The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The American singer and variety show host Andy Williams released a Christmas album in 1963 that included one of the most enduring standards played during the Christmas season even today – It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The second stanza of the song says:

It's the hap-happiest season of all

With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings

When friends come to call

It's the hap-happiest season of all  

Unfortunately, some of us, Christians included, have already decided that this Christmas is not going to be the hap-happiest season of all. The Season has hardly begun and already we feel dejected. We are convinced that for us it’s not going to be wonderful or gay. 

We had some bad experiences this year, our pain is still too raw, and we are not quite ready or able to make that shift!  

Spoiler alert! Christmas is the Christian's season of HOPE.

Some of us started out this year with great expectation and dreams but along the way we were blindsided by betrayal, disillusionment and painful losses. Others brought last year’s trouble into 2017 but with a belief that all would be resolved, which has not been the case.

Please be persuaded that, despite the letdowns, betrayals, job lay-offs, scary diagnoses, legal trouble, disappointments, hurts, pains, and losses, we are not alone nor are we forgotten, and we do have much to celebrate.

We are so incredibly LOVED by the Creator of the universe that He came to take care of us!

Christmas may not be the hap-happiest season but it is, (with Easter) our most JOYFUL!  

“…I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOR, who is CHRIST the LORD. Luke 2:10

For the children of GOD, Christmas is primarily about celebration and grateful worship.

Christmas became necessary because we have a need we could never satisfy on our own and GOD stepped down from Heaven to take care of that need. Out of His great love for us, GOD became a human being in the Person of JESUS CHRIST. He did it because we needed a Savior.

For this reason we celebrate Christmas and worship our LORD with gratitude.

The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Luke 2:20

At this moment, we may not feel up to gift shopping, sending greeting cards, decorating our homes, putting up lights, cooking, visiting friends etc. but we ought not to approach the Christmas season with a feeling of dread.

We must instead think of the reason for Christmas and ask GOD to give us hearts to celebrate JESUS and what His coming to earth means for us, not just in this present life but for all eternity. If we begin now and are consistent in this prayer our feelings will change, even if the reasons for our suffering do not. 

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 1 John 4:9

We must know that circumstances notwithstanding, this one truth remains. GOD LOVES us totally! 

Why does GOD love us so much? Because GOD is love itself!

Child of GOD, the Season of Christmas IS the season to immerse ourselves in GOD’s LOVE. It is the most wonderful time of the year!

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Holy Father, we worship and adore you! Thank you for a love so inexpressible; LOVE that caused YOU to leave YOUR Heavenly Throne and come down to earth to save us. YOU gave us this magnificent event to celebrate especially each year so help us who are struggling with great sadness, disappointments and losses to rise above them because of what YOU have done and rejoice for the hope we now have for all eternity. YOU have not abandoned us and so we too can join with the angels and the shepherds in celebrating the birth of JESUS CHRIST, or Savior and our LORD! Thank you for being our Emmanuel and our Prince of Peace in the midst of the storms of life. Strengthen us to endure with JOY! With gratitude we sing, “Glory to GOD in the Highest!” All dominion and power belong to you for ever and ever! We pray and ask all things in the name of JESUS. Amen!

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

“If I had ten thousand tongues it just wouldn't be enough to say, Thank You.” These are lyrics written by American gospel music artist Richard Smallwood as part of the popular praise and worship song titled “Thank YOU.”

The writer of Psalm 136 is exuberant in his song of thanksgiving to GOD. He thanks GOD for His goodness, His Creation, and a slew of miraculous events He did on behalf of the Nation of Israel. In all 26 stanzas of praise the author acknowledges that GOD’s actions is motivated by LOVE.

It is GOD’s love for humanity that nailed our Savior, JESUS CHRIST to the cross to atone for our sin and His love remains constant through all the generations.

In the spirit of the Nation’s Thanksgiving Day celebration tomorrow, may we give serious thought to what GOD’s enduring LOVE has done for us – from orchestrating our salvation before the beginning of time to caring for us and our loved ones daily from generation to generation.

May we aspire like the psalmists to remember the goodness of GOD in our own lives, and His LOVE, and consider that, if we did have ten thousand tongues, it just wouldn't be enough to say, “Thank YOU!”

