I Shall Again Praise Him

We've been going through times of testing physically in our family, and I feel like a worn out wet dish rag with my own poor physical health.
I'm concerned for the one family member who has to play nurse and cook for us as well.
I was encouraged today to remember to desire God's glory & will foremost over my own.
I have not been doing well.  My spring has sprung.

There are so many Christians suffering out there for their faith as well as physically.
I know that I'm not alone in suffering, and I admit that I keep heading back to Psalms instead of Job for encouragement and hope.
I get little glimpses of God's mercy by reminders that encourage me for short times.
I need frequent reminders.

Sunday is an extra blessing though I am not up to leaving home....again.
I miss the days when we were able to make it to church, but I'm blessed by Truth Community Church & Grace Community Church live-streams.
It's not the same I know, but it is refreshing when you have not been feeling well.
That seems to be most of the time for a long time.

Today, I was reminded again of verses about hoping in God with a song sung by an online acquaintance named Edward LaRow.
I'm thankful he shared it, as I'm very familiar with the verses.

"Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him."

- Psalm 42:5-6 pic.twitter.com/fsqTPyUtqW

— Edward Joseph LaRow (@edwardjlarow) August 20, 2017

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right - A Childlike Trust

On Sunday night I heard a song which had some solid lyrics that those of us who may be suffering would well attend to.

Sometimes our feelings rebel and resent increased pain and trials even as Christians.
Yet we don't want to be rebellious against God and His Sovereign purposes.
God does care about us, and we must look to Him for endurance, strength, and rescue.
I know that God is not unjust, and that one day sorrow and pain will depart for the believer in Heaven.
So, I must patiently endure, realizing the hope of  the joy of Heaven, and recognizing God's care of me on earth as well.
Even the hard times are meant to turn me to trust Him.

Christians, please pray that I will have true joy and a childlike trust in Christ in my trials with no sinful resentment, and if you would like prayer, please comment and let me know.
I know that some of my friends also are going through very difficult days.

 The last words of the four verses of the song "Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right" go like this:

 "He holds me that I shall not fall" 

 "His hand can turn my griefs away." 

 "...sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart." 

 And again:
"He holds me that I shall not fall."


 

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.
Psalm 131:2 NASB

When Times Get Tough

When times get tough how do we respond?

We often seek to escape suffering, and try to find an easier way.
Whether dealing with recent court rulings, personal suffering, or a set back or discouragement in serving God,  people either pull back or they endure with patience.

It's normal to desire another way when facing suffering. 
Jesus on the Mount of Olives (garden of Gethsemane) said, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Found in Luke 22:42.)

The important thing for us is not to react with a sinful response by disobeying when God doesn't take away the trial.  Jesus didn't go to a plan B, even though He was rejected  by His enemies and abandoned by friends.
When we act in obedience and faith and perseverance, we are given grace and God is perfecting us (James 1:4).

Jesus gave us so many examples of obedience and how to endure suffering.
Though He was God, He humbled Himself and became a servant and obeyed to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-11).

So, what should be my motive for obedience?

Jesus had the motivation of joy set before Him. 
The Father exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every other name, so that at His Name all will bow and confess Jesus as Lord.
We also know that God has love for His sheep, and He laid down His life for those sheep (John 10:11).
I'm sure there are many motives for obeying God....joy, reverence, love for God which spreads to others, thankfulness, etc..
We endure for discipline as true children (Hebrews 12:7).
The joy set before us culminates in being with God, eternal pleasures, reward, and no more sin and suffering. 

Are we willing to sacrifice all to follow Christ?

If it means losing our source of income and freedom of speech (as the couple running the bakery in Oregon), if they come to take your children due to teaching them the truth about sin,  if our health suffers, and if our very lives are threatened and even taken....will we take the easy way out?
When others sin, do we pull back and give up or hide?
I think we need to be very careful before we in pride say that we would never run when the going gets tough, but what about the disciples who fled when Jesus was arrested?
Peter even swore He didn't know Jesus.  He was one of the most verbal and brave souls amongst them.  Would I be like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego (only a feminine version)? 
I know that my body reacts terribly to stress.
Then again Jesus' body reacted to a greater stress, and He is the example I want to follow.  I need to fix my eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:2-3). 

So, let's not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary (Galatians 6:9).

I need to love lost sinners, as the only good that is seen in me is really Christ's work and I have no righteousness of my own.

Murderers, homosexuals, gossips, fornicators, adulterers, thieves, liars,  etc. ....those behaviors are not found in the Kingdom of Heaven. 
We also know that such were some of us (Christians), but we were washed (cleansed) by the blood of Christ.  We weren't saved to continue in those sins, but we should see a change wrought in us.  God changes us, and we desire to obey Him.

