“You are the God who performs miracles;
  You display Your power among the peoples.”                        Psalm 77:14 (NIV)

 When we walk through times of adversity, we often have our eyes focused on the problem we face rather than the God who allowed the circumstance. Believers facing trials need to remember that God is always in control.  He has a divine purpose and plan, loves us beyond measure, and nothing is impossible for God.

When Moses led God’s people out of Egypt, the Father provided a miracle of escape by parting the Red Sea (Exodus 14:22).  The sun stood still at Joshua’s command (Joshua 10:12-14) and three Hebrew children sent to a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar remained unharmed (Daniel 3:23).  Wonders of God are written in the old and new testaments of the Bible.  They serve to remind us of the power and might of our God.

Struggles can hinder our walks with God by distracting and discouraging us.  Disbelief can wander into our thoughts causing us to question the love of God.  This is when we must ask God to open our eyes and show us the many wonders in our everyday lives, be they ever so small.  The wonders may include a thriving child who was born premature and near death.  A miracle may be the cancer that mysteriously disappeared after a group of prayer warriors lifted up the cause with petitions and thanksgiving.  Could the restoration of a marriage be a wonder, as well as the return of a prodigal son who found the grace of God?  Consider all the flowers that raise their heads in the spring. 

May God grant you spiritual eyes to see the many wonders all around you.  Per the request of Elisha, the Lord opened his servant’s eyes so that he could see the mighty spiritual battle in their midst.  God’s army far outnumbered the physical army Gehazi so feared.  You may be facing tribulations that have you shaking in your boots, but God’s army is beyond your imagination in its power and size.  Trust in the Lord and He will deliver you from every snare set before you.

“Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”    2 Kings 6:17 (ESV)

I was brought up with a Mum and Dad who loved God.

Being the youngest of five, (I had twin sisters but sadly one died of TB when she was only one year old) I guess things monetary wise were a bit stretched, but we certainly never went without the essentials and we certainly had plenty of love handed out liberally, especially by my hard-working and devoted Mum.

BUT

That didn’t stop us going off the rails – (well the boys that is) unfortunately when we became of age and even had families of our own, the world and it’s lures were all too much and even though I personally put on the face of a Christian and did all the ‘Christian” things – I was far off from the Lord.

But Mum and Dad kept on praying for us – determined and sure that God would bring us back to Him.

Personally for me their prayers have been answered.

Dad died in 1998 and our Dear Mum passed away in 2000. Before they died they both recorded a message to us from “beyond the grave” sort of thing and re-listening to them again recently I was staggered at Mum’s simple yet solid faith in God – determined that her sons would come back to the Lord.

She says at some point that she has never stopped praying for us even before we were born. And in another part that “It doesn’t matter if Dad and I don’t see it for we have prayed fervently for you all.”

Well I’m afraid they didn’t see it – But I know that one day we will ALL meet around the throne of God in unity and love of our Lord and Saviour.

Here is a transcript of her message – I pray that you will be blessed as you read it as I was to hear it.

The prayers of a faithful Mum and Dad for their kids is awesome in it’s simplicity and mighty in it’s outcome – Praise God.

(From my Mum)
As my Savior has said – Weep not for me for I have only gone ahead to rest and wait for you in a place where there is no more pain or loss.

My children, when you were under our care your Dad and I endeavoured under the scant knowledge that was ours to show you that God has an infinite plan for us.

That plan of God’s was to bring home to us the amazing power and love that is available to anyone who has surrendered their hearts and love to the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit which is the gift from God to those, when in faith believe in the hearts and confess with their mouths that Jesus is the Messiah, died to pay the price of our sins and that He rose again.

I tried to teach you of The advantages of a committed life, of the security we have knowing that what ever happens we are the children of the Almighty God and nothing can separate us from Him – we have someone to go to when we are in trouble – and who isn’t in this sad world of ours.

Our God is a prayer answering and miracle working God – how many times have we proven that – over and over again.

He has promised never to fail or forsake those who put their trust in Him.

Sin unconfessed is the only thing that can disturb that relationship which exists between man and His maker for sin uncovered by the sacrifice of the Son of God CANNOT, literally CANNOT, exist in the presence of the glory and holiness of the Father.

So that those who have not come in faith to the Father find that sin puts a barrier between them.

Sin estranges God and Man – for the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ happened only that man may be restored to the relationship that should exist between the creature and his creator.

