills and mouths to feed? What employee doesn’t carry the weight of doing a good job? What mother doesn’t fear her child will give in to peer pressure? These concerns and a thousand others tangle our thoughts into anxious knots. When we feel as if everything depends on us, we carry a heavy burden.

But we’re not alone or solely responsible for making things turn out fine.

When I feel alone, I’ve forgotten God is always with me. And when I feel incapable, it’s usually because I’ve forgotten to acknowledge God’s presence and power.

However, looking to God’s presence and power won’t help us if we don’t believe He is truly sovereign. We need to know and believe just how mighty God is. Otherwise, we’ll look at our limitations and feel like they limit Him. We’ll end up with a God who is only a little bigger, a little stronger, and a little wiser than us. That makes God small.

And when we have a small God, we feel like He depends on us to do a good job… just like everyone else does.

I felt this way when I became a parent. I thought if I read all the how-to books, I could do a good job. I believed the lie that happy, successful children depended on my efforts. Which made me feel very stressed and alone. It wasn’t until I started to “get” God and grasp the wisdom and guidance He provides that I learned to depend on His provision and direction. I no longer felt like I had to raise my kids based solely on my own knowledge and efforts.

God never intended for us to live under the pressure of everything depending on us. It’s when we lean on Him instead of ourselves that we experience supernatural strength and provision.

Reflect on the wisdom of Amos 4:13 and meditate on God’s greatness. If the Lord can do all this, surely He can equip us for whatever our daily tasks may be – from parenting challenges to project deadlines to folding mountains of laundry.

On the other hand, if we set out to make ourselves the measure of all things, we will never experience the full benefit of God’s greatness. It doesn’t have to be this way. Having the right understanding of God frees us from the weight of carrying our burdens alone and allows us to rest in His exceptional power and presence.

Dear Lord, set my sights on You and Your great attributes. Help me to live in Your presence, dependent on Your guidance each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Remember

God is bigger, stronger, and wiser than you are. You do not have to carry your burdens alone.

Respond

Whenever you feel frustrated, weak, and alone this week, reassure yourself of God’s promised presence. Apply these truths – “I can’t, God can” and “I’m going to let Him” – to every situation you face.

Power Verses

Ephesians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 12:9

Excerpted with permission from Encouragement for Today by The Proverbs 31 Team, copyright Zondervan 2013.

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Your Turn

In what ways have you envisioned God to be nothing more than a super-sized version of yourself? How can reflecting on His true attributes infuse you with strength? Practice today facing challenges saying, “I can’t, but God can!”