A Sudden Storm

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end.  Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.  Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.

Psalm 107: 27-30

I had no special plans for today when I got a call that my Mom needed an antibiotic. Rather than wait til we did errands tomorrow, we decided to drive the seven miles into town to get it. Just as we were loading up the garbage cans to take down the hill with us, I got a call that a bad storm was headed our way, even a tornado watch.

I probably should have waited, but we were ready to go and so I backed the car out of the garage and the rain started to pour as we drove down the steep hill.

I crept along the road and the rain kept coming harder and harder. We got her prescription (thank God for drive through pharmacy pick ups) and then we started to brave our way through the overflowing roads back home. At one point the rain came down in sheets, so strong that I pulled over. How could I drive when I couldn't see in front of me?

It took me a lot longer than usual to drive back out into the country to her house, and all along the way we saw evidence of the ground being oversaturated as muddy water flowed into the roads.

Isn't life often like a sudden storm? We think we have it all planned out but then a tragedy comes along and we feel like we are drowning in the midst of a huge deluge. It's easy to panic when these things come our way. That's my usual reaction, stopping to think my way through a crisis is not easy for me.

I knew my parents were getting old, I was helping them out by weekly visits and cleaning, going along for Mom's doctor appointments, etc. But then suddenly, Dad fell from a tree during a hunting accident last fall. A storm descended upon our family as we all gathered around his hospital bed, hoping desperately he could pull through. But God called him home four days later. 

Now I work with my sisters and we all take turns caring for mother, and sometimes I feel I am in a storm again. I had no idea a year ago that I would be living with her,being her caretaker. But God prepared me for the storm even in some of the things Dad said to me before he passed.

Just knowing that God is sovereign above all things is of such encouragement. Dad's "accident" was no surprise to God. It was appointed that my father would leave us then, even if it is so hard to accept, when we see so dimly on this side of eternity.

We have no guarantees of smooth sailing through life. Jesus promised us there would be trouble. How could there not be when every creature in this world is affected by the fall of man in the Garden?

Yet even in the midst of all the trials, the heartbreaks, the sadnesses we see in this vale of tears, we can be assured that God is still in control, that He watches over His children, that precious in His eyes is the death of His children. I know he rode with Mom and I in the storm today. 

Just one of thousands of His precious promises He gives to His undeserving children:

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:15

Even if His way of delivering us is our death in the midst of the storm, God is still in control. He has taken the sting out of death, remember? 

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

"O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" I Corinthians 15: 54-55

My comfort is in knowing that even if I don't know what tomorrow holds, I have a Savior that loves me, who never abandons me. Life is confusing, with its sudden twists and turns, but as a child of God I settle down and rest in His promise:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Always being led to Triumph

"For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the fields are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell
you; For the world is Mine, and
all its fullness...
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver
you, and you shall glorify Me."

Psalm 50: 10-12, 15



Many years ago, a good friend  who faced a hard trial of faith shared with me a life-changing verse. For all who dare to believe it, it is tucked away in II Corinthians, chapter 2. If only we would believe it, life would be so much more pleasant, each moment an opportunity for happiness.

It simply says:

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

To my doubting mind, I surely want to jump in there with some kind of reservation. "Always, Lord? But what about that time when....?"

This morning I read this verse again. In my Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (3rd edition, Jay P. Green, Sr., editor) the transliterated verse reads like this:

"But to God thanks the (One) always leading in triumph us in Christ, and the odor of the knowledge of Him revealing through us in every place."
(page 554)

I looked up the word always in Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary. It is the word pantote (#3842 in Strong's). The definition is: "Always, at all times, ever." This same word is also used in Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7, Luke 15:31, Luke 18:1 and John 6:34.

No room for an exception there.

Then I looked up the word triumph. It is #2358 in Strong's and is the word thriambeuo and in this verse it means "to cause to triumph."

If we look with sight eyes, we ask God how ever in this world this verse could be true. There have been disappointments in my life, big ones, yet II Corinthians 2:14 says what it says. Moreover, it was written by the Apostle Paul, who went through a few things like being stoned to death, beaten with rods, shipwrecked and afflicted with a disease that God would not take away. Just little things like that.

I was talking to a friend the other day who expressed a disappointment in one way her life had turned out. I was stumped afterwards. How can we be disappointed with the way things turn out if we believe that He is always leading us to triumph?

Even in dark, difficult places, this verse is in the Word of God. It is Divinely inspired and written for our comfort and encouragement. If I accept this verse, I feel a heavy yoke of disappointment with my own life being traded for faith in an unchanging benevolent God who works all things (not some things) for my ultimate good.