Gods greatest miracle is not the creation of the world, the suspension of the sun, the ceaselessness of the tide, Gods greatest miracle is the salvation of the human soul that all people should be saved and is unwilling that any should be lost and He has bound up the salvation of men and women with the prayerful ministry of his own people.

There is no doubt that the prayers for the salvation of others are well within the will of God. Your Dad and I have prayed fervently for the salvation of all our family – and this type of prayer is never in doubt and being the will of God shall in is own good time be fulfilled.

It doesn’t matter if your Dad and I don’t see it, for we have prayed for you all and these are just some of these promises we have held for you all.

Isaiah 54:13 That you all will be “taught of the Lord” and great will be your peace.
Psalm 119:11 That you all will “hide God’s word in your hearts.”
Colossians 1:9 That God will fill you all with the knowledge of His will so that you can walk in a way that’s pleasing to Him and that your lives will bear fruit.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 That your hearts will trust in the Lord and not lean on your own understanding
Psalm 5:12 That God’s favour will surround you all like a shield.

I can assure you, my children, that you were prayed for and committed unto the Lord before you were born- the Grandchildren also – and Gods promises are true.

The salvation of a soul is a mighty BIG undertaking for it just doesn’t include cleansing from sin but a full commitment of a life to God’s will and the receiving of a place in the family of God and the freely given gift of a life everlasting to Christians of all ages – there is no generation gap here – and also the presence of our beloved Lord Himself.

No one can be saved unless they are convicted or conscious of sin and when that consciousness of sin is present the way is opened to bring that one to the feet of the Saviour.

To confess and repent, that is being sorry for sins committed, and being determined to turn to Christs way of living will enable us to partake freely of the peace, joy and love that can be found in this earth.

Turning from sin and trusting Jesus also includes safety and perfection in the next world when our Lords presents us faultless before the presence of His Father and ours.

Now I know we have enjoyed a happy life together in spite of troubles that may have sunk the ship, but we also shared the gift of laughter, a sense of fun, of little private jokes as well as tears and I am very pleased to have loved you all and I am so looking forward to a wonderful reunion with you ALL in our Lord’s good time.

Your dad and I praying that you all will see the value of sins forgiven, a walk in a plain path, and a keeping in a world of sorrow and danger.

May God bless you all my darlings from the eldest to the youngest child and may He give through you the answer to our continual prayer.

Will the circle be unbroken? – God grant that it may – see you in the morning – Love you – Mum.

“Meet Your Fears With Faith”  – Max Lucado

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?  When the wicked came against me
to eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.   Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.”                Psalm 27:1-3 (NKJV)

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”                        Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

 Imagine “Fear” as a dark creature with long fingers wearing a tattered hat.  This hat covers much of his disfigured face, but his dark eyes are visible.  His cold and intimidating glare is quite unnerving and if caught off guard, his appearance can stun, startle, and terrorize an unsuspecting believer.

Fear giggles with glee when he catches the children of God unprepared and napping, for he has accomplished the quest his master has sent him on with flying colors.  Satan wants believers to be ineffective and powerless.  He will try everything in his power to daze and stupefy us into a state of inaction and idleness.  To dumbfound a Christian into paralysis is to create a roadblock and delay in the plans of God. 

Now imagine “Faith” as a Sailor in his uniform whites.  What a courageous and confident fellow he is indeed!  No rough waters or storms can knock him off his feet.  He is steady and well balanced.  His eyes reflect a quiet confidence that oozes strength and vigor.  One look upon his appearance and Fear crumbles to the ground, a dark mass of broken bits.

Hebrews 10:38 says that the “just will live by faith.”  A “Just” person is someone who is fair, virtuous, and honest.  “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)  So a JUST person, living by faith, is virtuous and certain of things not seen.  He knows that God is beside him, even when he can’t see Him.  When Fear approaches a JUST man, his faith in God is what foils the devil’s attack. 

Faith does not make things easy.  Faith makes things possible. Luke 1:37 reminds us, “For with God nothing will be impossible.”  Sailor boy Faith knows this truth.  It is what gives him the confidence to stare hurricane force winds and deadly storms in the face without a blink of his eye.  He knows that God is steering his ship and that all he needs to do is hold on, trusting God to see him through his adventure. 

If you are facing storms that bring you face to face with FEAR, call out to God.  Ask Him to mature your Faith.  You will most likely have to weather out the storm you are experiencing right now, but your Father will use your willingness to trust in His provisions to mature you.  He will command you to toss Fear overboard during storms.  God is the Captain of your ship and Fear has no place on deck. 

