This devotion, published Tuesday April 21 in THE SECRET PLACE was inspired by my missionary work in Ghana, West Africa.

HIS LOVE IS ALL

NIV Genesis 1:30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

I walked through the streets of the Kakumba Yam Market in Accra, Ghana, and everywhere I looked I saw poverty and desperation. People living in piles of wood or clothes, open sewers, trash. But none of this was apparent on the faces of those who greeted me. Their white teeth smiled so wide, they reflected the sunlight. Their eyes were warm and inviting. Here in the midst of the worst conditions, they had found the joy of a Savior who provides.

Is my faith strong enough to weather any storm because of my confidence that God will provide for me? Do I live with the joy that no matter how little I have, His love is all I need? So often I am consumed with worry over what I want and don’t have that I forget to be thankful for all I already have.

I went to Africa determined to help them, and they helped me so much more. They opened my eyes to the true joy of salvation – providence, and the knowledge that it is not what we have but who we know that matters. What a blessing to know the Savior!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the confidence that in your Son, I have all I will ever need. Amen.