Our Help!

“On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night, Because You are my help, I sing in the shadows of Your wings. I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalms 63:6-8 NIV)

Whenever we think that we are in a situation or a challenge alone, we must remember we’re never alone, for He is always with us and will be with us when all others forsake us.

This is one of those times when I really needed this reminder. All week long, I’ve been battling Murphy’s law–trying to keep my head up, my faith in tact and my temper under control. Whenever I felt like lashing out, Holy Spirit quickly checked me and reminded me I am not alone. Even though so many things have happened at the last minute to threaten the success of a major fundraiser for which I’m chairing–I can move forward–slightly disheveled and lighter in weight–but still smiling, still expectantly waiting to see what great things The Lord has in store for us.

Throughout life, no matter how carefully we think we plan an event, we must always be ready to respond to the unexpected--the changes that appear to thwart our success, but are actually there to test our mettle–how do we respond to irksome situations over which we have absolutely no control.

In every situation, we learn from experience that we must have a contingency plan (hearing God every step of the way). I’ll admit, sometimes we get so caught up in trying to make sure that every thing turns out right that we get distracted and miss pertinent instruction because of the “noise” of distraction.

No matter how many times the enemy has attempted to speak to my mind and stir up doubt–I have moved forward with tenacity–determined to see this event through to the end and no matter what else happens, I will be thankful for the opportunity and grateful to God for seeing me through it–He is my help–when I can count on no one else–He gives me insight and direction and strength to keep going. Through the pain of an afflicted body and through the tears shed when no one is looking, I hold onto His love and know that He’ll never let me down. And though I seek success based upon how I define success–the end result will be all that God intends it to be–all to His glory.

Our help–comes from the Lord! It is He who divinely inspires us to keep going. It is He who strengthens tired bodies and minds, and it is He who speaks to the hearts of others and stirs them to want to help. It is He who gives us joy and a song to sing in praise of Him. It is He who provides what we need in spite of naysayers and doubters. O Give Thanks to The Lord–Our Help in times of need.

I’m thanking God for all the people who are hearing Him speak to their hearts and obeying His voice. Our Help–from the generosity of donations of goods, to the volunteers streaming in to help us–are all a direct result of prayer and faith in Him who knows all things and does all things well. Hallelujah!

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We Have A Reason To Praise Him!

“For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.”(Psalm 149:4,5 NIV)

No matter what happens in our lives on a daily basis, we can always find a reason to praise God. When He delights in us, He gives us favor–with Him and others. We have opportunities to share His love that we didn’t think about and yet, every time we open our mouths or tap the keys on a keyboard or speak into a system that will type for us–we can encourage others to live, pleasing God and watching Him work in our lives.

Does this mean our lives will be perfect? Not hardly, but it means our lives will be meaningful.

Look up at the sky on a sunshiny day and praise God for the sun shining and seeing a blue sky, dotted with puffy white clouds.

If it’s raining and all you do is to hear the thunder and see the lightning, praise God for hearing and sight.

If you wake in pain–praise Him for being able to feel the pain because some people can’t feel anything.

If you don’t have what you want to eat in the refrigerator, praise God for what you do have because some people, have nothing.

If you don’t have the clothes you want to wear, praise God for something to cover your body; there are those who have nothing other than the rags they wear, daily.

If you don’t have the kind of car you want to drive, praise God for having a car of any kind and the resources to keep it  moving.

If you don’t have a car and have to catch a bus, praise God for the means to pay for the ride.

If you have to walk everywhere you go, praise God for legs that move when you want them to move.

If you don’t have the type of job you want, praise God for the job you have or for what He’s about to bless you with–always keeping your focus on Him and living to please Him.

If we tried–and for some it’s really easy since they’re never satisfied with their lot in life–we could complain about every aspect of our lives, but what would happen if we started praising God for what we have, instead of complaining for what we don’t have?

Many of us don’t have any more than we do because we have proven to God that we are not good stewards over what He has given so why would He give us more–to squander? Think about it! How many ways and how many times have you had an opportunity to do great things, but you chose not to try? We are not great or can do great things simply because we “think” about doing it–we actually have to get up and do–more than talk about it.