The best part of seeing your way through a storm, even if you think you have been blown off course, is that God will always man the wheel of your vessel and deliver you through every storm in your life.  You will never really be blown off course, maybe redirected, but always in the place God has intended for you.

There is a calm after a storm.  Enjoy the fresh air and the gentle breezes.  Allow them to minister to your weary soul.  Let the faith of God rule in your heart.  May it bring you through every gale and hurricane, bluster and thunderstorm in life.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”   Hebrews 11:1 (NAS)

“That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 2:5 (NKJV)

“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?”   Psalm 56:3-4 (NKJ)

Cheryl Zelenka writes a Christian Encouragement Blog called http://facingtrials.com

“I led them with cords of human kindness, with the ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.” (Hosea 11:4 NIV)

I just completed the first draft of this post when the phone rang. It was the nurse from the elementary school calling to tell me my son was sick. He stayed in the clinic for a half hour but still wasn’t feeling better. So, she thought she should call and have me pick him up. I did but with reluctance. I have to admit, I like my quiet days when all of the kids are gone. I went to get him giving up my plans for the day.

I read this scripture a couple of days ago and I can’t get it out of my head. These words talk about a God who loves. It talks about a God who cares. It talks about a God who is tender.

I read these words and it reminded me of the many times I have taken care of my children when they were sick. My boys especially like to be taken care of when they are feeling under the weather. They like to curl up on the couch with their blankets and pillows. They turn the television on for hours of uninterrupted Sponge Bob and I take care of them. If they need a drink, I get it for them. If they are willing to eat, I make them whatever they ask for. I enjoy taking care of them for a day or two. After that, I’m ready for them to fend for themselves again. But for that short time, as they heal, I do whatever I can to make them feel better. It’s part of being a parent.

I thought about this with this verse today. The words that jumped out at me were “bent down to feed them”. God is talking about Himself here. He is the Almighty One, The Creator of all things. He is God and yet, He bends down to feed those He loves. He meets them where they are. He doesn’t require them to rise in order to be fed, He comes to them. I love this picture. He sees our pathetic state. We are slaves to our sin. We are without any hope of curing ourselves. We have even chosen to stay yoked together with the things that hold us captive. But He comes to us anyway. He lifts the very thing that is making us sick. He removes it. He takes it out of our lives. And He doesn’t leave it at that. He remains while we heal. As we gain our strength, He gives us what we need. He is tender in His care for us.

I don’t know, this just really spoke to me today. In our journey with Him, there will be times we choose to wander away from Him. We may even find ourselves in some grievous sin. But God always comes to us. He always leads us with “cords of human kindness, with the ties of love”. He removes our sin and remains with us, affectionately loving us while we regain our strength. He doesn’t walk away in disgust. He stays with us gently caressing our heads reminding us that we will feel better soon.

Thank You Lord for this beautiful picture of your love.

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I can answer the last question with an emphatic, “Absolutely not!”  I lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma, which also suffered severe tornado damage a couple of days earlier, a lovely city located about 30 miles from Moore, the city virtually destroyed in the storm.  My late husband and I pastored a church in Shawnee for two years and our youngest daughter was born there.  Oklahoma people are by and large God-fearing, salt-of-the earth people and my feeling is if God were choosing somewhere to pour out his wrath, it would not be Oklahoma!  Then, you may ask, why do catastrophes like this happen to seemingly good people?

Perhaps the answer can be found in the Word of God!  In Job 1:1  God called Job a man who was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God and avoided evil”.  Satan asked God if he could destroy Job, a very wealthy man,  and God allowed him to bring about evil in his life on several fronts.  Verse 19 tells us, “(His) sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead.” (ESV)  His oxen used for plowing, camels used for transportation, and servants were also killed.  Then Satan struck Job with severe boils over all of his body.  Even so,  Job 1:22 says that “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” (ESV)

We all know the story:  In the end God restored back to Job twice as much as he had before, including 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, and 2,000 oxen and donkeys.  He also had seven more sons and three more daughters and lived to be 140 years old!

Does God send tornadoes?  The short answer is: No!  But he allows some tragedies to occur on this earth because we know Satan and his evil presence is alive and well on Planet Earth!  Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”  Matthew 5:45 (ESV)  Jesus also told a gathered crowd, “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.“ Matthew 13:3, 4 (ESV)  These passages point out that God’s principles and patterns, even regarding the weather, apply across the board, and that many times seemingly innocent people will fall victim to weather-related phenomena.  This does not mean these people were more wicked, but rather that because of sin, this world is an imperfect place.  Many times God’s hedge of protection is lifted from entire nations who do not put Him first by obeying His laws. It is only because of intercession on the part of godly people that He delays His judgment.