So, we should have love and compassion though they mock us and prosecute us.

So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:13-14 NASB

Grace To You has a new Bible app!
This should be great for those who like to have access to some great teaching when they are out and about.

"What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

So much seems to be going wrong in the world lately, and there are a lot of stressful things going on in our own lives.
Reading the Bible and praying can help to relieve some of the stress.

I was reading in Matthew 8 today, and I thought the part about the disciples being in a boat with water pouring over could so relate to how many of us can feel...especially myself. They were afraid as most of us are when we think we might drown.  They too had weak faith. I have found myself singing lately, ♫"It never rains, but what it pours," ♫ when it seems the trials are piling up. Jesus' response to His disciples was an encouraging reminder for me to trust God (though it is also seems a bit of a necessary rebuke). 
I often do pray that I will trust God and love Him more. The Bible's reminders are better than my own reminders to myself. Reminding myself is good, but reading the source of Scripture is even more powerful. Jesus showed Himself trustworthy and caring of suffering people while on earth. Yes, I realize I'm one of those who has little faith, and I have also been reminded by Scripture that I can't add a cubit to my lifespan by worrying. That was the encouragement I received a different day. God provides our needs. He always has. He created the universe, the winds and the seas obey Him, and He even cares about me... a rebellious Christian who is so frustrated at being so sinful and wonders how God can keep forgiving.   It seems He often works it out for reminders to be there at the right times in my life...either directly from His Word or by hearing second hand  reminders based on the truth there.

  I was watching MacArthur last night online, and he was talking about reading the Bible being how you begin to understand it. I think that many Christians don't read the Bible much if at all, and they lose out on so much. They are easy prey for false teaching and out of context Scripture twisting. They also lose out on the encouragement that they might have had. It's so easy to be lazy, but you really do get more from drinking from the fountain itself than a bowl of stale water that someone else gives you (which may be contaminated by the filter of another person's mind). I was going through my things that I might share with blog readers today, and I found this rendition of an old hymn that was so peaceful.

The Consolations of the Lord

 As many of you now know, I have had increasing physical problems lately that have limited me more and more in recent times (Fibromyalgia, P.O.T.S. and possibly neurocardiogenic syncope, etc.).   During this time I have discovered others who suffer from similar trials in their life, and I want to encourage them with some verses that have ministered to me both now and over the years.  I also know that it is easy to get depressed over what you have lost, the limitations, the pain, the dizziness, the isolation that these things can bring.  I've found that it helps to get the mind off of self and onto God and others.  Sometimes that means additional pain, dizziness & head ringing for me by my using the internet to try to encourage others, share the Gospel & to fellowship with other believers when I cannot see them in person.  Yes, there can be stress and emotional distress, but these are all cares I try to cast on the Lord and trust to His will.  

Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.  Psalm 55:22

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.  Psalm 94:19

"The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.  Isaiah 26:3

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Psalm 46:1-3

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121:1-3

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. 
Psalm 27:13-14

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.  Psalm 42:11

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way.  When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.  I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.  Psalm 37:23-25

All Scriptures are in the NASB version.

My Personal Short Story

A dark haired woman walks back and forth down a hall.  The temperature is warm and music is playing.  Her perception is off with tight muscles in her head and feelings as though her head is a buoy bobbing about in the water.  Suddenly she stops and grabs the wall in a doorway. Her head is feeling a sinking feeling and she slides quickly down into a crouch.  She makes an exclamation and family members come with pillows to put under her feet and head so that she may lie down with her legs raised up.
After awhile, she is able to sit up and lean against a closed door.  Phone calls are made.  No, she doesn't want to go to the E.R.  She's done that before.

The following day this same lady goes in for a same day appointment to satisfy her family.  A number of medical tests are ordered.  She goes out to eat for a family member's birthday meal, and her head feels like it's closing in on her with the sounds and dizziness.  Still, she manages to make it through and makes another stop on the way home.  Perhaps this woman is foolish, but she is also tired of staying at home often in bed.  This woman is me.  Likely you already figured that out!
Yes, but sometimes lately I feel a little improved laying down or reclining.  Hey, well I managed to sneak a tract amongst magazines at the doctor's and put "180" Movie business cards stacked at a table near the door of the restaurant!  Also, I hope that I made my family member's birthday a little happier!

Whatever is going on with my feeling dizzy most all of the time, I know that God won't give me more than I can bear.  Sometimes I wonder how far that will go!  Yes, now and then I panic...especially at night.  Fibromyalgia and the recent often dehabilitating dizziness can be discouraging, but even through this time I hope that I have ministered to some of my online friends while pushing myself to not give up. 

so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Peter 1:7 NASB