BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women Pamela Crim | Daily Devotional for Women

Who’s getting tired of doing the right thing over and over again, with seemingly minimal results? Who’s worn out from fighting when the relationship just doesn’t seem to be improving?







Who’s burned out from counting the calories, from denying yourself of the deliciousness you most desire, when the progress is ever so slow and nonexistent at times?







Who am I speaking to this morning?  Are you getting tired of doing what is good?  If you’re questioning if it’s worth it, I believe God has your answer for you loud and clear this morning. Galatians 6:9 – “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”







DON’T STOP NOW.  Steven Furtick says, “You’re only stuck if you stop.”  If you don’t stop, honey, you can’t be stuck.  Keep doing the good you know to do because God is getting ready to give you a harvest of blessings if you just don’t give up.







Let me speak life into your frustrated spirit this morning.  Today is not the day to give up.  This is not the time to back down.  This day was made for doing good.  With all that you are, with all that you have, do good today.







God desires for each of us to come to a place of full surrender in life.  A place where we recognize we can’t do this on our own.  A place where we fully trust that if we do all we can, God will show up and do what only he can.







Now this place of full surrender doesn’t come naturally to us.  It takes one heck of a storm to get us there.  It often requires a weary spirit, exhausted from trying.  A body without a lot of fight left.  This is surrender … and this is where God works best.







I don’t know about you, but I have some areas in my life where I need God to do what only he can.  I have some impossible.  I have some mountains.  I bet you do too.  And oh how our loving heavenly Father WANTS to show up for us.  He WANTS to.  You never have to question God’s desire to help you.  He’s never sitting in heaven looking down with angry eyebrows and arms folded saying, “nope – don’t wanna.  I just don’t wanna help her today.”  Yet, the truth is that’s exactly what we believe sometimes so we don’t even ask for help.







Understand this, God is ready, willing and able to help you.  He wants to pour out his blessings on you … and HE WILL, oh how he will if you just keep doing the good that you know to do.  And as you know better, you will do better.







God is cautioning us against growing weary in doing good.  Has the storm weathered your heart?  Are you becoming cynical?  Have your good works been met with greed and ungratefulness?  Have your good works been taken advantage of or gone unnoticed?  Have your good works been void of return?  Then of course it becomes easy to have a critical spirit.  I mean why even try if it’s not going to make a difference.







It’s like what is the point in cleaning the house when you have a tornado of a toddler tearing it up faster than you can put it back together.  Why speak kindness to your husband when he’s so negative and edgy?  Why give your best at work when it goes unnoticed and unappreciated?  Why work so darn hard on your health when you still get bad news?







That’s what a weary heart says.  That’s what a critical spirit says.  That’s what a cynical woman’s thoughts sound like.  That’s the product of a bad attitude.







And that is NOT you.

Today, I’m going to tell you something very specific God absolutely loves to see you do.  Something you can do that brings him tremendous delight.  You would want to make God happy today, wouldn’t you?  You would want to please him.







I do.  Gosh, I want to make God absolutely giddy he gave me this day of life.  But sometimes I wonder how to please him.  How to make him smile.  How does a really normal girl like me bring great delight to my Almighty creator?  Have you ever asked the same question?







2 Corinthians 9:7 “God loves a cheerful giver.” 







You’ve likely heard that before along with a guilt trip to give your money.  But what if your opportunity to be a cheerful giver goes far beyond money and meets you right where you are today.  God is asking you to give what you have with joy, with excitement, with open hands and an open heart.  To stop holding back, and let God flow through you in all you have to give.







MSG: “God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.”  The Voice: “Giving grows out of the heart—otherwise, you’ve reluctantly grumbled “yes” because you felt you had to or because you couldn’t say “no,” but this isn’t the way God wants it. For we know that “God loves a cheerful giver.”







Right here, this Monday.  Will you be a cheerful giver?







Let’s take an inventory of what you have available to give today.







First, your time.  In this single day you have 24 hours – or 1,440 minutes. Will you give your time cheerfully today?  OR WILL IT BE A CHORE FOR YOU TO SIT DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH THEM?  WILL IT BE A CHORE TO LISTEN?  WILL IT BE A CHORE TO REALLY BE THERE?  Will you be happy about giving time with God today?







How many of us are there, but we’re not really there?  We’re begrudgingly showing up and checking the box but we don’t really want to be there.  That’s not GIVING your time … that’s allowing someone or something to TAKE your time.  Today will you GIVE your time.  Purposely.  Intentionally.  Cheerfully.  Will you gladly be there?  Will you fully be there?







God loves that.  He loves when you cheerfully show up for your own life and invest in it.  He loves when you are fully there, engaged.  Not because you have to, but because you GET to.







