Written by Juliet Constantine, these devotionals share thoughts and blessings from on high to give you encouragement, wisdom, and strength to face life's many challenges. Juliet has authored two sets of devotionals: "At His Feet" and "Finding Jesus In The Scriptures". Select from all the devotionals below or choose a topic from the menus.
Humility is not one of my strong qualities. So, it is quite humbling when the Holy Spirit tempers my desire to exalt myself. I had an experience where I was in the right and I just wanted to defend myself and expose the offending party. With anger in my heart and fire raging in my eyes, I was prepared to step forward and beat my chest like the Pharisee, defending my right! But then, the Holy Spirit spoke and said, “Hold your peace and do not let your attitude or your voice betray how you feel”.
The fact that we are called upon to endure trial shows that the Lord Jesus sees in us something precious which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. He does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines.
It’s amazing how we sometimes forget God’s goodness. With each trial, we sometimes murmur and complain, forgetting how God had led in times past. This seems to be a people thing, and this practice always incurs God’s wrath. Yet, we seem never to learn that thanksgiving is always better. When you lift something or someone up, the focal point automatically turns upward and the object of attention becomes the thing or person that’s lifted up.
After He departed Earth, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit who speaks to us in softer tones. Amid the hustling and bustling of life, He still speaks. If you listen closely, you will hear Him say, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” As you train your ear to listen and your heart to obey, the voice of God will become clearer to you. His will for your life will be revealed; and when in obedience you follow His guidance, you will come to trust His leading.
It’s seems like we are created to confront, complain, and murmur. Instead of praising Him in the good times and the bad, we praise only in good times and complain in the bad times. We play when things are good and pray when times are hard. We limit ourselves by looking only ‘as far as the eye can see’. If we allow ourselves to see farther, I know our responses would’ve been different. Short sighted vision will rob us of continual praise, and constant shouts of Hosanna.
It wasn’t God’s will to cause the older generation to perish in the wilderness. It was their rebellion. Their unwillingness to follow the straight “thus saith the Lord” prevented their entry. They preferred to set up their own rules and do their own thing. They rebelled against God’s chosen who always stood in the gap for them. With all the miracles God did and all the provisions He gave them, still they were unsatisfied and doubtful of His protection. Their rebellion prevented them from entering the Promised Land.
