God’s sovereignty directs every moment of my life, for my good and His glory. It’s true. I know it. But oh, how quickly I forget it. I need to hear it again. I need to be reminded of it every day. Sometimes I need to speak this truth to myself many times a day!
So, here is another reminder—for me, and maybe you too!
"This, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind, body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by the all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us through man’s negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in even the least circumstance, to us the will of God. For if the least thing could happen to us without God’s permission, it would be something out of God’s control. God’s providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God Himself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and love.” (E.B. Pusey, 1800-1882)
(HT: Elisabeth Elliot via Janis Shank)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
(Poem) The Will of God
The will of God will never take you . . .
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.
The will of God will never take you . . .
Where the spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.
The will of God will never take you . . .
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.
The will of God will never take you . . .
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.
Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now,
but trust and believe in the Lord that everything is for the best.
(author unknown)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Our Great God
Some Of God's Names
Abba - Our Father (Mark 14:6; Romans 8:15)
El Elyon - God Most High, the Supreme (Genesis 14:18-19; Ps 78:35)
El Olam - God Everlasting (Genesis 16:13)
El Shaddai - God Almighty (Genesis 17:1 Exodus 6:3)
YHVH/Y/Yaweh/Jehovah "I AM THAT I AM" the self-existent One (Exodus3:14; John 8:58)
Jehovah Jireh - God our Provider (Genesis 22:14)
Jehovah M'Kaddash - God our Sanctifier (Exodus 31:13; Lev 22:32)
Jehovah Nissi - God our Banner (Exodus 17:8-15)
Jehovah O'saynu - God our Maker (Psalm 95:6)
Jehovah Qanna - God, a jealous God (Exodus 20:5b Exodus 34:14)
Jehovah Ra-ah (Ro-eh, or Rohi) - God our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Jehovah Rapha (Rophe) - God that heals, our Healer (Exodus 15:26)
Jehovah Shalom - God our Peace (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah Shamar - God our Keeper, Guard, Protector (Psalm 121:5)
Jehovah Shammah - God is here with us (Ezk 48:35)
Jehovah T'sidkenu - God our Righteousness (Jer 23:6, Jer 33:16)
Jehovah Tzevaot - God of Hosts / Sabaoth (Js 5:4)
Jehovah Ya'ats - God our Counselor (Ps 16:7)
Monday, May 3, 2010
Beautifully Broken
Awe dude....yet another break-up! I had to explain to my daughter that the gentleman who was pursuing me....whom she and I had been praying for as a potential husband....wasn't going to work. God had given me much discernment on numerous things which had me come to this decision...and I am so grateful for that. But having to explain these things to your child who is the first grade....is tough man!
Madelyn's response was - "Another one Mom?" I gasped! Another one? (I've only 'dated' one other Christian man....so my count was "2") She said...that's 3 mom! Clearly my mouth dropped to the floor.....who in the world was the 3rd guy she was referring to??? My response of course was....Three? And she said "Yeah, . . . 1) Daddy, 2) Mr. Soandso and 3) Mr. Soandso! Wow - I found it mind boggling that she considered her father....as a man in my life! She was only 2 months old when he abandoned her and I after I caught him in adultery. Needless to say....he's a part-time dad to the "T" - only sees her once a week - and because he pays child support....his duty is done. He doesn't call her and he doesn't try to see her more often than the court appointed visitation. It broke my heart. And I explained again....how her Dad made this choice and decision - and it wasn't Mommy's will. She understands that I've forgiven him. But it still hurts. Almost 8 years later!
In a world that often breaks my heart, my deepest pain can also be my greatest source of joy and purpose. Brokenness draws me to God like no other condition can.
He is the only One who can give me true hope and use my pain for His glory and for His good purposes. The deepest hurts of this fallen world may be unavoidable, but God also promises me that He is my "refuge and strength" (Psalm 46:1-2), the deliver of all my fears (Psalm 34:4, and the One who wants to use for good the pain of those who belong to Him. (Romans 8:28)
So often I have wanted to skip my seasons of brokenness. I haven't wanted to feel the pain, sorrow, fear, or shame. I longed for the time when I could just be OK again. But the truth is that until Heaven, I won't ever be OK.
Until then, I have a choice. And so do you.
I am allowing myself to truly experience my broken state. For the first time in my life I am asking God to use my deepest hurts beyond my present circumstances. God promises to trade the ashes of our failures, losses, and suffering for His true beauty. He longs to make us beautiful in our brokenness.
At first, I didn't want to be broken, and I certainly didn't feel beautiful. But slowly as each day passes and I am seeking God's comfort. In my brokenness I am submitting myself to Him and He is showing me what it looks like to be truly beautiful.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted....to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes," Isaiah 61 proclaims. Beauty in God's eyes includes brokenness. And I believe that kind of beauty is the kind that can change your heart. My brokenness may become the greatest motivation for change in my life and in someone else's.
It sure was in Jesus' life. He is the one who felt more rejection than any human possibly could fee. He was abandoned, beaten, ignored, and ridiculed. He is our example of what it looks like to be beautifully broken.
This kind of makeover can't happen unless you allow God to use you in the broken period.