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,…Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people. Psalm 107:31-32

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our gracious and loving Father, we thank YOU for being GOD of gods and LORD of lords. We thank you for your goodness and YOUR love that endures throughout the generations. We thank YOU for the beauty of YOUR Creation, YOU made everything in this world for us to enjoy. We thank YOU for the wonder of birth and life and the mystery of love and loving. We thank YOU for our spouses, or families and friends and the Body of CHRIST. We thank YOU for talents and the privilege to make a difference in the Kingdom. We thank you for the big things and the little things, for trials and joys, disappointments and achievements, may all draw us nearer to YOU in humble praise. We thank YOU above all, Father, for the gift of YOUR only SON to save us and for the Holy Spirit to sanctify us. We thank YOU, O Father, we just THANK YOU for being YOURSELF our Portion and all that we need. We give YOU all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise, and we pray all things in JESUS’ Mighty NAME.  Amen!

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

A Puritan Prayer of Thanksgiving

I own a devotional titled The Valley of Vision – A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotion (ed. Arthur Bennett.) The collection are extracts from *Puritan literature and represent the Puritan character and lifestyle which was centered on the practice of prayer and meditation.

Often I would reach for this collection during my morning devotions or when I need a quiet meditation moment as I find the depth of spiritual fervor and vulnerability expressed in these prayers both inspirational and encouraging. 

This volume is not meant to be used as a prayer manual. Our prayers should be offered out of our own craving for GOD and personal petitions. We learn to pray simply by praying often and communicating our own thoughts and desires to our heavenly Father, our GOD and Shepherd who has a unique purpose for each of our lives.  

However, in the spirit of the Season, I am sharing the following Praise and Thanksgiving prayer in hopes that it would inspire you to greater heights of gratitude to our Creator, as it does me.

We have so much for which to be grateful this Thanksgiving, and daily!

O MY GOD,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee

for the soul thou hast created,

for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body thou hast given me,

for preserving its strength and vigour,

for providing senses to enjoy delights,

for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup,

for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends,

for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

for a mind to care for my fellow-men,

for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my GOD, through time and eternity.

*The Puritan religious movement took place in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

On Giving Thanks

On Thursday November 23 the Nation celebrates Thanksgiving Day. This is the most celebrated holiday In the United States with more people observing this Holiday than do Christmas. Families throughout the US make a concerted effort to get together on Thanksgiving Day to enjoy a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings and afterwards watch a football game on TV.

Thanksgiving also kicks of the Christmas Holiday shopping season with lots of bargains offered online and in brick and mortar department stores.

Children of God and believers in His Son ought to daily live a life of thanksgiving.

 “But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation….” Psalm 79:13.

Typically, our prayers of thanksgiving focus on our creature comforts (clothing, food, shelter, our new car, children’s health, careers, etc.). But GOD our Father is more than His provisions – He is our Portion.

Greater than our possessions is GOD Himself.

The psalmist Asaph writes, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:25-26. As he looks around him, he sees the world as unbalanced and unfair but Asaph remembers that he is only a visitor here on earth. He has an inheritance, a portion, which is GOD Himself, as does every child of GOD!

GOD’s attributes are the parts of Himself which make Him Other.  

These are among the attributes of GOD we should acknowledge with thanksgiving, even more than we do our worldly comforts.

1. GOODNESS/ UNFAILING LOVE: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34, 41; “…unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.” Psalm 62:12. God alone is good whose love is perfect.
2. MERCY: O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1; Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope. 1 Peter 1:3. GOD’s mercy originates in His goodness and it is great, abundant and everlasting.
3. HOLINESS: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness.” Exodus 15:11; Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Habakkuk 1:13. GOD alone is independently, infinitely holy. All that is morally excellent is found in Him. The Scriptures frequently refer to GOD as “The Holy One.”
4. CREATIVITY: “with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1; “…proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.” Psalm 26:27. God created the entire universe, the heavens and the earth, and He keeps it all in perfect order.
5. POWER: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” Psalm 28:7; “God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you.” Psalm 62:11. The power to exalt or bring down belongs to GOD alone.
6. TRUSTWORTHINESS: The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. Psalm 145:13; For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. Psalm 33:4. We can trust GOD to act truthfully and with fairness.
7. WISDOM: To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might. Daniel 2:23; “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.” Job 12:13. God is Wisdom – the Bible describes Him as the only wise GOD and tells us also that even the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom. By His wisdom alone He created all things according to His will and purpose.
8. PATIENCE: The Lord is …full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. Psalm 145:8; “You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness,” Nehemiah 9:17. Stephen Charnock, Puritan Biblical Scholar  says in part about GOD’s patience, “GOD’s slowness to anger is a branch from His mercy…. mercy pities (the creature) in his misery, and patience bears with the sin which engendered the misery, and is giving birth to more.”
9. FAITHFULNESS: “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Psalm 36:5. GOD cannot be unfaithful as it would be contrary to who He is. GOD by His very nature is immutable.
10. IMMUTABILITY: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17; “For I am the Lord, I do not change;” Malachi 3:6; God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” Exodus 3:14. GOD’s immutability is what distinguishes Him from the rest of His creatures. GOD is perpetually the same – there is no change in His being, attributes, or purposes.

