Month: September 2025

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the House of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. Psalm 52:8

Doeg the Edomite, a chief herdsman to the king, betrayed David and informed Saul of his whereabouts resulting in the massacre of 85 priests at Nob. (I Samuel 22:9) It was a difficult time to keep pressing forward toward the promises of God. Doeg was an arrogant menace but David took responsibility for the deaths and then he committed the event to God for judgement.

In a time when he was overwhelmed with the wicked intentions of his boastful enemies, David stood firm in the Hope of His Creator and Sovereign Lord. Embedded in this great hope is the knowledge that God’s perfect and pure justice will have the last word. 

There is always a battle between evil and lies and good and truth. But God will bring down and destroy the wicked. The righteous will flourish for all eternity. For this David gives continuous praise and trust in God’s unfailing love. We can too! 

Love,
Gretchen

No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:5

Following the death of Moses, Joshua was charged with leading the nation of Israel into the promised land. Things hadn’t been easy for Moses. It had been a long arduous trip, forty years wandering in the wilderness, not because God designed calamity, but because people are hard headed and hard hearted. Yet God remained true to His covenant and His promises. Now Joshua had a call to answer and God was paying forward the comfort and confidence Joshua was going to need to see His mission through. I especially love the promise of God’s constant presence.

Loneliness is the world’s deadliest disease. Horrible choices are made to avoid or end unwelcome solitude. People terminate their lives alienated from hope. Yet we can hear God’s voice to Joshua saying, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Even if you are alone, you will never fail! I am here! Here’s the great news! We get the same deal Joshua got!

It is inevitable, there will be times we feel friendless, forlorn, but if we look at Joshua’s story, he steps out into a state of being okay with just him and God. What tremendous victory over the trials of this world when we can shout, “It’s just God and me, and I’m good with that!”

Love,

Gretchen

But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him and by His wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Today’s scripture is taken from the prophecy of Isaiah 700 years before the Son of God became the Son of Man. If I said nothing else, this fact alone speaks volumes about God’s plan to redeem mankind. However, peace is mentioned and if there is one ideal my heart yearns for, it is peace.

Peace is simply the absence of strife and struggle; laying aside hostility. Every relationship on the face of the earth has some dynamic of peace or lack thereof. In the promise of a redeeming Savior we find the word peace and the acknowledgement that to achieve this, someone has to make a sacrifice. Through Christ’s torture and death we are reconciled to God and that’s the biggie, but we are left with time here on earth in a discordant world. God didn’t just provide a victor over death, He afforded a means for us to live in harmony with each other and reside in a global community with confidence that God is in charge, always has been, always will be.

Have a great weekend!

Gretchen

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

John, the Baptizer, had been arrested and knew he would be executed for speaking truth to the adulterous Herod. He asked his own disciples to seek Jesus and ask for assurance that He was the Messiah. Jesus sent word that the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. BUT! Better still, The Good News is proclaimed to the poor. 

The educated, popular and wealthy had as much access to Jesus as the poor. Jesus is not an elitist. There is no prejudice or hesitation in His character or mission. He came to give hope to everyone. But! Not everyone recognized their need for a Savior. By means of injustice toward others, many were doing well on the backs of the compromised population. 

To the hopeless, Jesus proclaims His Divine connection to The Father and invites all who will come to lay their burdens down, not for a time of rest, but for all eternity. 

A wise mentor once directed me to imagine God’s embrace, listen to the comfort of His heartbeat, feel the warmth of His hands and the strength of His arms. I was a young college student, exhausted from the early years of adulting, but on that day I found a God that really loves me. He will always call us to Himself because it’s the best place for us, burden free and filled with peace and rest.

Snuggling Down,

Gretchen

You are my hiding place and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. Psalm 119:114

Psalm 119 has many unique characteristics beyond its length, but most important, it is a poem of deep trust and confidence in more than God’s sovereign and supreme authority. Its words proclaim God’s goodness and love.

