Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Held by God
Help me to lay down every distraction
Show me where I need to start
Too often I let other things crowd You out
I want you to be first place in my heart
I forget that I already have Your grace
I spend my days working for You
But at times the work turns to striving
My vision gets cloudy and I can’t see what’s true
Life can be so overwhelming
As I juggle the many things on my plate
The world tries to pull me in different directions
But what I really need is to enter Your gate
I lay down everything that makes me worry
And I allow You to take each concern
For You alone can handle it all
What a beautiful lesson to learn
I place my trust completely in You
And I feel the stress melt away
You wrap Your loving arms around me
And I thank You for holding me each day
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Tune Your Heart
Do you ever feel like God is nudging you? I am convinced that God nudges each of us often. Yet if we allow life to keep us too distracted, we might miss many of the things God tries to tell us.
Some of God’s nudges might be gentle. Other times, His nudges might need to be a little more forceful, if He really needs to get our attention.
God can nudge us for many different reasons. He might want to stir our hearts, to pull us closer to Himself, or to let us know He loves us. He might want to save us from destruction, to pull us back to the right path, or to help us with something we are facing.
God nudges might come in different forms as well. He might try to speak to us through the Holy Spirit or through His Word. He might even send a challenge our way that forces us to run to Him. I believe one of the ways God attempts to nudge us is by repeating something. And that is something He did with me recently.
One evening I pulled out The Battle Plan for Prayer cards. These are cards with prayers written on them, which are a supplement to The Battle Plan for Prayer book by the Kendrick Brothers. (Sadly, these cards are hard to find now. So a dear friend was kind enough to pass hers along to me.) On one particular evening I read the prayer from Day 25 (which can also be found in the book in chapter 21). Part of the prayer had these words: “… Tune my heart to the desires of your heart …”
A short while later I was reading in a book entitled Cultivate by Lara Casey. In this book, she mentioned an old hymn called “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Some of the words within the hymn which she mentioned were: “… Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise…”
I read the above two mentioned items within an hour of each other. Needless to say, these words really jumped out at me. The words “tune my heart” are not words we hear often. Then I read those words twice in a row, from two different sources.
But it didn’t end there! God really wanted to make sure I was paying attention. The following morning, on my way to work, I was listening to a local Christian radio station. In the mornings they have a short devotional time. On this particular day, the DJ read from Psalm 1 and went on to remind the listeners to: “…Tune your heart to the Word of God…”
This third incident happened within 12 hours of the first two incidents. When things like this happen, I know God is trying to get my attention. So I began to think about the meaning behind the words.
Although the word tune can be used as a noun, in these three examples it is used as a verb. When using it as a verb, two different meanings come to mind. We tune an instrument when the keys or strings do not have the correct pitch. And we can also adjust the frequency when we tune into a certain radio station or television channel.
So when we tune the heart, we could either be changing the pitch, if the heart’s tone is off. Perhaps the heart is playing bitterness, discord, anger, or negativity. If we tune the heart, we can help it play sounds of love, peace, and faith. Or when we tune the heart, we can change the “station.” We might need to turn off the world’s station, our friends’ station, or even our own station. We can adjust the dial and tune into the Lord’s “station.”
Tuning my heart is something I want to hang onto every day. I want to make sure my heart is giving off the correct tone – tones of hope, joy, and contentment. And I also want to make sure I am tuning my heart daily into God and into the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we take the time to seek how we might tune our hearts, we could see a beautiful shift in our lives.
Dear Heavenly Father, please reveal to us how we might tune our hearts today. Please show us if we have a tone that is off and needs to be tuned. Help us to see if there are any harmful emotions that need to be replaced with Your help. Also, please reveal to us if we need to change the stations we are listening to. Help us to tune into You, every day. Help us to listen to the truth in Your Holy Word, as our minds are transformed. Please give us discernment in this area and help us to have an open mind to anything You would like to share with us today. Thank You. In Jesus’ Holy Name we pray, Amen.
