Posted on

Nature and Faith

Nature!

I love to spend time in nature.  It seems like there is an endless amount of lessons that can be seen through the observation of nature.  What is my favorite part of nature? It is hard for me to choose just one thing.

One thing that I have been thinking about lately is the colors in nature.  What would it have been like if God would have made the colors different than they are right now?   For example, what if the sky was red, the grass and trees were blue, and the branches and tree trunks were green.  Now, you may be thinking that’s crazy.  But the reality is that if God would have created it that way we would not have known any better.

I can’t imagine the sky red.  Just to think about it makes me feel totally on fire.  I mean red is not a relaxing color by any means and it just makes me feel anxious.  It seems that God has made the colors to reflect what He is and how He wants us to be.

Colors

Blue is a representation of the law of God.  And I love that our sky is blue because it makes me feel God’s protection.  We often think of the law as something bad.  I have to do this or that or I can’t do this or that.  But how do you want to be treated in life?  Do you want to have others steal from you or kill you?  To me, the law is a law of protection.  God loves us so much He wants to protect us from all the bad and evil.

I am grateful for God’s law of love.  He wants to have fellowship with us.  And not only does He want to have fellowship with us He also wants us to have fellowship with each other.

The law of God is all about love, love to Him, and love for those around us.  So when I look at the blue sky, it reminds me of love and God’s protective power.  And then there is the beautiful red that streaks the sky at sunset or sunrise.  It reminds me of the blood that Jesus shed, which brings me back to the love that, leads to wanting to obey His law.

Green is another lovely color that God has given us.  And as many know green is one of the most relaxing colors.  A lot of us know what it is like to go out in nature and sit amongst the green trees on the green grass.  The feeling I get when I do this is so relaxing.  The cares of the world seem to melt away.

Green

I think of green as a very significant color that God has given all around us.  He has made it one of the most prevalent colors around us, at least most of us.  I don’t think it is just because it is a relaxing color, although it plays a crucial role.  I think it is because green represents faith.  He is reminding us all around to have faith in Him.

What is the most relaxing thing that you can think of in this world today?  Well, for me, I think it is faith.  And without faith, it is impossible to please God (See Hebrews 11:6).  If we have total faith in God and His plan for our lives we can be the most relaxed people in this world, no matter what chaos is happening.  It sends chills up and down my spine when I think about it.  But I struggle to have this kind of faith.  Yet, God has given us so much to remind us what He wants for our lives, a life of rest and peace.

What is faith?

If without faith it is impossible to please God then we better know all about it right?  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1.  Here is how the Revised Standard Version states this verse, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

I looked up some things on faith and what it means and here is a summary of what I found.  Faith is an assurance or belief in something, and also a conviction of whatever truth we believe in.  I can have faith that when I sit down in a chair it is going to hold me up.  Most of us never even think about it or fear before we sit down, we just sit down.  Because our belief is so strong in the creator of that chair, the fact is, we don’t even think about it.  And believe it or not, we don’t even know the creator of that chair.

What makes us believe a chair is going to hold us up?  Maybe we trust the place we bought it from, the reputation a company has, other people reviews of the product, etc.  I don’t even know if I have given it much thought of why I have faith in a chair to hold me up.  And there are many more things we have faith in every day, our cars, that our house will stay standing, or the building we work at has been built to continuing standing, that most people are competent drivers so that we don’t shake in our boots every time we go out on the road, how about an airplane, etc.  I could go on and on.

So how does this play into our faith in God?  It is kind of silly when you think about it.  Why would we trust a chair, car, or airplane manufacturer that we don’t know or even investigated but we won’t trust a God who loves us?  He has given all this green around us to say, “Trust Me!  Have faith in the plan that I have for your life, even though you don’t understand or know why just trust me.”  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding” Proverbs 3:5.

It is so…

Why is it so hard to have faith in a God who loves us with an everlasting love and yet we have faith in a chair, car, airplane, etc?  I think that this is a question that we need to chew on.  I know I do!  Believe me, as I write these things I am talking to myself.  When we go to buy a chair or even food for that matter, do we question whether it is safe?  Do we investigate the company to see if we can have faith that what I am buying is safe?  I can say for the most part I don’t.

How many of you order online?  When I order online I will often look at reviews.  But even those are not always helpful.  As a matter of fact, reviews can be downright discouraging.  And why is that?  Because you get these people that say how wonderful the product is and then there can be a small percentage that just is downright cruel about the product.  We have all see them.

The same can be true with Christians.  If we were to look at people’s reviews on Christianity we would get the same thing.  Some have had a great experience and some have not.  So how do we know?  When it comes to buying something the best way to know is to experience it yourself.  Even with reviews, you need to read between the lines.  Why don’t they like it?  Is it because it is not what they were expecting or wanted or was it because something was wrong with it?  Some would say that if the majority thinks it is good then it probably is safe to buy it.