I love how Kenneth Wuest translates Romans 8:28 in his expanded translation of the New Testament.

And we know with an absolute knowledge that for those who are loving God, all things are working together resulting in good, for those who are divinely summoned ones according to His purpose.  (page 366)

And in the Amplified Bible Romans 8:28 is translated this way:

We are assured and know that (God being a partner in their labor), all things work together and are (fitting into a plan) for good to those who love God and are called according to (His) design and purpose.

"For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:19-21

I am comforted in believing these promises, no matter what the enemy may whisper in my ear. It is time for me to put up my shield of faith! I implore you to do the same.

Only God's Love will Make a Way, Comes to Stay

Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."

I was convinced I was "right." I had a good reason to be angry this time. Hadn't I put up with a lot, taken it patiently? But this instance was just "going too far." I was seething.

But deep down, I was more angry at myself. For I wanted to not be angry with this person, near and dear to my heart. And all my attempts with others, in the past, came hauntingly to mind.

I felt resentment, and like I said, most of it was self-directed. How many times had I tried in vain to get rid of these feelings?

The words of I Corinthians 13 are read at weddings as if the bride and groom can live them on their own. When I read I Corinthians 13, I know that I could never in a million years accomplish these mandates. No, and as a Christian it is not a matter of "gritting your teeth" either. It has to be Christ doing it in you, or it won't get done, period.

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own
way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

But in my moment of weakness, I knew one thing, somehow, Christ lives in this train-wreck of a person, and He demands nothing less than this from me. All of my excuses will mean nothing one day if I have not lived this. This is the ultimate reality and it hit me like a ton of bricks the other night when I was reading Andrew Murray, in his book, Absolute Surrender.

Murray writes:

"There is a brother, a most unlovable man. He worries you every time you meet him. He is the very opposite disposition to yours. You are a careful businessman, and you have to do with him in your business. He is most untidy, unbusiness-like. You say:

'I cannot love him.'

Oh friend, you have not learned the lesson that Christ wanted to teach above everything. Let a man be what he will, you are to love him {emphasis mine} Love is to be the fruit of the Spirit all the day and every day. Yes, listen! if a man loves not his brother whom he hath seen-if you don't love that unlovable man whom whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen? You can deceive yourself with beautiful thoughts about loving God. You must prove your love to God by your love to your brother; that is the one standard by which God will judge your love to Him. If the love of God is in your heart you will love your brother. The fruit of the Spirit is love."

The words of Andrew Murray, speaking for My Savior, hit me just when I needed to be reminded. How can I say I love God if I am filled with vindictiveness toward one of His blood bought ones? But I knew, that even as I simply could not love the way I am supposed to love, there is one little key that can turn this whole thing around. Turning from unbelief (in my own inability to produce anything pleasing to God) to faith in the Word of God.

Instead of groaning in depression for a couple of weeks, which I could easily do, I find that I have a better choice. I can collect Promises within the recesses of my soul.(II Peter 1: 4) These precious promises tell me that Jesus Christ lives within me.(Colossians 1: 27) I can choose to believe that as I walk through my day. When I slip up, I can quickly confess it (I John 1: 9) instead of berating myself, for Christ foreknew that sin from eternity past, even if He didn't make me choose to do it.(Romans 8: 28)I can pray for the Holy Spirit to fill me with His love for that person.(Luke 11:13) Why not, He told us if we asked us anything in His name He would hear us! (John 14: 13-14)

Jesus gave us just one new commandment in John 13: 34-5:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Notice He didn't say pick one another's doctrine's apart, criticize one another, nitpick about the length of one's skirt or the length of the men's hair. No, love is to cover a multitude of sins.(James 5:20) I look to myself first. If we are to judge other people, there is really only two ways of looking at them. Judge either that, if a person is "in Christ," they are a brand new creation (II Cor. 5:17) or if not, they are a candidate to be one. For Christ died for all men, without exception. (II Cor. 5: 19)

Mark 10: 21a "And Jesus, looking at him, loved him..."

Gratitude or Grumbling, Part II

As today is the last day of November, I wanted to do an update on my "Gratitude or
Grumbling" post from Tuesday. I had this "funny feeling" when I posted it that I was going to be tested on it. Well, let's just say the last couple days have been kind of rough for me. The enemy has been taunting me with "Look at how much good that did you!" admidst days of unresolved issues in my life.

I know condemnation is not of the Lord. (Romans 8:1) But I was feeling pretty condemned, truthfully. But I have this, this only as I cling to the Lord: He is not in the business of giving up on His kids.( Hebrews 13:5) He loves me unconditionally. (John 3: 16) God's love is not at all like human love.(I John 3:1) That is all I need, period.

He demonstrated that love when He died on that cross for me.(I John 4: 10) He knows my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. (Romans 7: 15) I am still thanking Him for things, even things that are hurting. The promise in Romans 8:28 still says, if I love Him, He will work all the tattered pieces of my life together for good. He promised. He does not lie. He does not change.(Malachi 3:6) You think I am writing this just for readers? I speak to myself first!

Sometimes, when you walk around, did you ever notice all the broken people you see? Those people that are "down on their luck," so to speak? One guy I see around the neighborhood has some kind of problem, he talks to himself incoherently and to others the same way. Most people hurry away from him. Jesus, If Jesus saw that man today, all scruffy and unkempt,He'd find a way to graciously communicate with him. Another old fellow walks down the street very slowly with a cane. He can even hold up traffic at times. One time I helped him with a door or something. I was tempted to be impatient because he was so slow. Then he told me he was blind in his one eye. He may have been injured in battle sometime. All of a sudden, I was ashamed of myself for being so thoughtless and uncaring. Jesus has all the time in the universe to care about people's needs....But my window of opportunity to show love and do good is fleeting quickly. In fact, Christ lived outside of time, in eternity. That's why He never was flustered and frantic like we are.

These two men reflect beatings on the outside, but we all have them, whether inside or out. Though we don't show them, we are just as roughed up as they are, even though many people might not want to admit it. Though my troubles rose rapidly to the surface after I set my mind to think gratefully, I am identified with the Greatest Victor in the Universe. (I Cor. 15: 57) If I set my mind on the things above, not the things of earth (Col. 3:1-2), my heart will remain grateful. If I fail, I pick myself back up again, confess it to God, for He will forgive and cleanse me up to "70 x 7" (meaning an infinite amount.) What more could a daughter of God want?

Thank you Lord for even allowing the hard trials into my life so that I will run back to You. Amen.

Grumbling or Gratitude?

A thought popped into my head the other day, amongst the millions of irrelevant or harmful ones that daily course into my brain. I know it was a God thought. I have done a lot of "gritching" lately. (Combo of the word "griping" and the word for a female dog.) I have issues with chronic pain which often puts me into a less than cheerful state. Often times where I live, the weather is gloomy, and it affects me. There have been ongoing trials in my life and I tend to feel sorry for myself. I am ashamed to admit these things because I have the Word of God available to me for access 24/7. No excuse.

The thought was: What if every time I grumbled I would immediately replace it by giving thanks? Paul tells us:

1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

He did not say, in some things did he? Well then, I guess this could include when things don't go my way, like when I repeatedly drop things and have to bend over and get them, even if I hurt. Or if a situation doesn't change, even if I have prayed for years about it. Or if I see chaos everywhere. No, God is sovereign. He knows every detail of my life, and if I love Him (and ONLY if I love Him) He promises to work every apparently "bad" situation in my life for the good. (Romans 8:28) In that I can truly rejoice!!

Sometime thoughts come in and they go out just as quickly. But this one has managed to stay with me for a little while now. It is my prayer that it will not leave me. (That is, the giving of thanks whenever I find myself getting mad, which I admit, is often.)

I was so blessed at church this Sunday, a guest pastor stood in for our regular pastor, both of whom are tremendous teachers of the Word. He mentioned the Beatitudes. When Jesus talked about the poor in spirit being blessed in Matthew 5: 3, He used the word "ptochos." It is from the Strong's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament #4434. It means:

1) reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms

2) destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour

a) lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches

b) helpless, powerless to accomplish an end

c) poor, needy

3) lacking in anything

a) as respects their spirit


(I copied and pasted this from the Blue Letter Bible website, a free online Bible study source.)http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.cfm

We have to see ourselves that way. It was the first Beatitude! Blessed are we when we see ourself that way! The Pharisees hated Jesus because they thought they were respectable. When we realize grace is ALL OF GOD and none of us, then we really can thank Him for everything.

Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

That includes our little everyday trials. God wants to reward us in eternity. If we can bless and thank Him instead of grumbling, He will be able to do so. This is just an insight He has shown me. Yesterday I was working around the house pretty hard and everytime something happened that tempted me to get mad, I was reminded to thank Him and it made all the difference. I didn't do it perfectly, not at all, but it did make such a change in my attitude and outlook. It energized me.

Oh Lord, my prayer is that I will not forget this. I am daily bombarded with information overload. Bring this to my remembrance today and everyday, Amen.