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Making Space for God to Work
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This might be true in some cases. But on the flip side, pictures don’t always tell the whole story. When my sister moved into her home, she sent me a picture of what I like to call a reading nook. There was a chair that looked quite comfortable beside a small book shelf. My sister has a special talent when it comes to decorating, and this area of her home was no exception. To me it looked very cozy and inviting, a lovely place to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee.
However, I later learned that my sister’s house is not quiet, and reading can be difficult. When she told me this, I immediately thought of the picture. And I was reminded that what we see in a picture might be lacking in details.
But there is more to this story. My sister also told me that even though her house is far from quiet or peaceful, she attempts to create peaceful places in her home, and peaceful moments for herself and her family. And this led to the topic of how important it is to make room for God to do His work in our lives.
We will all face an array of blessings and trials in our lives. But if we try to greet each day with an open mind and a willing heart, this can help transform the story we are walking through.
I love the story of Ruth, found in the Bible. Ruth’s husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law had all died. The only members remaining in her household, in the region of Moab, were her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, was from Bethlehem, and she decided to return home. She encouraged her two daughters-in-law to stay behind, as they were originally from Moab. One daughter-in-law, Orpah, did return to her family. But Ruth did not. She wanted to stay with Naomi.
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’” – Ruth 1:16-17
After arriving in Bethlehem, they lived near a man named Boaz, who was a relative on Naomi’s late husband’s side. Ruth would go to his fields and pick up leftover grain that the workers dropped. One day Boaz saw her doing this. After learning who she was, he encouraged her to continue, and he even told his workers to intentionally leave some stalks of grain for her (Ruth 2:1-16). Well, to make a short story shorter, Boaz and Ruth wound up getting married. They then had a son, who would be King David’s grandfather. (If you are not familiar with the story of Ruth, you can read it all here.)
I find this story to be a beautiful one. The path could not have been easy for Ruth, as she lost her husband and left her homeland. But instead of being bitter, she made space in her life for God to work. And in the end, God transformed her story of heartache into a masterpiece. Not only was Ruth’s son part of David’s family line, but he was part of Jesus’s family line too.
Ruth’s story, and my sister’s situation in her home, both remind me to embrace the things that come my way, whether good or bad. As children of God, we can rest assured knowing that everything that happens in our lives, He allowed. And He has a purpose and a plan for it all. If we live with an open heart, He can take each seemingly ugly situation and turn it into something beautiful. He can turn our stories into works of art, when we decide to allow God to work in our lives.
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Walking With God 2021 Recap
Confession: I have a purse with a monogram on it… but the monogram does not equate to my initials. The letters are WWG. This is a little nudge, and ultimately a comforting reminder, to “Walk With God.” It doesn’t just remind me to walk with God. It also feels like a warm embrace to know that I am walking with God. I can face whatever comes my way each day, with Him by my side.
Over on the Christians Read blog, I had a series on walking with God. I initially wrote one post about walking with God in February. But over the past several weeks I have expanded on it a bit. I looked at walking with God from different angles, using Psalm 23 as a theme. If you are interested in reading those posts, I have the links below.
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Prayer 2021 Recap
Hi Friends! Over the month of July I have been revisiting some of my past posts. Today I am sharing my 2021 posts on prayer. On the surface, prayer seems to be pretty straightforward. But when we dig deeper, we find that there is so much we can say about prayer. Millions of words have been written in countless books about prayer. I have touched on different aspects of prayer over the course of this series. I hope they have provided encouragement to make prayer a part of your life. If you would like to revisit my posts on prayer from this spring, I have compiled that list below. I hope you get some value out of them as you learn to cling to the Lord in prayer.
“We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own souls, closer than our most secret thoughts.” – A.W. Tozer
Bonus Post: Closer Than a Phone Call Away
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Strong Faith 2020 Recap
Hello! As I mentioned last week, over the month of July, I will be revisiting some of my past posts. Last week I also mentioned that when the pandemic hit, I focused on praising God. But I also spent time focusing on strong faith. I learned some principles that help us in our faith walk. I shared what I was learning over on the Christians Read blog last spring. Below are links to those posts. I hope you find these posts to be encouraging.
“Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God.” – A.W. Tozer
Strengthening Our Faith in the Good Times
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Praising God 2020 Recap
Hi Friends! Over the month of July I will be revisiting some past posts. Today I am sharing my 2020 posts on the subject of praising God. When the pandemic hit last year, I quickly learned the importance of praising God. I read through the book of Psalms, reading five Psalms a day. And I implemented praise into my daily life. Instead of feeling down, as many were during those months, I felt a new sense of peace. It amazed me how much praising God could lift our spirits. This is because when we focus on praising God, we are concentrating on His goodness, not on our worries. Whether you are struggling with anything right now or not, I encourage you to make praising God part of your life. It will bring you joy as you cling to the magnificence of our Lord and Savior. Below are the posts I shared last spring, if you are interested in reading any of them again. Personally, I have needed to revisit the importance of praise lately in my own life. So perhaps you do as well. If so, I hope this brings you some encouragement to praise God through life’s ups and downs.
“Let the seeking man reach a place where life and lips join to say continually, ‘Be thou exalted,’ and a thousand minor problems will be solved at once.” – A.W. Tozer
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Prayer ~ Part 9
Today I want to take a few moments to pray together. Feel free to use this prayer as a prompt at any time.
Dear Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you today in prayer to seek Your grace and guidance.
Lord, first we want to confess anything hidden in our hearts that needs to go. Please show us anything that we might not be aware of that is lurking below the surface. Cleanse us from these hidden faults. We are sorry we grieve You at times when we hold onto our old ways. We hand it all over to You now. Please help us to overcome our weaknesses and move forward in Your grace. Thank You, God. [Take a moment to think about any sins or mistakes that you would like to confess now.]
Lord, we also want to ask You today to help us with the different things that have been weighing on our hearts and minds. Please give us the strength and wisdom we need to move forward in faith. We have spent a lot of time worrying about these things. But we know You don’t like for us to worry. So we are handing our concerns over to You. What freedom it brings to know that You are handling all of our needs. Thank You, God. [Take a moment to think about any concerns you have, and seek God’s help now.]
Lord, we also have different loved ones who are on our hearts today. Please help them with the struggles they are facing. Please help them to draw closer to You. Please help them to see that You are their ultimate source. We ask that You please guide them on their path and provide for their needs. Sometimes we feel helpless when we see our loved ones dealing with various concerns. But we know how powerful prayer is, and we place them in Your hands. Thank You, God. [Think about different family members and friends who need prayer and lift them up to God.]
Lord, we thank You for all that You do for us each and every day. You continually shower us with blessings and favor. We are so grateful for all that we have. We thank You that we can come to You in prayer at any time. What a gift that is! We are so thankful for Jesus and the price He paid for us. And Lord, we are also thankful for the Holy Spirit who guides us daily. We have so much to be thankful for. [Add anything else that you would like to give thanks for.]
Lord, we praise You and all that You are. You are greater than anything and everything. Our minds have trouble grasping just how marvelous You are, God. Words cannot even describe Your glory. We take a look around at this world and this universe and we are in awe of how You set everything in place. Yet You also see each one of us and know us by name. What a gift it is to know that You love us and care for us. Thank You, God. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We give You all the honor and all the glory. [Feel free to add your own praises.]
It is in Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.
[Also, take a few minutes to sit quietly with God. Listen for anything He might want to reveal to you.]
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Prayer ~ Part 8
It says in Luke 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” And indeed when we read the Gospels, we see how spending time in prayer was important to Jesus. We see many instances where it says He withdrew from the crowd and went to a solitary place to pray. If this time alone with the Father was vital for Jesus, how much more important should it be for us?
There is something significant that I hope to convey here. Prayer is so much more than something we check off of our to do lists. Prayer is not something we HAVE to do. Prayer is something we GET to do. Prayer is an honor and a privilege. We are able to meet with our loving Father at any time and from anywhere.
