September 14

Encouragement for Today

“Living in the Hear and Now” – Part 1

Renee Swope, Director of Proverbs 31 Speaker Team, Speaker Team Member

Key Verse:

John 5:19-20a, “The Son can do nothing by Himself; he can do only what He sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.” (NIV)

Devotion:

We were on vacation. My husband had taken our sons to the beach so I could be alone to read and journal. I sat on the couch looking out the window thinking about the months ahead and wondered what the rest of the year might hold. 

Some exciting things were happening in ministry. The Lord had opened doors for a book on which I had been working. A church had asked me to develop Vacation Bible School materials and I’d had a few extra calls for speaking engagements.  My excitement, mixed with the fear of getting overcommitted, ignited a rapid firing of thoughts: Would I be able to do it all? Was God calling me to do it all? Was my speaking and writing ministry about to really take off? Would I hear the sound of trumpets as God sent me out to impact the world?