Today we are joined by Cindy Wilkins. She’s a girl we understand…busy. Do you find yourself there? Busy and perhaps depleted. Cindy leads us to our source of renewal, we pray you are filled!

Click here to download a PDF copy of today’s devotion, prayer, scripture, and further study>>>>In God’s Presence Day 9

Cindy writes:

The countdown leading to the end of school usually began for me in mid-May. There was something reassuring about those tiny numbers I’d write in the corner of each day’s lesson plan. They somehow made it seem possible to persevere, even on those days when I didn’t think I could.

Despite my doubts, each year textbooks were counted and put away, final grades got added to report cards, walls carefully stripped of their decorations, and with a last glance over my shoulder, I’d drag myself out the door, hoping to make it to my car.

We all get there. Life is busy, complicated and stressful! Whether it’s parenting, our careers, caring for someone, an illness, or a million other things; our souls can feel drained and parched as if a drought has left them shriveled up. What we desperately desire at this point is a vacation! A chance for respite to rest, recharge, and renew. Each year, summer break dangled that chance in front of me, but somehow, despite several weeks off and an annual trip to the sea, time always flew by. The days just never seemed quite long enough to restore my depleted soul.

Looking back, I now realize it wasn’t the length of my vacation that left me still feeling withered; it was the depth. I sought replenishment in a slower schedule of sleeping in, lingering, and doing less; when instead, I should have been seeking to be restored by spending more time with God delving into His Word.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

These days, when I get the urge to pack my bags or my thoughts drift off in search of a place of revival, I’m learning to stop and remind myself where it is I need to be planted. Vacations are wonderful, but they’re only temporary.

Living day to day in God’s presence, deeply rooted in the hope of Jesus: the Living Water, helps us not only thrive in the midst of real life but offers life eternal: where vacations will never be needed and our souls are forever renewed!

~ Cindy

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, We come admitting that we let the world overwhelm us and deplete us. Forgive us. You offer all that we need in your presence. You offer rest, refreshment, and daily renewal. Help us grasp all of You with arms wide open. Thank you for your fresh blessings every day. Amen.

Further Study:

Read Psalm 23. As you read insert your name every time the word “I” appears. Thank God for all that He offers.

Write Lamentations 3:22-23 in your journal:

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

How often are God’s mercies offered afresh?

Cindy mentions that we can be “deeply rooted in the hope of Jesus: the Living Water”. Read John 4:13-14

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,  but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

What difference does Jesus note between the water the Samaritan water would draw from the well and the water He offers her?


Join us tomorrow as we discover there is grace in the presence of God.

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