One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”  (KJV)  There is a wonderful hymn written from this passage called, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” which I think should be sung in every church!  So, in answer to the question, “Does God send tornadoes?”, the answer is “No, but he allows them and other catastrophes and tragedies to take place in our imperfect world.”  Someday He will set up His Kingdom, and in that New Earth during the Millennial reign of Christ, there will be no more horrible, violent events, either from the weather or from humans.  Satan will be bound for 1,000 years and all will be peaceful.  In the meantime, God has chosen to use the tragic events we humans all experience at one time or another to mold and make us into His likeness and bring out the character of Christ in us, if we let Him.

Let me close with a story:  We all love the beautiful hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul”, but do you know how this hymn came to be written?  An evangelist named Horatio Spafford wrote the song in 1873 after he experienced profound tragedy and sorrow in his own life.  He was a successful attorney and Presbyterian church elder from Chicago who had a deep faith in God.  Although he and his wife, Anna, and five children seemed to have a charmed life and beautiful home on Chicago’s north side, they were severely tested.  In 1870 their only son, Horatio, Jr., died of scarlet fever. In October 1871 the “Great Chicago Fire” destroyed their vast real estate holdings near Lake Michigan.  Still they trusted God!  In 1873, Spafford decided to take his wife and four daughters to Europe to assist the great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, and his song leader, Ira D. Sankey, who had written many songs.  A business emergency kept him from accompanying his family, whom he sent on ahead on a steamer.  He planned to join them in Europe a few weeks later.  Tragically, on November 22, 1873, the steamer his wife and four daughters were on was struck by a British iron sailing ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  All four of his daughters were killed.  Miraculously, his wife, Anna, who had lost consciousness, was picked up by a life boat as she floated in the middle of the ocean. A few days later, Spafford sailed to meet his wife in Europe.  As the ship passed the place where his beloved daughters had drowned, he looked out at the sea and through tear-stained eyes, said aloud, “It is well with my soul.”  Even though he could scarcely understand it at the time, and perhaps felt like Job of old, he was able to write the song that has gone down in history as one of the most beloved hymns of all time, “It Is Well With My Soul”!  By the way, God gave him and his wife three more children.

Do we understand all of life’s tragedies?  No!  Does God work good through them?  Yes!  We can stand on Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (ESV)  My prayers are with the victims of the Oklahoma tragedy.  I know many have already given testimony on national TV of the grace and mercy, as well as their love, of God!  May He continue to help them through the days ahead.  Let’s all hold them up in prayer!

Photo credit: Creative Commons

I am rarely speechless. When I am, it isn’t usually a good thing. I am finding words hard to come by today.

When tragedy strikes, when things don’t make sense, when the violence or the awesome power of nature or the meanness of the human heart slam into our world with so much force we lose our breath, we become mute with shock. It takes away our ability to communicate intelligently. We sputter and ramble and make little sense to those around us and we sometimes say things that we haven’t thought through, hurting the very ones we want to encourage.

Human nature dictates that our ego must be satisfied. We want to know why, to find a reason that it all went wrong, to devise a plan to be better prepared next time – to control our own destiny. But how do you prepare for such random acts of violence, or control horrific storms or explain the loss of so many children? How do you look around you and blame this or that on upslope and draw and happenstance? How do you make sense of any of it?

You don’t.

Yes, I know that tornados and their formation can be nominally explained. I understand that there are storm chasers and researchers and all manner of highly educated folk that have dedicated their lives to better protecting us from these super-storms. I am thankful for them. But really, there is no preparation for the devastation that has rocked Oklahoma today. Look at any of the stunned, wide eyed faces and you begin to understand the shock is just now lifting for those who survived. Their eyes are beginning to focus again and they are seeing the destruction with a clarity that sucks their breath from their lungs as violently as the storm took their children from them. There are no words to encompass the pain, the fear and the tragic circumstances of this loss.

There is no why, there is no comfort in shelter, there is not one ounce of security when you look up and watch as nature steals the very air from your lungs. As the clouds lift and move on, as the rain starts and washes away so many years of work and accomplishment, as the survivors climb from the rubble and wrap arms around loved ones, there is a realization: There are no words to be said. There is nothing that can be uttered to soothe the hurt, the terror or the loss.

When I cannot find words to encompass the tragic, fallen world we inhabit, I bow my head and open my heart. The Holy Spirit wraps my soul in His arms and speaks quiet, inaudible encouragement and strength into my ears. He picks me up, dusts me off and shows me where to move. He clears my head to survey the land and begin to work. There is comfort in “doing” when there are no answers.

We don’t get to know the purpose of God’s plan. He is guarded with His tapestry design. I have to believe that though I see tragedy and destruction and senseless lives lost that God is not gone from this place. He is still here. But it hurts. The pain is blinding and confusing and explanation meaningless to those who are only beginning to understand what they have lost: Homes, businesses, livestock, children.

I cannot offer words today. I cannot explain or find comfort in knowing more of what happened. I can only say how very sorry I am and offer my hands in prayer, in comfort and in rebuilding. I cannot take away the pain, nor would I dare try. There simply is nothing to say.

The first time we meet David is in 1 Samuel 16. In the previous chapter God had rejected Saul as king because Saul had rejected God (1 Samuel 15:26). So God directs Samuel to anoint a new king.

God directs Samuel to the family of Jesse who was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz, two godly people. After the debacle with Saul, who never showed any interest in walking with the Lord, God was determined that Israel’s next leader be someone who was devoted to him and not make the same mistakes Saul did.

Saul was chosen by the people of Israel to be their king because of his wealth and appearance (1 Samuel 9:1-2). When Samuel comes across Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, he likewise decides, based solely on appearance, that Eliab is the one God has chosen to be Israel’s next king (1 Samuel 16:6). But he was wrong.

God uses different criteria when selecting people to do His work. He does not look at people the way we do (Isaiah 55:8). While we look at outward appearances, God looks at someone’s heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

In fact, none of Jesse’s oldest sons had the heart God was looking for. It was Jesse’s youngest son, David, whom God wanted. Its interesting that even Jesse himself didn’t consider David to have much leadership potential because he (David) wasn’t even invited to the meeting with Samuel. He was still out in the fields tending to the animals (1 Samuel 16:11). He seems to have been an after-thought in the mind of his own father.

Samuel anoints David and the Holy Spirit came “powerfully” upon him from that day on (1 Samuel 16:13) thereby proving that David was God’s choice.

The lesson here is clear. As human beings we only look at the outward appearance of a man or woman: how they dress, how good looking they are, how much money they have. Human superficialities impress us. But these things do not matter to God.

Only someone who is a man (or woman) after God’s own heart, as David was called (Acts 13:22), can appropriately serve God. A person with a lesser heart will seek to be served.

A person with such a heart:

• is more concerned with God’s will than his own.
• makes God the true king of her life
• recognizes his sinfulness and is repentant
• loves other people more than herself
• seeks to bring attention to God, not himself

None of us fit this criteria naturally. It is only through prayer, scripture meditation, and sacrificial obedience that our self-serving heart can be replaced with a heart that lives for God. Here are just a few verses that we can pray and meditate on to achieve this goal:

• Matthew 6:10
• Philippians 2:3-4
• Romans 12:1
• Colossians 3:12
• Acts 20:35
• Ephesians 5:21

God isn’t looking for superheros because there are none. He knows that. He is looking for every-day people who are humble and whose first, and only, priority is to serve Him.

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“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16.

Here was the Son of God, always at one with the Father needing to withdraw into His prayer closet to pray. When I thought about it more, I wondered if He truly needed to do that. After all, Jesus and the Father are one. So, if that is the case, why the need to go somewhere devoid of people to communicate with the Father? Didn’t He already know what was in the Father’s heart? Isn’t Jesus the Word made flesh? Wasn’t the Word present from the very beginning?

So, why the need to go away to some lonely place to talk to the Father? Wouldn’t the information already be downloaded into His heart, imprinted there because He and the Father are one?

As I mulled on that verse, 2 things kept getting highlighted.

1. Relationship.

2. Example.

Jesus was in a relationship with His Father. He submitted to the Father’s will, it was all He did, it was His food. He may have known everything the Father had wanted Him to do, but He chose to fellowship, to communicate with the Father, heart to heart. It wasn’t all about the ministry, the doing, the multitudes of people that surrounded Him. Those all came secondary to what was first and evident to Jesus. Relationship with the Father. Seeking Him. Having communion with Him. Enjoying His presence. Listening to Him. Spending time with the Father in the busiest time of ministry. Resting in Him. When people clamored for Him, cried after Him, wanted Him to meet their needs, He often withdrew to spend time with the Father.

