Daily Devotions For The Deaf

I found my Bible and opened it to our verses for today. I cried as I read verse 28, “I am sad and tired. Say the word, and make me strong again.” Why was I crying? The day before I had taken our dog, Goldie, to the vet. She could not walk, so I wanted the vet to find out what was wrong. The vet called me that morning to tell me that Goldie had died during the night. My two sons and I were so sad! Some people think that pets are not important, but Goldie was a special part of our family. She would always stay near my sons’ beds when they were sick. As I did my daily housework, Goldie would follow me everywhere. When I sat down, she would lie at my feet. Maybe you are sad today. Maybe you have lost a pet, or a friend or relative has died. Or maybe you have financial problems or have lost your job. The only true place you can find comfort and peace is through God’s Word. Open your Bible and read God’s words. He will give you the strength you need to go on.

I do not like to wait! I become upset when I have to wait for a very long time. And sometimes I get angry when I have to wait to do something. By reading the Bible, God has taught me some lessons about waiting. The verses in our Bible Reading today have helped me be strong while I wait. Verse 31 says, “But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again — like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.” I travel a lot so I must wait in a bus station or airport. I know that God does not want me to be upset or angry as I wait. So now I take along a book or magazine to read, watch TV or look through the gift shops. I also can be impatient when God does not answer my prayers right away. But God forgives me and teaches me more lessons about waiting and being patient. You can depend on God to help you be patient today!

Last year my bank told me that I was the victim of a scam, and that someone had taken all the money out of my bank account. Losing all my money made me think about things that are important in life. My family and friends are important to me. But I am old and many of my friends have died. My dear wife and all of my brothers and sisters have died and are with God now. Possessions and money are important, too. But those things can be taken away from us. And when we die, we can’t take our money and possessions with us. The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes did some research about important things in life. We can read what he learned in our Bible Reading today. “The most important thing a person can do is to respect God and obey his commands” (verse 13b). Remember that God’s love for us and our relationship with Him are the most important things in the world. Those things are forever — they can never be taken away from us!

In our Bible verses today, we read about a woman whose daughter had an evil spirit. The mother was desperate to have her daughter healed. So she went to Jesus and begged Him to heal her daughter. The mother was persistent, and Jesus healed the girl. When Elijah faced the prophets of Baal, he needed God to answer his prayer and send fire to burn up the sacrifice (1 Kings 18). When Jesus prayed to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, He needed God to comfort and encourage Him to go to the cross (Luke 22:39-46). Maybe there will be times in your life when you desperately need God’s help. Don’t be afraid to pray and ask God to help you. Remember that Jesus will help you when you speak to God. Hebrews 7:25b tells us, “Christ can do this forever, because he always lives and is ready to help people when they come before God.” Talk to God today. Share with Him your urgent needs and your everyday needs. He will listen and answer!

This section of Psalm 119 talks about studying God’s Word. Verse 18 is a prayer that we can pray every time we study the Bible. “Open my eyes so that I can see all the wonderful things in your teachings.” If we want to understand God’s teachings, we should read the Bible every day. The writer of these verses shares his feelings about studying God’s Word. “I need to know your commands” (verse 19b). “I continue to study your laws” (verse 23b). “Your rules make me happy. They give me good advice” (verse 24). God’s teachings show us how to follow Him and how to live with other people. We should be excited to read the Bible (verse 20) and to serve God by obeying it (verse 23). Are you excited to learn from God’s Word? Are you willing to study and obey God’s teachings? Think about these things as you read the Bible today.

In our Bible verses today, Paul talked to Timothy about taking care of widows — women whose husbands have died. Recently I studied these verses. I learned that the church is responsible to take care of older widows who need help. I also learned that children should help take care of their mother if she is a widow. These verses really touched my heart because my mother is a widow now. I am her only child. So I am responsible to help take care of her. Paul also says that as Christians, we should take care of our families. “Most important, they should take care of their own family. If they do not do that, then they do not accept what we believe. They are worse than someone who does not even believe in God” (verse 8b). I encourage you to pay attention to Paul’s words in our Bible verses today. God will bless you as you serve Him by helping others.

Fall has arrived here in Iowa. The nights are cooler and the trees are beginning to change their colors. I grew up in Iowa and have always loved fall time. But I lived in upstate New York for 18 years. The trees there have so much more color in the fall. Now that I am back in Iowa, I sometimes complain that the trees here are not as pretty as those in New York. But I need to remind myself that the truly wonderful thing is not the colors, but the fact that the seasons always change — just as God promised. Verse 22 of our Bible Reading tells us that after Noah and his family left the boat, God told Noah, “As long as the earth continues, there will always be a time for planting and a time for harvest. There will always be cold and hot, summer and winter, day and night on earth.” We can know that the seasons will change because God promised it! God has also promised that Jesus will come again. We can depend on that promise, too!