With every blog I write, every book idea I start, I keep at it because I’m trying to achieve something great in my effort to please God, by sharing what He gives me. Have I made it yet? I don’t know, which is why I keep writing. When He stops talking to me, I’ll stop having anything to say, but while I wait for Him to speak, I’m praising Him for using a little older lady like me, to share His goodness. Even though there are mornings when I think I’ll give it up, I keep going because He keeps blessing me and I can hear the angels cheering me, “keep going, keep going, it’s not over yet.”

Yes, we have a reason to praise Him–and all we have to do is look around us or look within us to know what it is. Our God is an awesome God and I praise Him, just because He is who He is!

Redeeming Light!

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Light exposes things for all to see. When most of us get out of bed, one of the first things we do is to turn on a light. This is especially true if there are no “night lights” used in a home. Why do we turn on the light? Even though we may be familiar with the placement of where things are, we still do not wish to experience bumping into things–just in case we misjudged the distance or placement. When we bump into furniture–we sometimes end up with bruises or excruciating pain. Unless we are addicted to feeling pain, none of us wants to deliberately cause ourselves pain.

God is Light. He exposes those things that are done in darkness and most acts of sin are done in “darkness” (lack of knowledge or when people attempt to hide). The enemy loves to cloak his influence in darkness–hidden truth from those he uses–and then laughs at those he uses when their deeds are exposed–uncovered for all to see. Truth and Light are synonymous. Lies are darkness are synonymous. When Light comes into a situation, darkness is dispelled and all that has been done is exposed under the Light.

All of the things that people do that are wrong–they have usually lied about, conducted the deed under cover of manipulation or deception, and thought they would never be exposed. They have been deceived–either by someone else or they have deceived themselves. When people think their wrong doing will never be exposed, they deceive themselves. This is how many politicians have been exposed–their arrogance–pride in themselves and thinking they are above reproach–has led them to being exposed for all the world to see–in the light of day. When children get into trouble because they had done something they knew was wrong, they thought they could get away with it so they lied about the deed. When husbands cheat on their wives, they started out lying and the lie was exposed. When wives cheat on their husbands, their lies are exposed.

Lies–to commit those things we are ashamed of and think we can hide them–leaves us in darkness. Truth–that operates in the light of day and every situation–leaves us open for inspection by all with nothing to hide. “But if we walk in the light (always telling truth), we can have fellowship (be in harmony with others)” and never have to worry about being exposed or hiding anything or lying about what we do. If we walk in darkness, thinking we will get away with what we do, we will be exposed by the light.  When we confess our sin (any wrong doing) to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us, but we never escape the consequences of those actions committed in darkness. God’s forgiveness does not negate consequences.

Which will it be for you? Will you walk in the light or stay in the dark? Remember, what we do in the dark can lead to pain–being bruised and scarred for life. Allow the Light to come into your life and laugh at the devil when he and his deeds are exposed.

The Lord Knows

You O Lord, who know the hearts of people

You know the depth of our thoughts and our being

You know the ins and outs of everything we have ever done

You know the pain we feel when we cannot help those we love

You know the frustration that sets upon us when we cannot see or understand

The depth of Your love is far beyond anything we can imagine

You know our desires and our hurts

You know when we live for You or against us–

You know when the end will come and how it will come.

You know–when we don’t–just how much we can bear and more importantly,

You know when we’ll reach the end of ourselves and totally depend upon You!

We do not have to know the end of the matter because You do and we can trust in Your knowledge.

The Lord knows what we can handle and what we cannot handle–He is right there with us–holding us up or in His arms when we cannot continue under our own steam.  But because of His love for us, He will set us upright–upon solid ground–and anoint us anew to be courageous no matter what.  We win because The Lord Knows!  Hallelujah!

I Made God Cry!

“I made God cry–I saw His tears, and felt His heart breaking–when I chose not to obey His Word.” When I didn’t know any better, and was living life any way I wanted to, I didn’t realize that God loved me so much…that when I committed a sinful act (my, my, my), that it would actually cause Him to pain. Now that I know better, I don’t want to cause Him pain because I love Him; I don’t want to see Him cry over the things I do; and when I see Him on That Day, all I want to hear is…”well done, my beloved child”. Are you making God cry? It’s never too late to turn things around, to know He is smiling upon us, just because He loves us and wants only the very best for us. No more tears–not on my behalf! Hallelujah!