God Is Good All the Time And All the Time God Is Good
Encourage One Another
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Testimony
Laura derry
I Prayed to the Lord and He Answered Me
I wish I was able to say that the title of this devotional writing is a truth that I've walked in my whole life. It is not!
I have been praying for many years; first as a little Catholic girl, in the midst of a childhood full of trauma...with no understanding. But then, I stopped praying... at 13 and never took it up again until 1977. Even then at 24 my prayer life was not much improved from my childhood, the "Now I lay me down to sleep..." variety; or only slightly improved. The scope of my prayers back then only encompassed my child's safety, my need for patience, the ability to make enough money to pay the bills. What I knew of “kingdom living" was negligible.
God, in His infinite kindness and understanding gave me one very great and mighty gift ...the Bible. Always an avid reader, I dived right in, with no Bible study tools or help, other than the sermons I heard at every: Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday pm Bible study at the Church of Christ.
Living and trying to survive life for the next 15 years. I had another child, 2 divorces, and moved approximately 23 times. We went to 7 different churches and 'only barely' matured. I still didn't understand God and His love...or plan for me. The disconnects were REAL!!!
“But God”…is the only thing I can say. I began to learn some things pertaining to godliness and life. But it still took me another 28 years though, to receive the very real Holy Spirit , and to KNOW that Abba Father loved me personally!
Recently, within the last 6 or 7 years, I learned and have moved into many blessings that I’d read and heard about for years, but never could appropriate.
If you know me at all...you know I still act like an underdeveloped adult a lot of the time. I also hope that you can occasionally see or sense the settledness and peace He has birthed and developed in me.
The following is a "take" on my devotional time today.
In Psalm 34, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel...reaches into our innermost need and desires as he praises and recalls God's faithfulness.
David knew of his need for God, and the Father brought him through every hard lesson, even, when it involved adultery, murder and fear.
God loved David intimately and it is said that "he was a man after God’s own heart" (in Psalm 13:14 and other places). The love and intimacy they shared was undeniable as we read Scripture.
Throughout his life David learned what God valued in His children and sought to be that person! Dwelling as an imperfect man among other imperfect men he sinned. However, for much of his life David chose God and God's ways.
His list of his *godly attributes* is extensive. A few of them are: "faith and trust" in God, even in times of danger and uncertainty. He had great "agape love", even for those who persecuted and ridiculed or reviled him. He walked in "humility" with a rock solid "belief" in God's goodness towards him.
Mixed in with his failures were times when David showed great "integrity". Two examples are how David treated King Saul when he was trying to kill him (first, when David was helping to soothe him by playing his harp and later in the time before David took his rightful place on the throne of Israel). Another instance was how he treated his wife Mishael when she scornfully reviled him for joyfully praising Adonai, feeling it was beneath him as the King of Israel. Lastly, he never stopped "worshipping" El Shaddai...which is beautiful of him!!!
David gave all the glory to God for the blessings, goodness, and prosperity of his life. He realized that ALL he was and ALL he had... was because of God's love for him...not what he had done!! A great lesson for what our entitled lives have produced in today's world.
David's life and writings in the Psalms give us many examples of how to live for God....with the perspective of a life we'll lived.
Life cannot and should not be merely about our comfort or our worldly goals. Instead, we can live godly lives, showing His love. We can stay close to Him every day, allowing His Holy Spirit to guide and inspire us to accomplish His purposes. We too are imperfect... but much loved!!!
God alone, can address our sorrows, fears, and questioning. One of God's tenderest answers to our most poignant need is found in Psalm 34 where we read, "the Lord is near to the brokenhearted." (:18).
This addresses our suffering. A time when no mere person can help us! God knows that earth life will include times of shattering loss and adversity. Only our Abba, our daddy, our Father... can soothe and comfort us then...with His presence and faithfulness. We are also invited to "taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8) He is better than good, He alone is perfect in all of His ways" (Deuteronomy 32:4). He sent His only begotten Son to die a lonely, wretched, and pain filled death to satisfy His perfect justice and righteousness. So, He knows the pain no other person can truly know.