Fight or flight is the complex, adrenaline filled choice you make when danger nears. Whether you run or stay there is an end game, a safe place to regroup and restore. If you reflect honestly, this hoped for and sought after respite should grant peace and rest of mind, heart and body.

The breath of God, His Word, is that hiding place. When good health turns to illness, when we fail socially, the financial math won’t math, and adulting brings nothing but disappointment…..and a great deal more in between…. God is our safe refuge.

The arrogant believe they need no one but themselves, the humble acknowledge the fragility of their own abilities and means. They know the secret, God is our defender, our safe place.

Love,

Gretchen

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.Hebrews 10:23 

Think for a moment about how many things make you swerve. A deer crossing the road, a child in the hallway, carrying a heavy load along a rough path…..the list is extensive. It is human nature to carry all human instincts, (and I’m not saying this reflex is bad or wrong) into our spiritual lives. But the truth of Mercy and Grace assures us of a clear route with explicit direction by the One who has faithfully led and loved unwaveringly. Swerving is where we get in trouble, flinching is not something we do spiritually. 

Jesus sacrificed His own life, God gave His one and only Son, as the final sacrifice for sins committed, past present and future. God can Forgive, did forgive and will forgive those who place their trust in Christ. This is our unshakable hope. 

Standing Firm,

Gretchen

The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11

The Lord’s delight, His great pleasure, is not in what we have accomplished under our own strength, but rather, our reverence for His sovereign authority over all creation. Our only hope comes through God’s faithful and unending love, through which we find salvation and security. 

Psalms 146-150 are titled ‘Hallelujah’ Psalms. They each begin and end with the word hallelujah, interpreted, ‘praise the Lord.’ It is a climatic closing to the entire book of Psalms echoed in the 19th chapter of Revelation. Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, and 6 tell of the multitude in Heaven shouting ‘Hallelujah,’ salvation and glory are His. He reigns!

You are His delight and that is something to be grateful for. Thanksgiving should always be our voice in praise. Humble gratitude is the purest and most appropriate response, for He has done great things.

Love,

Gretchen

And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over
every power and authority. Colossians 2:10 NIV

I should really back this devotional up to verse 8 which states, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

There is no argument that humans across the globe share similar patterns of behavior. We tend to act and react the same way in response to stimuli. We cry over a sad story, we cheer when the underdog triumphs over insurmountable odds, AND we all get bogged down in the drudgery of everyday life. We are a very predictable species.

Except………

In Christ’s fullness you break the barriers of ordinary, habitual and frustratingly destructive conduct. In Christ you become all you are meant to be! You are no longer commanded by predictable human nature. Christ has every power in Heaven and earth and through Christ you are filled with that same power to overcome the ordinary responses of human nature. Faith tears down fear, love nullifies anger, mercy wins over vengeance and grace irradiates poverty of body and soul.

The fullness of Christ means to lose our human nature and take the nature of Christ. It’s a total makeover, totally free and totally worth it!

Love,

Gretchen

Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.   1 John 4:8

Sometimes there are no more words to add. Have a wonderful weekend and know, you are loved, you are cherished and you have great value because God gave His Son so that sin (yours or anyone else’s) cannot hold you captive.

Love,

Gretchen

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

When I read this verse I often respond mentally, “Yeah! In a perfect world.” I have been recognized as the world’s foremost worrier.

This is not a gentle suggestion for those lucky folks with an extra dose of ‘chill’ ability. It is a command to be a pro-active participant in your thought and emotional processes. Cease worrying, it is your choice! Let your worry time become worship time. 

We appreciate opportunities of ‘one and done’, even when it comes to our faith, but Paul reminds us, we are called to a lifestyle of surrender, not because we are defeated, but because it is the only path to victory. Prayer must be our primary, reflexive response in ALL things. In that worry time, turned to worship time, express thanksgiving for God’s presence and His Faithful Goodness. And, when you struggle, wondering why you must ask for things God already knows you need, remember, God is inviting you to be a participant in His blessings for you and others.

Worry Less, Worship More,

Gretchen