These characteristics identify GOD as GOD and separate from His creatures. The One true living and eternal Father who will also provide our daily “needs”.

When we know GOD as Himself we are able to ascribe to Him a more meaningful form of thanksgiving:

• We give thanks with greater faith because GOD is the “I AM.”
• We give thanks with confidence in GOD’s purpose because we are sure of His faithfulness and goodness.
• We give thanks with hope for the future of our generations to come because GOD is immutable.

We give GOD all that is due to Him as our Portion and our inheritance forever.

“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me.” Psalm 50:23.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!!!

Prayer and Thanksgiving: We give thanks to YOU O Great I AM because YOU are good and YOUR mercy endures forever. We acknowledge that YOU are Wisdom and Power, Creator of Heaven and earth and all that is in it. We thank YOU most of all as The Holy One who personifies all the fruit of the Holy Spirit richly and perfectly – that YOU are Light in whom no darkness can exist. We thank YOU for the perfect gift sent down from Heaven to redeem us – JESUS CHRIST, our LORD. Father, we delight ourselves in YOU first and foremost, trusting that YOU will be our PORTION for all eternity. Now to Him who is able to keep us from stumbling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To GOD our Savior, Who alone is Wise, be Glory and Majesty, Dominion and Power, both now and forever. Amen!

Always by GOD’s WORD and prayer,

Cecile

Fear Not and Stand Firm!

Two weeks ago I started a study of the Book of Exodus which tells of GOD fulfilling His covenant promise to Abraham by delivering his descendants from slavery in Egypt and taking them to the Promised Land.

By the end of chapter 12 the Israelites have left Egypt and are on their way.

The thirteenth chapter opens with Moses giving the people careful instructions for celebrating a supernatural deliverance from Egypt “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand.” (13:3).

We also see the LORD Himself guiding Israel’s journey. The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 13:21

However, despite all Israel has experienced, just days into the journey a pattern begins to emerge and we are reading about a group of people without faith, gratitude and obedience.

As GOD planned it, the Pharaoh has a change of heart in chapter 14 and sends his army to bring Israel back. When Israel realizes that they are being pursued, their immediate reaction is panic and complaining.  

“Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” 14:11-12

Moses calms them and reassures them that GOD is for them and is not letting them down: “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” 14:13-14

We are familiar with the events that follow – GOD parts the Red Sea to allow Israel to cross over on dry land and then brings the sea back together and the Egyptian army perishes. At this time, we are told, Israel sees the awesome power of their GOD and has faith in Him.

When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses. 14:31

Exodus 15:1-18 recounts a victory celebration of song and dance before the LORD: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory…”

BUT just three days later, they revert to the same behavior!

The people are now in the wilderness and are thirsty but the water is bitter and unfit to drink. Do they stop and ask anything of the awesome GOD in whom they have put their faith, the LORD who triumphed gloriously and is now their strength and their song of victory? NO! They turn surly and hostile against Moses… the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” 15:24 And with great forbearance GOD makes the water sweet and fit to drink.

By now these people ought to recognize a pattern of faithfulness in GOD, right?  Not nearly!

Less than a month and one chapter later they are grumbling again because they are hungry. “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” 16:2. Not a shred of gratitude for what GOD is doing and has done; they see only the pleasures of the “good ole days,” which we know weren’t!

But again GOD fixes that problem and they have bread and meat that they don’t have to work for – it rains down from heaven for them. So are we OK now? Not yet!

We are barely into chapter 17 and we see them again complaining to Moses about not having water: “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”17:3. At this point Moses has lost his patience and cries out to GOD for help: “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!” 17:4

But guess who is still patient and faithful? Yet again GOD provides for them!

Except for the one time when GOD took them through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army after them, we see not a single record of thanksgiving from Israel’s lips for any of the provisions of water, bread, meat and daily guidance GOD faithfully provides.  Actually, I am getting a sense of a spirit of entitlement here.

If you have read the Old Testament account of GOD’s relationship with Israel, His chosen people, you know that this behavior trend continues so that the people who came out of Egypt never made it into the Promised Land. Their descendants didn’t do much better and escalated to idol worship so that eventually GOD lost patience and allowed them to be driven out of the Promised Land by their enemies and into exile and slavery.