In the midst of all the brokenness I have felt over the past 7 years - and often continue to feel - He has worked in my heart in a way I didn't truly believe was possible.
He is my joy!!!
Madelyn's response was - "Another one Mom?" I gasped! Another one? (I've only 'dated' one other Christian man....so my count was "2") She said...that's 3 mom! Clearly my mouth dropped to the floor.....who in the world was the 3rd guy she was referring to??? My response of course was....Three? And she said "Yeah, . . . 1) Daddy, 2) Mr. Soandso and 3) Mr. Soandso! Wow - I found it mind boggling that she considered her father....as a man in my life! She was only 2 months old when he abandoned her and I after I caught him in adultery. Needless to say....he's a part-time dad to the "T" - only sees her once a week - and because he pays child support....his duty is done. He doesn't call her and he doesn't try to see her more often than the court appointed visitation. It broke my heart. And I explained again....how her Dad made this choice and decision - and it wasn't Mommy's will. She understands that I've forgiven him. But it still hurts. Almost 8 years later!
In a world that often breaks my heart, my deepest pain can also be my greatest source of joy and purpose. Brokenness draws me to God like no other condition can.
He is the only One who can give me true hope and use my pain for His glory and for His good purposes. The deepest hurts of this fallen world may be unavoidable, but God also promises me that He is my "refuge and strength" (Psalm 46:1-2), the deliver of all my fears (Psalm 34:4, and the One who wants to use for good the pain of those who belong to Him. (Romans 8:28)
So often I have wanted to skip my seasons of brokenness. I haven't wanted to feel the pain, sorrow, fear, or shame. I longed for the time when I could just be OK again. But the truth is that until Heaven, I won't ever be OK.
Until then, I have a choice. And so do you.
I am allowing myself to truly experience my broken state. For the first time in my life I am asking God to use my deepest hurts beyond my present circumstances. God promises to trade the ashes of our failures, losses, and suffering for His true beauty. He longs to make us beautiful in our brokenness.
At first, I didn't want to be broken, and I certainly didn't feel beautiful. But slowly as each day passes and I am seeking God's comfort. In my brokenness I am submitting myself to Him and He is showing me what it looks like to be truly beautiful.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted....to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes," Isaiah 61 proclaims. Beauty in God's eyes includes brokenness. And I believe that kind of beauty is the kind that can change your heart. My brokenness may become the greatest motivation for change in my life and in someone else's.
It sure was in Jesus' life. He is the one who felt more rejection than any human possibly could fee. He was abandoned, beaten, ignored, and ridiculed. He is our example of what it looks like to be beautifully broken.
This kind of makeover can't happen unless you allow God to use you in the broken period.
In the midst of all the brokenness I have felt over the past 7 years - and often continue to feel - He has worked in my heart in a way I didn't truly believe was possible.
He is my joy!!!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
"I offer my heart to you, Lord, eagerly and earnestly." John Calvin
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious . . .
Isaiah 50:4-5
Listening submissively to the voice of God is what brings us the knowledge of God and equips us. Where, then, is that living voice to be heard? In Scripture, and through the patient study and growing understanding of the mind of God as He reveals it there. It is in the Bible that we learn how God views himself, ourselves, and the world, and what he wants us to know in order to serve Him.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done to you." John 15:7
We must be resolved to the Word of God and abide in Christ's Words - understanding and taking hold of the importance of this in our daily lives.
We can't make a god in our own image....yet this is what SO MANY do in the world...and what I too once did. We must remember in order to grow in the knowledge of God - we have to depend upon patience and endurance for this growth. So I encourage you - to open up the Word......and read today. We can come up with numerous excuses as to why we are not having our 'devotional' time. But that is key in our sanctification. Devouring the Word and praying to our Father in the midst of our busy lives is what He wants from us....even more so deserves from us.
Sinclair B Ferguson puts it this way - "Scripture is like a working museum of which the Spirit is the Curator, showing us around and explaining the wonders of the mind of the Maker. In this museum we are taken behind the scenes to learn from God himself. In growing to know God, therefore, there is no substitute for the discipline of Bible study and Scripture reading and meditation. We cannot bypass the handbook God has given to us and then expect that we can that we can know him in our own way."
He will give His divine knowledge only to those who desire to glorify Him. So let me ask you this: Do you know Him? Do you obey Him? Those who know Him - obey Him.
A Heart For God
Day by day, dear Lord, of Thee three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly
To love Thee more dearly
To follow Thee more nearly.
(Prayer of Richard of Chichester, 1197-1253)
I am excited to have my own blog....I've wanted one for sometime now. I'm a bit reluctant as finding the time to write my thoughts and reflections seems complicated for a single working mother. But the idea for me, is that maybe something I write perhaps maybe beneficial or profitable for another woman in this world who may happen across this blog.....whom could be seeking or searching for a heart for God as I am. I send these reflections off both nervously and prayerfully. Nervously, because of the greatness and sheer glory of the subject, and a deep consciousness of my own inadequacy rightly to write about the God whom I have come to love and in some measure know. Prayerfully, because I will try to present the teaching He has given me (us) in Scripture, and I long with all my heart that He might use that to help you to know him. So as you read......do so prayerfully as well - with an increasing desire to grow in the knowledge of God.
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