And he really loves it when you view this life you have to live through the eyes you have been given instead of a screen you hold in your hand!







What else do you have to give today?  Your energy.  Within you is the power to GSD.  Get stuff done.  You have a set of 2 choices. 







Do it – or don’t do it.
If you should do it, then you have another choice to make – Do it happy – or do it miserable.

Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”







Here in Bali, I’m learning what a privilege work is.  Everyone I meet is delighted to have a job.  They are working long days to make $25 per week.  They are perpetually early, genuinely eager, with attitudes of gratitude.  Have we lost that?  Have we become too entitled to remember what a privilege this all is?







There are a whole lot of people showing up for work today miserable.  They’re there, they’re completing the tasks before them, but it’s not because they want to be.  How incredibly sad.  How sad that there are moms holding babies, wishing they were somewhere else.  How sad there are wives making the bed in an angry fit today.

Today’s episode is an unscripted bible study of Genesis 6-8. Join me!







6 Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. 2 The sons of God saw the beautiful women[a] and took any they wanted as their wives. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with[b]humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”







4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.







5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.







The Story of Noah







9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.







11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!







14 “Build a large boat[c] from cypress wood[d] and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15 Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[e] 16 Leave an 18-inch opening[f] below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.







17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”







22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.







The Flood Covers the Earth







7 When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. 2 Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice,[a] and take one pair of each of the others. 3 Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. 4 Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”







5 So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

What could cause a life to seem no longer worth living? What could cause a miraculous creation to decide one more day just isn’t possible?







It would be so easy to dismiss ourselves from this conversation, assuming our families are immune from that darkness. It would never happen to us. We’re too happy, too blessed, too close. But let me assure you, none of us are dismissed from this battle, and it is a battle.







Suicide. There, I said it. Taking your own life to end the pain, to avoid another day, to escape a reality that feels impossible to continue. And let me assure you, no matter how happy you are, no matter how good you know your life to be, there are circumstances that could bring you to this darkness. Maybe you’ve felt the touch of that darkness before, or maybe you haven’t. But I assure you, it is there.







It is there for you, and it is there for your family. And here’s the bad news, you can’t insulate your family from ever facing those pains that would cause this hopelessness. Yes, it happens to the good kids. Yes, it happens to the ones who go to Church every week. Yes, it happens to the families in the big houses with all the fancy toys. Yes, it happens to the families with good marriages and dinners around the table. Yes, it happens to college degrees, successful careers, and beauty queens.







Yes, freaking beauty queens with a crown on the perfect body, a high rise apartment in New York, and everything a girl could ever dream of. Then there is darkness and hopelessness that makes a beautiful soul like that feel life is no longer worth living.







We can’t make that darkness go away. We can’t dish out hope that will guarantee you to never feel the feelings of hopelessness. But maybe there’s something we can do to take away the tool the enemy uses in that darkness. Maybe we can fight the battle by cancelling the very thing that would be used against us in our weakest moment.







What if suicide were just taken off the table? Seriously, what if it were no longer a viable option? What if a promise was made to NEVER, EVER, regardless of circumstances, end your own life.







Why? Why make that promise when the reality is there may come a day when you feel like you can’t continue? Here’s why you make that promise now … for any and every person who loves you. What you may not understand is the complete devastation your willful exit would create for everyone who loves you. The questions, the guilt, the grief is nearly unbearable. You need to know that, and you need to understand you can keep that from ever touching them.







How? Decide now, suicide will NEVER be an option for you. Ever. It’s not on the table.







I know the questions after someone you love ends their own life. I know the guilt and the grief. I’ve seen it take it’s toll in families, and I’ve seen it’s gruesome work in my own family. My husband lost his own father to suicide. He was a good man, eaten away by regret, who one night decided everyone would be better off without him, and he took a bottle of pills never to wake up again. While he never woke up, let me tell you, his family wakes up every day to the nightmare left behind. That is not a pain he would have ever wanted to create for his sons.







Sometimes we will do for others what we won’t do for ourselves. If you can’t live for yourself, then honey live for anyone who loves you.







This is not a pain you would ever want to create for the people who love you. Decide now, SUICIDE WILL NEVER BE AN OUT FOR YOU. IT’S NO LONGER ON THE TABLE.







Scripture says in 1 Peter 5:8 “Stay alert!

Does your mind carry you away in fearful thoughts of darkness? Is the “what if” scenario continually playing out leading to worst case?







What if this all falls apart?What if I fail again?What if everything goes wrong?







This is completely normal, right? We all have those fleeting thoughts … but honey, there’s a difference between fleeting and flooding. Fleeting thoughts come and they go quickly. Flooding thoughts drown us with an overwhelm of negativity.