Through the past few days I have shared some experiences from my faith journey. Today I want to tell you about my dad. One day he called me and asked me to come see him. When I arrived, his face was glowing — I had never seen him look like that. He told me that he had a dream. In the dream he was standing at a door. When the door opened, he saw himself on the other side. He said what he saw in that dream was just too wonderful to describe. Three days later my dad died. I believe what my dad saw in his dream was what John described in our Bible Reading today. “The one sitting there was as beautiful as precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow with clear colors like an emerald” (verse 3). I don’t know where you are in your faith journey, but I encourage you to trust God and look forward to living with Him forever.

My son was living in Phoenix, AZ. One day he rode his bike to work. A truck made a u-turn and hit him. My son flew through the air and landed 25 feet away. His elbow was shattered, and he was rushed to surgery. Again my husband and I drove to be with him. It was hard to watch him suffer. His arm looked terrible. That night I cried and prayed to God. I told God that I knew it must have been hard for Him to watch Jesus suffer on the cross. I asked God to be merciful and take care of my son. The next morning my son told me, “A strange thing happened last night. All of a sudden the pain got better.” I told my son that I had been praying and that this was an answer to my prayer. This experience made me think about our verses for today. Verse 1 says, “I cry out to God for help. I cry out to you, God: listen to me!” As I prayed to God and received His answer and comfort, my faith grew.

My faith in God has grown through the years as my husband and I have served God in several different areas in our church. For 22 years, I taught a class for two to four-year-olds. But the church changed their program, and I was no longer needed. I was sad, but I knew that God had another place of service for me. Soon our pastor’s wife asked me and my husband to start a class for college students. We had a wonderful ministry with those young people. Later I went back to teaching a class for young children. That was a tiring job, but I really enjoyed it. After that, my husband and I took care of children while their parents were in a Bible study. That group was another blessing from God! God has taught me that when one opportunity for service ends, He will show me something new that I can do for Him. In our Bible verses today Paul talks about how we should act as we serve God. Remember to do everything today for God!

Four months after my mother died, my son broke his neck in a diving accident. We drove all night and arrived at the hospital in the morning. I was so relieved to see my son and learn that he could move his legs. The doctor told us that my son would need to wear a special device on his head for three months to keep his neck from moving. But at the end of the three months, the doctor said we would have to wait another month. I was very disappointed. I didn’t want to wait any longer! Once again, God gave me peace and patience. He helped me understand that things would work out okay. Maybe that is how the writer of our Bible verses felt when he wrote, “Lord, you lifted me out of my troubles. You have changed my sorrow into dancing” (verses 1a and 11a). No matter what you will face today, remember to always depend on God and keep your faith growing.

January 9, 1992 was a good day for me. I taught a women’s class at church in the morning. We talked about the spiritual gifts that God gives us. Our Bible verses today are the ones we studied in that class. My mom was in that class. She always thought that no one wanted her. But during that lesson she realized that God had given her the gifts of giving and encouraging. She was thrilled to finally feel wanted. The next day, my mother died of a heart attack. I was overcome with grief. I came home and turned on the radio. The song that was playing on the radio was a Christian song about heaven. God used this song to comfort me and give me peace. Even through the experience of death, God was helping my faith to grow. I learned that I can always depend on Him — even when I am sad. You can depend on God, too! Let Him guide you and help you grow closer to Him.

When my husband and I became Christians, we were so excited to share Jesus with our family and friends! My brother and his friend came to visit us from California. We told them about Jesus. They both became Christians, found Christian women to become their wives and made their homes near us. My parents moved close to us, too. I did not know if they would become Christians, but I prayed that God would help me tell them about Jesus. My husband’s parents never went to church, but we prayed that they would also believe. When my father-in-law had a heart attack, the first thing he said after his surgery was that he wanted to become a Christian. My husband had the pleasure of baptizing both his parents and my parents. New Christians are excited to tell others about Jesus. In our Bible verses for today, we read about the first church in Jerusalem. Because these people shared Jesus with others, the church grew and grew!

After I became a Christian, I wanted to know more and more about the Bible. When I read a story that Jesus told, I felt like He was talking directly to me! God was answering my prayers, and my faith was growing and growing. I realize now that I would soon need a strong faith to get me through some bad times. By the time I was 27 years old, I had gone through ten surgeries. When I had my tenth surgery, I got an infection and was sick for a long time. Then the doctor said I needed another surgery. The pain was so bad that I finally agreed to the surgery. When I woke up after surgery, our minister was standing by my bed, praying for me. I knew then that I would be alright. My faith grew through good times and bad times. God was always with me to help me, no matter what was happening in my life. Through all those times, prayer was a very important part of my life. In our Bible Reading, James talks about the importance of prayer. Be sure to talk to God today.

In today’s Bible Reading, Jesus went to Nazareth. Nazareth is the town where Jesus grew up. The people there were amazed when Jesus tried to teach them. The people in Nazareth had known Jesus when He was a child. They thought He was just a simple carpenter. They did not understand how Jesus could be important. Those people could not see the truth about Jesus. They did not want to understand. Jesus showed them proof that He was God’s Son. But they did not believe. Sometimes we are like those people. We think it is very easy to understand Jesus. We think we already know Him. But we must think about Jesus and really study the Bible. Then we will understand more about Him. For the next few days we will learn more about Jesus. Then you can begin to know more about Him. Jesus will change your life forever!