As we pray, we are being shaped and formed to be more like Jesus. We are molded into the person God purposed us to be. We shed the gunk of this world as we are transformed from the inside out.
“Walking with God down the avenues of prayer we acquire something of His likeness, and unconsciously we become witnesses to others of His beauty and His grace.” – E. M. Bounds
Whether we are crying our in despair, whispering words of gratitude, calling out in praise, or begging for divine help – He is there. He is eager to hear from us. He listens to every word. And He is happy to help us and wrap us in His loving arms.
“So now we draw near freely and boldly to where grace is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.” – Hebrews 4:16 TPT
Spending time with God in prayer helps us to learn more about Him. We begin to understand how incredibly merciful and faithful He is. We are filled with awe at His goodness. His love fills a void deep within our hearts.
“The first privilege of having an intimate relationship with God through prayer is that you get to know God. Consider what a great and awesome honor that is—to know the One who not only created all that exists but also directs it from His mighty throne.” – Dr. Charles F. Stanley
We sit in God’s presence and have a conversation with Him. We are forming a strong bond and a meaningful relationship. God is incredibly fond of us and longs to hear from us. Through prayer we not only receive strength and help and guidance, but we also receive love and tender care. May we remember the priceless gift we have in prayer.
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Prayer ~ Part 7
Last week I briefly mentioned intercession as a type of prayer that we can implement in our prayer lives. Today I wanted to dig deeper into this topic.
1 – We can intercede for others
It might sound complex at first, but this is actually something we do all the time. When we pray for other people, we are interceding on their behalf. And this is something the Bible instructs us to do.
1 Timothy 2:1-5 (NLT) it says, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.”
We have many opportunities to pray for other people. First, we can pray for non-believers to be saved. It says above in verse 4 that the Lord “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” We might be a witness to some people, and explain the gospel to them. But even if they reject the message, we can continue to pray that the seed planted in their lives will grow.
We might also pray for those who need healing of some sort. We can pray for anyone who is struggling with a particular difficulty in their life. Prayer would be a good place to start when we know someone who is battling something spiritually. I am being a little vague here, because the truth is that the opportunities for prayer are endless. From someone who has a drug addiction, to someone who has a problem with anger, to someone who is battling cancer, to someone who has a financial concern – we can pray in all these instances.
Sometimes we feel helpless when our loved ones are dealing with a mountain. But prayer is the most powerful weapon there is!
I really appreciate how 1 Timothy 2:2 says to “Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority.” This is a great reminder for us to add our government leaders to our prayer lists. We can pray for the leaders in our own countries and across the globe. The decisions they make will affect our lives. And I imagine it is not easy to be in such positions. Whether we agree with their views or not, there is room for prayer.
This verse also reminds us to pray for our pastors, law enforcement, bosses, and any other authority figures in our lives.
And there is something else that this verse implies. We don’t have to know someone personally to pray for them. Now this might seem to start a flood because there are so many people in the world. How would we know who exactly to pray for? It’s important to listen to the Holy Spirit. He will put a burden on our hearts for those who we should pray for.
2 – The Mediator
In 1 Timothy 2:5 it says, “There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus is our Mediator. It’s important to remember that Jesus bridged the gap between God and ourselves. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is called our High Priest. Thanks to Jesus, our Mediator, and our High Priest, we are able to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God” (Heb 4:16).
3 – The Lord intercedes for us
When we tell others that we will pray for them, it usually gives them a bit of comfort. And when we know someone is praying for us, it brings us some comfort too. Well, did you know that the Lord also intercedes for us? How amazing and comforting is that!
It says in Romans 8:26, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” And it also says in Romans 8:34 that Jesus “is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.” These two verses should console us. No matter what difficulty we are facing, the Lord is interceding for us.
Intercession simply means that we can pray for other people. As you seek God in prayer, keep your loved ones in mind. Who do you know that needs prayer? And keep in mind that the Lord prays for us as well. So when we are facing something, big or small, we can have peace knowing that the Lord is interceding for us. What a glorious God we have!
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Bridget A. Thomas 