The Bible tells us a story about the cost of thoughts like these. In Numbers 13 & 14 we read of Moses sending 12 men ahead of the Israelites to spy on the land of Canaan where they desired to live. This was a land God had promised to the Israelites when they left Egypt and their intentions were always to go there. But they knew taking this beautiful, promising land would not be easy, so the spies went ahead of the crowd to see what they were up against.







After 40 days, the 12 men returned with fruit and reports that indeed it was a bountiful land flowing with milk and honey. It was like a paradise compared to the wilderness where the Israelites had set up camp. But there was one problem, the Canaanites who lived there would surely fight to keep their paradise.







The returning men said “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” (Numbers 13:31-33)







But one of the men who had spied on the land had a different thought. Caleb said “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”







Everyone else who saw the opposition said it was impossible. Caleb said it was possible. Who do you think the Israelites believed?







Here they stood on the edge of their Promised Land, and they backed down. You know why? Because what should have been a fleeting thought became a flooding thought. The people began weeping aloud and cried all night. They rose up in complaints and demanded a new leader to take them back to Egypt where they had been slaves.







Now notice, nothing had really happened here. Simply the majority said they were facing giants if they continued. It was the thought of these giants that kept them from moving forward. And it was their thought of what the giant people must have thought about them. They said they felt like grasshoppers compared to these giants, and that’s what the giants thought too. How did they know what the others were thinking? There was no exchange of conversation. No insults were thrown, yet insult was taken. Defeat was assumed.







How many times are we assuming defeat? How big have we made our giants, and how small have we assumed ourselves to be? My sister, have you forgotten the Almighty God dwells within you? Have you forgotten with God nothing shall be impossible? Have you forgotten that with Jesus Christ, all things are possible?







Why have you backed down to your giants? Why are you believing the stories you tell yourself of darkness, sadness and bad endings? What are you missing as a result? Seriously, what beautiful land could you be living in, but you have never arrived because you believed the negative st...

Have you ever not asked because the answer could be no? No one likes the answer no.







As a little girl, I loved chewing gum. Like it was nearly an obsession. My Aunt CC was the gum bearer of the family. She was one of those cool aunts who never had children of her own, so her mission in life was to spoil me. She always said yes to me. But still I hesitated to ask because I knew there was a possibility she may have run out of gum and had none to give me if I asked. So, here’s what I would do … at her house, I would wait until she was in the bathroom and then I would sneak into her purse and check for gum. I would never take it, just check it. If there was gum, I would wait until she came back in the room and then I would confidently ask, knowing for sure the answer was yes. I would never ask before checking the supply because I was avoiding a potential no.







Have you been avoiding a potential no, so you’ve never asked? You tip toe around fearing rejection, therefore never stepping into what you want. Girl, ask.







In case you’re checking supply first, your Heavenly Father isn’t running short on supply of ANYTHING. He has an abundance of every single thing you could possibly need or want. His answer is never “I don’t have enough, or I already ran out.”







Listen to me, GOD HAS WHAT YOU NEED IN STORE. It’s in stock. It’s available for shipment. Have you placed your order?







If you haven’t asked, you can’t be disappointed when you don’t receive. I mean seriously, I can’t be upset with Amazon for not shipping me a pair of size 9.5 Chacos, because I didn’t order them. It doesn’t work that way.







You can be absolutely certain God has an abundance of all you desire and the storehouses in Heaven are full because a whole lot of his children simply aren’t asking.







Or maybe you asked, but then when nothing happened, you never asked again? Did you know when Jesus taught us how to pray, he gave a specific example known as The Lord’s Prayer, you know the “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name …”, but maybe you’ve missed what he said immediately after sharing this prayer. Check it out:







Luke 11: 5-9 “Then he said, imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. The friend answers from his bed, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything.’ But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need. Here’s what I’m saying:







Ask and you’ll get;Seek and you’ll find;Knock and the door will open.Why would Jesus tell us a story of knocking on a door in the middle of a night, waking everyone up, and persistently asking even when the answer was no the first time? BECAUSE JESUS WANTS YOU TO KNOW THE POWER OF ASKING AGAIN.







So, we know God’s supply is never threatened … he has what you need and want. It is available and it is possible. Oh yes it is sister! And now we know Jesus gave a direct example of persistence in asking.







You may have asked for something last year and it didn’t happen, but will you ask again this year? Will you be so bold in your faith to knock on the door of heaven again and place your order?







Now, what if Jesus ignores you? Oh wait, what … is that an option? Could Jesus just pass you by? Well, there’s a story in the bible about Jesus ignoring a woman who was making a request.