Why am I retelling this?

Exodus chapters 13 to 17 account of Israel’s complaining and murmuring in the face of GOD’s continuing goodness can sometimes be hilarious because it’s so simplistic in its arrogance. But ultimately, I began to think about my own walk with GOD and was both convicted and mortified to recall the number of occasions when I faced difficult circumstances and responded as one for whom GOD had never done a thing. Which is totally untrue!

How many times has GOD come through for any of us and then at the very first sign of a later discomfort or trouble our first response is to call a friend to complain. We fail to recognize that for a child of GOD to act this way is to do what Moses accused Israel of doing – testing GOD by saying in effect, “Is the LORD among us, or not?” Exodus 17:7.

The answer is, GOD never leaves us today as He never left Israel then. So our first response in times of trouble and need ought to be to turn to our loving and faithful Father. Instead we grumble, complain and seek out other avenues hoping to alleviate the problems on our own. Or we seek out idols for comfort.

There are many accounts in the Old Testament of GOD offering forgiveness and restoration to Israel if they would turn back to Him but they keep falling away. (Jeremiah 3:22; Zechariah 1:3; 

Malachi 3:7). 

Finally, GOD sends His Son to redeem His people. The point being, GOD has done more than enough for us and He continues to love us faithfully even when we are not doing the same for Him.

J. Hudson Taylor writes that “All GOD’s promises are in the present tense.” We can apply this thought to any promise as we need but let’s try Psalm 23:1a, which I have done for my own personal use:

The LORD is my Shepherd – 

this minute; in the next hour; tonight; tomorrow; next week; Sunday through Saturday; next month; next year; 20 years from today; on your vacation; in your new location; in a hospital bed; at a job interview; as you take your marriage vows; when your spouse leaves; as the coffin is lowered  into the cold earth; as you birth a child; when that child rebels; in good times and in bad times; continually, indefinitely, intentionally….forever, the LORD is your Shepherd.

GOD’s promises are sure and unchangeable.

While we may reach an impasse of some sort in our journey, like Israel did at the Red Sea, we must hold fast to GOD! We do not panic, murmur, or complain. We tell GOD our troubles, ask for His help and watch Him do what we could never think to ask for or imagine.

Our GOD is an ever present help!

Fear not and stand firm!

All Scripture is inspired by God, is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our gracious and loving Father, thank YOU for being our GOD and cause us to seek YOU first and always, in good times and in bad. Thank YOU that YOUR loving kindness is better than life itself and our lips shall always praise YOU. Cause us to never forget YOUR benefits – that YOU are the GOD who heals our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with tender mercies, and satisfies our mouths with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Above all, Father, YOU forgive our sins for all time when YOU gave YOUR only SON. Thank YOU for being our Portion; YOU are all that we need. We give YOU all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise, and we pray all things in JESUS’ Mighty NAME.  Amen!

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

Suffering Has a Divine Purpose – Part 2

GOD never promised that His children would live blissfully happy and trouble-free lives. Here on earth we will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33), but suffering has a divine purpose. 

GOD even uses suffering we bring on ourselves due to our own disobedience for our good and His glory. (Romans 8:28)

GOD uses all of life’s suffering as a pathway to victory and joy.

Because of CHRIST’s atoning work on the cross, all sin is forgiven. However, we should not excuse trials we suffer as a result of ungodly choices as we are not spared the natural consequences of sin.

Our Heavenly Father loves us too much to allow our behavior to go uncorrected – He must remind us that He does not take sin lightly. We must be prepared to accept the penalty for our actions.

Thankfully, we serve a GOD who judges our sin fairly and with righteousness. GOD never intends to punish for His gratification, but to humble and sanctify us as forgiven sinners. Even though our actions grieve His Spirit, GOD uses our wrongs to draw us closer and to shape and mold us into the image and likeness of CHRIST.  He makes our transgressions work for our good and His divine purpose.

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:7&10  

King David experiences first-hand GOD’s fairness in judging sin and its consequences.

Most of us are familiar with the Old Testament story of David’s sin of murder against his army officer Uriah to cover his sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. David’s sin is exposed by the Prophet Nathan and he acknowledges that he deserves to die at GOD’s hands. However, GOD gave Nathan a message for David – that GOD had forgiven him (“The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die”) but there would be consequences (Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.) 2 Samuel 12:13-14.

Out of this experience, David wrote Psalm 51 which has served as a great source of encouragement to many in need of GOD’s mercy and restoration for sin.