In ministry, it’s not always easy to step away and take a break. People’s needs are big. Sometimes, it feels as if you didn’t help right away, things would fall apart. Things wouldn’t get done. People would not receive Jesus into their lives. It took me a few years to learn that no matter how many called out with needs, I am not their Saviour. It is not about me and what I can do for them. No one can meet their truest needs. And as a missionary, I had to come to terms with the fact that I am not helping anyone if I allowed them to depend on me and not on the only Saviour there is. Jesus.

Relationship with the Father through Jesus, His Son.

That is what Jesus modeled. We all need to withdraw to places where we can be alone with Him. Just Him and us. No one else, no projects, no business meetings,no have-to-do lists on our minds, no nothing. Just Him and us, to enjoy sweet fellowship, to hear Him, to have a heart to heart, to just sit by His feet.

And it is from that place of sweet communion that we will be filled so that we are then able to give out to others and teach them the example that Jesus showed us so that they too, when they are faced with the multitudes of people clamoring after them and problems as high as mountains, will know how to tap into the resources that are found at the basis of a relationship with the Father through His Son.

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A Storm Hits a Wedding Ceremony

I went to this wedding once where the person who took charge of planning the wedding had a beautiful vision for it. It was going to happen outside and it was going to be done in a very particular way so as to make the setting spectacular. The only thing was, everything was geared for outdoors. The venue was an outdoor venue, so the wedding and reception depended on dry calm weather. And whenever the person who was planning this thing was asked what she would do if it rained, she simply said: It won’t rain.

Well guess what?

A storm came through, and it rained.

And the weather outside wasn’t the only storm happening that day. With no indoor venue or arrangements made whatsoever, the wedding planner just shut down. Panic and pandemonium ensued as the bride, the bride’s mother, and many others frantically attempted to put something together.

This is a great article written by Kurt from God Running.

We have the power to help those around us, we can help them to calm down, to think, to rationalize, to simply pull themselves together and rest from the chaos within. How do we do this? Calm the storm…what can you do to help that person in need? Listen, talk with that person? Often the fact that you show you care is a help in itself.

To finish reading this article, please go to http://godrunning.com/2013/05/18/love-like-jesus-calm-the-storm-mark-437-39/
Check out the many other great articles on Kurt’s site while you are there, and let him know you liked something he wrote.

Related articles:

Forgive and Forget  (The Art of Pursuit)
Closing the deal with my mom… (Lori Lara)

“Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor Me, and to the blameless I will show My salvation.”   Psalm 50:23 (NIV)

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”   John 15:1-2 (NIV)

When we choose to thank and praise God, especially while enduring a difficult trial, we are offering up a true sacrifice of love to our Creator.  This conscious effort of worship comes only through faith.  Our thank offerings honor Him. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we are encouraged to, “Give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is God’s will for (us/you) in Christ Jesus.”

So do we really need to thank Him for an illness or loss? No, not exactly.  However, I do suggest that we thank God for the lessons and wisdom that will inevitably come out of a tragic event or painful hardship.  The focus of thanks should not be on the painful trial, but on the honor of being pruned and instructed by our God who permits the trial.  During the pruning process, Fruits of the Spirit will mature, as we trust in God’s faithfulness and love.  With the maturing of our spiritual fruit, we can then better serve the Body of Christ by administering more goodness, kindness, gentleness, peace, love, joy, patience, faithfulness, and self-control.

Trials are sent our way, or permitted, by a loving and compassionate Father.  It is wisdom and spiritual maturity that enables a Christian to perceive a new trial as a gift.  This does not mean the believer is thrilled with the idea of new heartache and sorrow.  Rather, the servant of God understands that God prunes His vines so that they can bear more fruit.  They understand it is an honor to suffer in His name and for His glory.

If Christians could learn to view struggles as opportunities that deepen their dependence on Christ, and mature their relationship with Him, they might have an easier time accepting tribulations.  These circumstances, designed by God, are not meant to break us. Instead, they are meant to mold and mature us all. 

God never said we would live a pain free life.  He did however promise to be our strength and provide for every one of our needs.  Let us be grateful for God’s promise to see us through every trial.  Can we all thank Him for not letting us stagnate and remain as children requiring milk?  

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”    Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV)