I was sitting on the floor on Sunday when a little boy sat down next to me and said.
Boy: “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Me: “What do you mean?”
Boy: “You have lines.”
Me: “Those are wrinkles.”
Boy: “What are wrinkles?”
Me: “That is what happens to your skin when you get old, it crinkles up.”
Boy: “Does it hurt?”
Me: “No”
The conversation continued as the boy continued to stare at me with concern in his eyes. Funny how I forget I am old until reminded by one who insists that the lines on my face certainly must hurt. I must admit that some of the events that led to the wrinkles hurt, but the wrinkles themselves are badges of honor. I have lived through trouble and am still standing. Why am I still standing? It has nothing to do with my ability or gumption it is God alone who has kept me moment by moment, day after day, year after year.
I look forward to someday leaving the trouble behind and gazing on the face of my Redeemer who rescued me. To see my God face to face who was with me in good times and bad and made me just as I am, wrinkles and all.
I was afraid of the dark when I was little. My Dad, who knew me well, was aware of my fear. One night when he was saying good night to me I heard a banging on our house that made me shudder. My dad took my hand and said, “come with me.” I followed him down the stairs and out the back door of our house. He pointed up to a tree whose rustling branches were hitting the top of our house. He wanted me to see what made the noise so I wouldn’t be afraid. He took me back up to my bedroom and tucked me in. The noise no longer bothered me because my Dad, who knew I was afraid, had helped me.
When I was about 8 I climbed a tree in our front yard. As I climbed I broke off one of the branches I had used to climb up. I couldn’t climb up and I couldn’t climb down. There I was hanging in mid-air. My Dad heard my cry and came running to where I was. He patiently helped me down from my precarious perch.
My Dad was able to help me because he knew me. He knew I needed His help. He knew I wasn’t always strong enough to get down from trees I had climbed. He knew I was afraid of the dark and of noises that were unfamiliar, but he not only knew me he loved me. He loved me enough to help me.
There is someone who loves me even more than my Dad did. God knows me inside out. God made me and loves me more than anyone else can. He knows I need His help. He hears me when I cry.
As I think about trouble around the world and in my everyday life I often become alarmed…then I remember that God is there to help me with the perceived threats (rustling branches) and the real threats (broken branches). He knows that we are weak and fearful people. He knows we need His help. No matter the circumstances, real or imagined, God has promised to be with us. He doesn’t promise to fix the problem, but promises to be with us. For it is by trusting Him through the darkest times that we learn to lean heavily on Him. If there was never trouble, we wouldn’t know our need of Him.
So the next time you are afraid or feel alone, remember God hears your cry. God loves you. God knows you better than anyone else. God has promised to be with you.
For further study:
“The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15
“but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” I Corinthians 8:3
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine!”…
“Since you are precious in My sight. Since you are honored and I love you…
Photo by Ernesto Alejandro Pu00e9rez on Pexels.com
This year has been incredibly hard for many families, mine included. My trouble pales when I see the trouble that the whole world is in. I struggle to find words of comfort for so many situations.
No words come. When there is no answer to trouble the only thing we can do is turn to the God who made us. Cling to Him with all we have and look forward to a better time, a better place.
I ran across a song recently that was sung in English and Arabic. The phrase that was repeated again and again was “in the shadow of your wings.” I found that phrase in the following Bible verses. Psalm 17:8; Psalm 36:7; Psalm 57:1; Psalm 63:7 – Take some time and look them up.
Here are the words to the song with a recording below. I pray it brings you comfort no matter what trouble you are facing.
In the Shadow of Your Wings – Cathy Spurr/ Debbie McNeil
I will dwell in the shadow of your wings.
I will know of the peace your love can bring.
Night will fall but I will not be afraid
When I dwell in the shadow of your wings.
In the shadow, in the shadow, in the shadow of your wings. (x2)
“I don’t want to make a sea otter.” One of my younger art students proclaimed. She was looking instead at the camouflaged deer which was a complicated project made in the class before. I had materials ready for the sea otter. The materials for the deer had been used up with the previous class. “We are doing the sea otter.” I explained. “That project was for the older class.”
She insisted, and one after another of her classmates voiced their objections to doing sea otters. Funny how discontent spreads.
I passed out the materials for the sea otters. Most of the students forgot their objections when they saw the materials, which included paint. Two students still wanted plain paper to come up with their own idea. I gave them plain white paper and a tin full of colored pencils with the warning that I would not be able to help them since I was teaching the Sea Otter lesson.
The original objector asked for various supplies. I told her no, that I was working with the students who wanted to make Sea Otters. She would have to make due with plain paper and colored pencils. She had chosen to be on her own. I was not available to help her.
After the students had gone, I felt God nudging me. How often have I acted like that student?
God asks me to do something. Something He has planned for me to do. He has provided the materials. He is ready to work with me and teach me through the difficult spots.
Sometimes I put my head down and get to work. Sometimes I think I have a better idea. Sometimes I want to do the job He has given to somebody else. Sometimes I work on my own idea while asking God to help me again and again.
His response? “I thought you wanted to be on your own?” …and after I have struggled enough to see my need and my foolishness, He will come along side me with a gentle rebuke and help me get out of the mess I find myself in.
Sometimes I will argue until I realize I need to trust Him even if it makes no sense to me, or seems impossible, or is not what I would have chosen.
Father, forgive me. I am sorry that you must remind me again and again that Your way is the best way. It will not always be the easiest, but it will always be the best.
For Further Study:
But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ Jeremiah 18:12
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face; But in the time of their trouble they will say, “Arise and save us.’ Jeremiah 2:27b
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
Discouragement has set in. I have so much to be thankful for, but there are situations that are long term heartaches. One after another, they sap energy and joy. God reminds me daily that He is with me and I will see good even yet.
Psalm 27:13-14 reminds me…”I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
My fallback prayer is…”Show me something good, I need to see something good.”
Days like this I wish I could talk to my Dad.
He grew up during the depression and served in WW II. He would be a wealth of encouragement. My memory of him was laughter and joy, but I know there were periods of deep sadness in his life as well. Sadness he never talked about or dwelt on. Day by day he was faithful to his faithful God. Day by day he got strength and joy from the God who is full of lovingkindness.
While cleaning out some drawers I ran across an old cassette tape with my Dad’s writing on it. Finding a cassette player that worked was another challenge. I finally was able to hook up the tape deck to our stereo system. The first song I heard was him playing the violin. The song? “Jesus Took My Burden”. The words came back to me as I listened. Here are the words to the chorus.
Yes, Jesus took my burden I could no longer bear,
Yes, Jesus took my burden in answer to my prayer;
My anxious fears subsided. My spirit was made strong.
For Jesus took my burden, and left me with a song.
My Dad died almost 34 years ago and yet here God was using him to encourage me today. Yes, God was again showing me something good, something very good. The example of a man who lived his life faithfully through good and bad, because He trusted His good God to be with him through it all.
So don’t despair. Life is hard. Troubles will come and go. Sometimes troubles will come to stay, but Jesus takes our burdens and gives us joy in the midst. The blessing of daily being able to lean on His strong arms is priceless.
“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear I will help you’. Isaiah 41:13
(This was a hard post to write. It might be a hard post for you to read. I hope it brings encouragement to someone who feels like God has forgotten.)
Praying. How long do you pray something before you quietly stop? At what point does the praying become too painful? It can be like ripping a scab off an old wound. Is it right to keep demanding something from God after you have prayed earnestly for years?
I was reminded of Zacharias the other day. (See Luke 1:5-23) He and his wife were “righteous in God’s sight.” They were also well advanced in age, and childless. Zacharias was serving as a priest and it was his turn to go into the sanctuary and burn incense. Imagine his surprise when the angel Gabriel appears to him beside the altar. This was his message.
“Do not be afraid…your prayer has been heard.” “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…”
Now I suspect that at one point Zacharias and Elizabeth had both prayed fervently for a son. I also suspect that they had quit praying quite a while ago. As the years passed and as they both grew older, they realized that God had chosen not to send the son they longed for. They had stopped hoping.
I think Zacharias’ response to the angel points this out. “How can I know this? … For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
What a comfort to know that God hears our prayers. He hears the first prayer. He hears the last prayer. He hears the prayers we pray boldly and the ones we whisper. His answer is not dependent on our praying harder or longer.
Yes, we are to persevere in prayer, but it is not our perseverance that brings the result. God alone answers as He wills.
So pray. But when it gets too hard to pray, sometimes we must leave it with Him. To shift our gaze from the longed-for answer, to the God who heard our request the first time we asked.
There is a harsh deadness to winter. Will there ever be life again?
Yet year after year we look for signs of Spring. We know from experience that it will come. God has promised and it has always come. So I pray and wait. Trusting a good God will bring Spring and new life out of this deadness. Struggling to thank Him in the winter, knowing it leads to Spring that will be more marvelous because of the winter that came before.
So too trouble comes with its cold, harsh, barrenness.
Sudden storms that are unpredictable.
Storms I have no control of.
Storms I want no part of.
Yet here they are swirling, howling about my life. They refuse to give an answer to my “why?”
So I pray and wait. Trusting God is with me especially in the trouble. Holding me close, teaching me to rely on Him. I haltingly thank Him for His care. Knowing someday there will be a “Spring” that will be even more beautiful because of the trouble that came before.
Fall is in full color. Another year is winding down. What a year it was. January was uneventful until the end when I had a stroke. I spent some days in the ICU. The hospital wanted to keep me 2 more weeks, but I convinced them I needed to get home. I was able to do just that with the help of my family. After several weeks of therapy I am semi-normal. Some things will never be the same, but I am thankful to be here.
When you are faced with death you think of all the things you want to say to all the people you love.
This is such a letter.
My life is made up of so much more than what you see on the outside. Yes, I am a wife, mother, grandmother, and teacher that enjoys hiking, making music, making art, going to auctions, cooking and a good cup of tea.
However, my life is held together by one thing. My relationship with God. Any good you see in me is because of Him. Any bad you see in me is because of my failure…yet He still loves me and calls me His own.
I have known Him for about 58 years. I first learned of him by listening to my parents as they told Bible stories using flannel graph figures and when my father read the Bible to us at the breakfast table and often after supper.
Then there was the music. Hymns and songs that still come back to me with word perfect clarity.
I am so glad that our Father in Heav’n Tells of His love in the book He has giv’n
Wonderful things in the Bible I see, This is the dearest that Jesus loves me.
I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me,
I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me.
If I forget Him and wander away, Still He doth love me wherever I stray;
Back to His dear loving arms would I flee, when I remember that Jesus loves me.
There are more verses and many more songs. Many with deep theology, some with poor theology. But the point of them all is how much God loves us.
Why does He love us? The short answer is … because He made us. We might not like our nose or our hair or any number of things we think of as defects, but He made us just so, to serve a purpose, to worship Him and bring glory to Him, but instead we have turned our back on Him. We try to make our own way. These efforts have gone horribly wrong. The point is we need God. We are nothing without Him. Our best efforts belong on the garbage heap.
So why does He love us? Such wretched creatures surely aren’t worth His time. But you see God is a master artist and we are His masterpieces. We have gotten twisted and ruined, but if we come to Him; He can restore us to how we were meant to be.
Our sin should have meant the death of us, but instead Jesus came to take our place.
To die for us.
To rise for us.
To ascend to heaven to intercede for us.
This is no small thing. This should make us daily fall on our knees in worship and awe. We have been bought with a price. We can choose to continue in our ruined state or we can accept His gift of salvation and watch His transforming power.
There is nothing I can do to earn heaven. It is a simple act of repentance and accepting the free gift.
Don’t delay. None of us knows how long we will be here. Decide before the opportunity passes you by.
I love you, friend, but there is someone who loves you more. Get right with Him today.
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”…for Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved.” Romans 10:9-11, 13
Job 38:8-11 Or who enclosed the sea with doors, when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb. When I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther, And here shall your proud waves stop’?
This week I went to the beach with my husband, daughter, and two grandchildren.
I brought along my sunshade tent since I burn easily. I intended to sit in the shade and watch my grandchildren play, talk to my daughter and maybe take a nap…but the waves beckoned.
Lake Michigan was warmer than expected. What is usually too frigid to stay in for more than a couple minutes felt like bath water.
We made our way out onto a sandbar and positioned ourselves in front of the crashing waves.
The waves picked us up and pushed us back to shore. We could barely stand up before another came and pushed us even farther. Again and again we made our way out only to be carried unceremoniously back to where we had begun.
We laughed and laughed at our ungraceful, awkward body surfing. It was like we were playing with God.
Like he had arranged the waves just for us.
Like he had twisted the wind so the waves came at us not from one direction but from two.
Like he had warmed the water enough that we stayed in not a couple minutes, but a couple hours.
We dragged ourselves out of the water and sat winded, but oh so happy.
Then we went back and did it again.
Some of you might say that isn’t very dignified for a 63 year old woman who has had a stroke to participate in such an activity. You would want me to be more careful.
My daughter, Anna’s answer to the day was…”Carpe Diem” (Seize the Day).
Enjoy today. Quit worrying about how it looks. Tomorrow might not come. Waves like that might not be that warm again. Whatever it is you are afraid to do…do it.
Enjoy each day God has given you. Do the things that bring you joy, not because you are the best at it, but simply for the joy. There will be plenty of serious days when you do serious things. They too should be done with all your heart, but for today look for the joy. Look at the wonderful world God has made and enjoy each minute.
Ps. 104:24 -26 – O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, in which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great. There the ships move along, And Leviathan, which you have formed to play in it.
Windows of His Grace 