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Category: hope

Trusting

Trusting

Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him and I am helped;
Therefore my heart exults,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
– Psalms 28:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
– Philippians 4:6-8

He knows my requests, He has heard, He will supply His peace.

… and [Abraham] went out, not knowing where he was going.
– Hebrews 11:8b
“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. It is a life of faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us “go”. The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest snares is the idea that God is sure to lead us to success.
…
“The life of faith is not a mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting. … Abraham is not a type of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith, a tried faith built on a real God. ‘Abraham believed God.’ “
– oswald chambers, “my utmost for his highest”, march 19

The God of Everything

The God of Everything

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindess is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who made the heavens with skill,
…
To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
…
To Him who made the great lights,
…
The sun to rule by day,
…
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

-Psalm 136:1-9, 28


Grieving

Grieving

Myrtle Swanbom died yesterday morning.
She was older than I know, and has been a member of our church for longer than I can remember.
As far back as I remember, Mrs. Swanbom has loved me and wanted to know “how I was”. She was a dear woman, very frail, and always reminded me of a little white bird.
Some people I know would say, “Myrtle went to be with the Lord, praise God.”
As I was thinking about Mrs. Swanbom dying, her husband grieving, and how we should respond, I also thought about how may Christians state the fact that someone died. I thought about how a non-Christian would hear that statement.
First, we do not grieve as those who have no hope.
Second, non-christians are those who have no hope.
Our joy as we grieve is unexplainable, if you do not have it yourself. In fact, our joy could be seen as being downright crass (“thank God she is with Him” can be heard as “thank God she is dead”). There is no reason to smile through the tears, unless you know beyond anything that death is not the end, that it is barely the beginning.
We know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We know that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”.
This does not mean that we do not grieve, definitely not.
It means that though we grieve, we have hope.
Better, it means that we have the Hope.

Ways

Ways

And all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will perform it.
– Ezekiel 17:24

Yet you say, “The way of the LORD is not right.” Hear now, O house of Israel! Is my way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?
– Ezekiel 18:25

His ways are not our ways. Would I wish to cause a green tree to dry up? I don’t know, and I rather doubt it, but the LORD is sovereign and omniscient, and His ways are higher than ours. The LORD knows things I do not, and comprehends things I cannot dream of (actually they were His idea in the first place). He sees the past, present, and the future, and He rules supreme as Judge over it all.
His plans for our lives are good, full of hope even if they seem dark. The LORD does work all things out for the good for those who love Him.
King David often questioned the “whys of God’s ways”, but he never said that the LORD’s way was wrong. Do I dare do otherwise, especially when Israel was rebuked for that attitude?