Like David, we are not always shielded from pain, but I do believe that each of us has been at various times and in sundry ways been kept from devastation too much for us. As His beloved children, I believe His hand has stayed the enemy of our soul from what was too much for us to take.
I look forward to meeting David in heaven, sitting by the still waters, and hearing him sing the songs that he composed and have echoed down through the ages. Love songs of deliverance, hope, and our God's glory!
Testimony
sharon wesner
Slowly the Healing Began
I have not been attending 55-Live very long, actually only a few months. (May 2025)
Walking through the door that first time in a terribly deep depression, it was all I could do to hold myself together.
I pasted a smile on my face to match everyone else's face, even though inside I was the proverbial emotional wreak, trying to pick up the pieces of what used to be my life and putting what used to be me back together again.
The atmosphere in the room was warm and inviting as I reconnected with folks I had not seen in at least twenty years. This was truly like coming home!
Week after week, as the Tuesdays passed, I was hugged and hugged some more. In my depression, I couldn't reach out to Jesus, but He was reaching out to me with those hugs.
Thus, in this precious warm inviting fellowship, with the beautiful praise and worship, the pain from my life's losses slowly began to dim, and slowly the healing began. I look around at us in our advanced years, and here we are for one another, a room full of Jobs, each with a lifetime of pain, tragedy, losses, some probably grasping onto Jesus, their lifeline, as I was.
It has occurred to me that as we sing our praises to our Lord and enjoy one another, we must never forget who might be walking through that door, the load they might be carrying and the pain we might have the privilege to ease. I can only thank all of you for what you have done to this hurting soul you didn't even know was in such pain.
So, this is my story, this is my song: praising my Savior all the day long.
Sharon Wesner
To heavy to bear
A Glass of Water
During one lecture, a professor suddenly picked up a glass of water and held it up. He stood there quietly, just holding it, as the students began to glance at each other, waiting for an explanation. Ten minutes passed, and he still didn’t lower his arm.
Finally, he asked: “Tell me, how much do you think this glass weighs?”
The students started guessing: “Maybe a couple of ounces!”
“Four ounces!”
“Five!”
The professor smiled. “Honestly, I don’t know either. To find out, we’d have to weigh it. But that’s not the real question. What happens if I hold this glass for a few minutes?”
“Nothing,” the students replied.
“Right. Now, what if I hold it for an hour?”
“Your arm will start to hurt,” one answered.
“Correct. And what if I try to hold it all day?”
“Your arm would go numb, you’d be in serious pain, maybe even need medical help,” another said as the class laughed.
The professor nodded calmly. “Exactly. But tell me—did the weight of the glass ever change?”
“No,” came the reply.
“So why the pain in the arm? Why the tension in the muscles?”
The room fell silent.
Then he asked: “What should I do to get rid of the pain?”
“Put the glass down,” someone said.
“Exactly!” the professor exclaimed. “Life’s problems work the same way. If you carry them in your head for a few minutes, it’s no big deal. Think about them for too long, and they start to hurt. Dwell on them all day, and they paralyze you—you won’t be able to do anything else.”
He paused, then finished with this: “That’s why it’s so important to put your problems down at the end of each day. Don’t go to bed carrying the weight of them. Rest, recharge, and you’ll wake up ready to face tomorrow with strength and clarity.”
Precious truth
jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
pain
jesus knows your hurt - Song by Dallas Holm
The pain some people bear
No one would believe
The hurt that's sometimes there
Makes it hard to see
That in the darkest hour
There is still a way
Listen to these simple words I say
Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you
Sometimes you feel alone
Does He really care?
Has He left you on your own?
And does He hear your prayer?
Well, He has never left you
Or forsaken you one day
Listen to these simple words I say
Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you