David also penned Psalm 103 which opens with a crescendo of worship to GOD, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.” followed by many reasons why we ought to praise GOD, one being “He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” (103:10)

We all deserve GOD’s full wrath for our sin but we receive forgiveness and a comparatively mind chastisement because the eternal punishment for them has been paid by His SON’s sacrifice on the cross.

CHRIST bore the full wrath of GOD in our stead. The least we can do is accept with grace the natural consequences for our wrong-doing and praise GOD that He works all for our good in the end.

Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord. Psalm 103:22

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Our gracious and loving Father, thank YOU for loving us enough to forgive all our sins, crown us with tender mercy, and restore us to righteousness when we fail. Thank you for turning our downfall into divine glory. Thank YOU Father for giving us victory over sin and death through our LORD JESUS CHRIST, for abundant life here on earth and everlasting life with YOU in Heaven. We give YOU all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise, and we pray all things in JESUS’ Mighty NAME.  Amen!

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile

Suffering Has a Divine Purpose – Part 1

Life is full of surprises some of which can bring great sorrow.

As children of GOD, new believers especially, we can be lulled into thinking that we are immune from experiencing hardships and painful circumstances. But as the old folks who know better would say, “Just keep on living!”

On the other hand you might right now be experiencing a sorrow or know another believer who is suffering deeply. Unfortunately, we are many who have experiences to share.

• We raise a child to honor godly principles who, as a young adult, chooses a lifestyle that contradicts everything they learned and want “nothing to do with your God.”
• A believing spouse suddenly walks away from a 25-year marriage that we thought was rock solid because the “found someone that really meets their needs.”
• A loved one dies too young and too soon after being diagnosed with an aggressive illnesses, or by suicide.
• We suffer another heartbreaking miscarriage and the doctor tells us, there may never be another chance.

Our trials may vary in nature and intensity but all are painful. 

If somewhere along the way we learn that children of GOD ought always to be blissfully happy and trouble-free then when are faced with hardship and sorrow we will feel bewildered and betrayed.

After all, we love JESUS, we serve faithfully and give generously to our ministries; we pray for others and read our Bibles daily. We are not perfect by any means but we are trying to please GOD and live the way CHRIST followers ought to. So why has this suffering come to us?

“Where is God?”

With GOD, we have only good news and good news – God is with us in our trials and GOD approves our trials.

The Bible clearly teaches that GOD loves His children. The Bible also teaches us that GOD works all things together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28.) The trials and sorrows He allows in our lives are part of the working together of all things for good.

We may not see or understand that "good" now and may never see it in our lifetime but we have to believe, even while we are in pain, that our suffering has a divine purpose.

GOD understands our pain and provides hope, encouragement, comfort and love.

Always GOD’s WORD is the place where we find everything that we need for our time of need. The Scriptures are alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12

GOD’s WORD reaches the deepest parts of our beings. When a spouse, close relative, or most trusted friend is unable to reach us GOD’s WORD can, and for times of sorrow and struggle, none does it better than the Book of Psalms.

King David wrote most of the hymns of petition and praise that make up the Psalms. Few characters in the Bible suffered as much as he did – betrayal, persecution, loss, death threats, David experienced it all.

Many verses and whole chapters from the Psalms give us courage to face painful situations and comfort in our sorrows. These are a few favorites:

• The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10
• Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:1-2
• Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…Psalm 23
• …The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27
• You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted…Psalm 46
• Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him…Psalm 62
• …Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! Psalm 66
• ..For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone… Psalm 91
• Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:6-7
• I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my defense….Psalm 118:13-14
• He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber. Psalm 121
• How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139

In all of life’s trials GOD gives us a pathway to joy and victory.

But will GOD use even the afflictions we experience by our own disobedience for His divine purpose?

To be continued…

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Abba Father, YOU are the LORD, KING, Creator and the GOD who made us for YOUR purpose and YOUR glory. Father, forgive us for desiring only good from YOU and despising our afflictions that molds and shapes us to be more like CHRIST. Thank YOU for JESUS who promised that He has overcome the world so we can have peace in our afflictions. Open our eyes to the truth that our lives are buried in CHRIST so we will have the same experiences He did including victory and YOUR glory. Remind us Father that when we are truly “home” worldly suffering will end, that YOU will wipe away every tear from our eyes and there will be neither mourning nor crying nor pain anymore. Thank YOU that our worldly experiences are not worth comparing with the glory that awaits us in eternity with YOU and YOUR SON. We give all glory, all honor, and all praise to YOUR NAME as we ask all things in His NAME.  Amen!

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile