God woke me up to warn me

January 18, 2026

Maria God as helper, God speaks, God's counsel, God's wisdom, Holy Spirit, Psalm 16 , , , Leave a comment

I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:7 NLT

I lay semi-awake toward dawn, musing about a trip we had just booked for May. All of a sudden, I pictured the “Wise” debit card I had ordered online. The last two times we have driven in Italy, we have struggled to pay for gas outside of cities. Our credit cards and U.S. debit cards haven’t worked, and we’ve had to rely on cash.

But someone had recommended Wise as a mode of international payment, so I had applied. The card had not yet arrived, though it should have. Truth is, I had forgotten about it.

Then I remembered, with a sinking heart, that two nights earlier I had tossed a long green envelope addressed to me. I hadn’t even opened it because it looked like junk mail. Into the kitchen garbage it went.

Yet Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit successfully broke through my half-asleep state to alert me to the possibility that I had thrown away what I needed. I earnestly started praying to recover the envelope, picturing what I had inadvertently done. As soon as the alarm went off, I sprang from bed and hurriedly fed the cats.

Sure enough, as the cats were eating their breakfast, I picked my way through the top of the white kitchen trash bag and found it! Inside was the Wise debit card, which I activated. Whew—the Lord has saved my derrière!

As I sat down to read my Bible, joyful praise poured out of my mouth. “Thank you, good Father, You really do counsel me in the night!” All day long, I overflowed with amazement and thanksgiving.

I also learned a lesson—don’t judge a piece of mail by its envelope!

Feed on Him – the book A collection of 365 daily devotions to make God’s Word yours. Available on Amazon in paper or kindle.

What makes me happy?  What I know!

August 29, 2024

Maria God as helper, God's Peace, Psalm 146, suffering, Trusting God, Truth , , , 1 Comment

Have you ever read or listened to the classic kids’ book The Adventures of Pinocchio, by C. Collodi? He wrote it in 1881 as separate chapters for a children’s magazine before it was published in book form two years later. Mike is reading it out loud for his You Tube channel Papa Mike Reads Children’s Classics. I listen to a chapter at a time, as he uploads them, while doing my morning stretching routine.

Earlier this week, I enjoyed the account of how the repentant yet always backsliding marionette hops on the wagon traveling to the ‘Land of Toys’ where boys don’t have to go to school nor are there any books.  Allegedly, all day and every day they play and have fun.  The journey to this naughty boy’s paradise turns out to be very difficult and uncomfortable. The boys are packed like sardines into a donkey-driven wagon where it’s insufferably hot. They have no food or drink.

In any other circumstances they would have grumbled and jumped off the wagon. Surprisingly they keep each other in high spirits talking up what awaits them. Not a murmur nor a negative comment taint their anticipatory good cheer.

Why? Because of what they know.

Their emotionally-charged happy image of what awaits them softens the hours of traveling discomfort.  Knowing their happy destination makes all the difference.

The same can be true of us. What we know about our God, and our savior, along with our sure and certain future in God’s Kingdom, a place FAR better than what awaits these wayward boys, should kill off any discontent and give us a peaceful and calm attitude.

One of the readings on Tuesday was this psalm:

But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. Psalm 146: 5 NLT

For my benefit, so I could really grasp it, I rewrote this verse to read:

Happy is the one who has a helper who is God and who KNOWS he has one.  Happy is the one who then counts on his helper, the one and only true God.

The verses that follow describe just what kind of helper we have.  The psalmist reminds us of how powerful, good, kind and faithful our God is.

What struck me, resonating with my soul, was that it’s knowing this promise and accepting it as FACT that creates a solid state of peace and contentment. As long as I keep recalling and thinking about what I know to be true, this reality that is God, I can put up with difficult, obstacle-producing circumstances. Knowledge makes all the difference.

For example, when I was pregnant with each of our sons and going through labor, knowing the outcome that awaited me on the other side of the pain helped. Then there have been those times of suffering and frustration in both relationships and work that have taught me the same.  I’ve learned over the decades that no matter the present misery, if the forecasted outcome is delightful or help is available, or I can know and understand the reason for the suffering, I can more easily deal with the pain, pressure and even fear.

Every day you and I live the reality that all of life is uncertain. The market goes up and down. Our kids find themselves included by friends or on the outside.  Our bosses come and go. Health varies. There’s nothing created by us or by God that can bring us perpetual satisfaction. He himself, as God, is our satisfaction. But we have to believe that.

So, if you want to be happy, then write down what you are certain of, what you know.  And focus on that. Since God is God, his characteristics won’t change. His promises to you won’t waver.  And your future is more amazing than you can imagine.

It’s what (and who) you know that makes you happy.