Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “Luke 8

Stay Still and Stay Thankful

Kathy Gabler—After a time of wrestling with unanswered prayer that hadn’t seen the slightest possibility of being answered and after asking the Lord for wisdom and council before my attitude got way out of line, the Lord spoke to me, “Stay still and stay thankful”. Those are very clear instructions. Immediately I began to think about stillness and thankfulness and Jn.14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled”, came to mind. Having studied it I knew it meant “don’t let your heart be agitated or tossed to and fro or perplexed with doubt” and all that is the opposite of being still. Unanswered prayers don’t get to determine the mood for the day. When the man arrived from Jairus’ house and told him not to trouble the Teacher any more because his daughter was dead, Jesus heard the man and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid! Just trust me, and she’ll be all right.” (Lk.8:50, TLB) Trust is the place where you don’t live by what you see or by what you hear; trust is the place where you stand on the Lord’s steady faithfulness, His unshakeable goodness, His undistracted awareness of what you need, of your prayers and when and how it will be best to answer them.


Video: Stay Still

15 min. Video of Kathy Gabler on Beside Still Waters
“Stay Still and Stay Thankful”
Click on video below to view.
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Stay Still and Stay Thankful

After a time of wrestling with unanswered prayer that hadn’t seen the slightest possibility of being answered and after asking the Lord for wisdom and counsel rowing in stormbefore my attitude got way out of line, the Lord spoke to me, “Stay still and stay thankful”. Those are very clear instructions. Immediately I began to think about stillness and thankfulness and Jn.14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled”, came to mind. Having studied it I knew it meant “don’t let your heart be agitated or tossed to and fro or perplexed with doubt” and all that is the opposite of being still. Unanswered prayers don’t get to determine the mood for the day. When the man arrived from Jairus’ house and told him not to trouble the Teacher any more because his daughter was dead, Jesus heard the man and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid! Just trust me, and she’ll be all right.” (Lk.8:50, TLB) Trust is the place where you don’t live by what you see or by what you hear; trust is the place where you stand on the Lord’s steady faithfulness, His unshakeable goodness, His undistracted awareness of what you need, of your prayers and when and how it will be best to answer them. —Kathy Gabler


Hold Fast

The blimp bobbed a bit and then shot skyward in spite of its bulk. The wind picked it up like a child’s toy and handled it without difficulty. All of the crew had let go of Hot balloon3.jpgtheir lines except for one lone worker who realized too late that he was above the limit of safety for letting go. My heart leapt and I hollered out encouragement for the poor fellow to hold on. It was readily apparent that the frightened lad was “holding fast” to the line that was his only hope for safety from death. He maintained a determined hold on that line, for what seemed an eternity, until the pilot was finally able to set the behemoth safely back down. In like manner, we must absolutely “hold fast” to the Word of God which we have heard. Scrambling about, simply and desperately reaching for the handiest thing will never suffice. We must hold to the Word of God in order to be set down in the place of safety. There is no substitute or replacement for the life-saving Word of God.  Lk 8:15  “But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, HOLD IT FAST in a just (noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.” (Amp)


To Pierce an Atmosphere

(Kathy Gabler)—Jesus demonstrated how to pierce an atmosphere.  He did it when He acknowledged the woman with the issue of blood.  His acknowledgment, without condemnation, pierced the atmosphere of traditions that limit life and steal destiny.  He pierced the atmosphere that was filled with the fear of death when He spoke to Jairus of his daughter saying, “Do not be afraid any longer; merely entrust this to Christ, and she will be made well.  Jesus’ words pierced the atmosphere and served as a heads-up to the prince of the power of the air over Jarius’ region.  That atmosphere filled with unbelief was about to shatter.  The stronghold of experience and natural limitations was crumbling, bowing to a Higher order.  Jesus set the rules of engagement in Lk 8:51 “ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother.” Then He pierced the powers-that-be again, “He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”  The first blow shook every power of darkness lurking in the smothering, toxic air, and then He delivered the second blow in verse 54, “He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!”  


How to Pierce an Atmosphere

(Kathy Gabler)–Jesus demonstrated how to pierce an atmosphere.  He did it when He acknowledged the woman with the issue of blood.  His acknowledgment, without condemnation, pierced the atmosphere of traditions that limit life and steal destiny.  He pierced the atmosphere that was filled with the fear of death when He spoke to Jairus of his daughter saying, “Do not be afraid any longer; merely entrust this to Christ, and she will be made well.”  Jesus’ words pierced the atmosphere and served as a heads-up to the prince of the power of the air over Jarius’ region.  That atmosphere filled with unbelief was about to shatter.  The stronghold of experience and natural limitations was crumbling, bowing to a Higher order.  Jesus set the rules of engagement in Lk 8:51 “ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother.” Then He pierced the powers-that-be again, “He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”  The first blow shook every power of darkness lurking in the smothering, toxic air, and then He delivered the second blow in verse 54, “He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!”