Majority

When it comes to our choices with God should we seek the majority reviews about God?  Is there safety in the opinions of the majority?  Or is it safe to make our decisions based on what we see in other “Christian’s ” lives?  I would say not.  Just because a person claims to be Christian does not mean that they are truly like Christ.  True love gives everyone the freedom to choose whether they want God in their lives or not and whether they want to obey His laws.

Even though nature is marred by sin, it obeys God’s laws.  We are marred with sin as well but we can choose to obey God’s laws.  We can choose to have faith in His Word and the promises that He has given us.  He has given us so much evidence that He loves us.  Why is it so hard for us?  I can speak for myself, I am so much happier in my life when I have faith to lay my life in His hands. Trying to do everything on our own is such a miserable life, why do we choose it?

Look to Jesus

Why shouldn’t we look to people for our guide?  We are all sinners and make mistakes in our judgment, so there is no safety there.  The example that God gave us in Jesus Christ is the only perfect example for us to follow.  So the safest place for us to keep our eyes is on Jesus.  Read about His life, study His life, and then allow Him to emulate His life in you.

Every day as you see the green of the grass and trees bring to mind the faith that you can have in the One that is the most trustworthy.  God has put so much green around us to help us remember.  But often we pass by it all and don’t even see what He has to offer us.  God has put nature around us to remind us of Him and His power to save us to the uttermost if we come unto Him by Jesus, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us (See Hebrews 7:25).

What is our part?  Our part is to choose Him.  When we are studying His Word and we learn His ways we choose His ways but He does the work to change our lives.  Nature obeys God but it is God’s power that makes nature grow, makes the rain to fall, or the sun to rise, etc. (See Ps. 147:8, 16-19, Matt. 5:45).  And as we choose Him and His ways God will make the seed of truth to grow in our hearts and He will make us more like Him.  He will change our hearts.

Dear Father,

Thank You for giving us the beautiful things of nature to remind us of Your power and love for us.  Help us to see that full faith in You and the plans You have for our lives is the safest and happiest place that we can be.  You are the One that can help us choose You and make us like You.  Help us in the choosing process today.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Have faith and trust in God today!  You won’t regret it!

Have you had faith in God through a tough situation and God came through for you amazingly?  I would love to hear your story.  Share below in the comments.

 

Posted on

“Is She Going to Make It?”

Anxious!

Have you ever had something occur in your life and you get really anxious over it?  I am sure you have.  We all have events that take place that gets us anxious.  There are things that take place where we need some answers but we don’t know what the answer is and we aren’t sure where to get it.

I recall an event in my life that led me to this anxious feeling.  As far as how old I was I am not really sure but I think I was around 14 or 15.  At that time my dad was traveling on the road for his work.  So he would leave on Monday and then arrive back home on Friday.  We lived in an old farmhouse that was built back in the 1800s.  I loved that house.  We had two little ponds with several apple trees around them.  When we moved into the place we acquired a male and female goose and also one male duck and two female ducks.  They were lots of fun, most of the time.

Devastated!

One morning when my dad was out of town, I went out to feed the animals.  One of the ducks never arrived for the feeding time.  I grew concerned and went looking for her.  I found her in the second pond.  She was out in the middle, soaking wet.  As you know when you see a duck, soaking wet you know that there is a problem.  I don’t rightly remember how I even was able to get her but I finally got her.

As I picked her up I saw that she had a big hole in the back of her neck.  It was around the size of a silver dollar.  I could see the tubes that run through the throat.  She also had received damage to her body and her oil glans.  Things did not look good for her.

Let her go.

My mom was trying to figure out how we could put her to sleep.  I was not in favor of having her put to sleep.  I am an animal lover and I will do whatever it takes to save an animal if I possibly can.  So I said to my mom that I wanted to talk to dad.

For those of you that are younger it is hard for you to believe but cellphones were not a thing then.  And because my dad was on the road we could not readily get a hold of him.  He called us each day, morning and evening.  I can’t remember for sure but it seems the time to talk to him had passed.

I can’t readily remember how we got a hold of him.  But it seems that we had to call the main office.  He called into the office more than once a day at times and then, of course, when he got the message he would have to use a payphone.  He finally called us and I was so grateful.  When it came to animals my dad has the same heart I do.  And the reality is that God has the same concern for His creatures.  He sees when the Sparrow falls!  He loves the creatures that He has created.  My dad told me to call a vet and see what they suggested.

What?

Remember no Internet.  I had to grab a phone book and start looking in the yellow pages.  When I dialed the first vet I was shocked at the response from the receptionist.  She started laughing.  There was no sympathy or concern.  She let me know that they didn’t treat ducks.  I got the same response from one or two more vets.  At that point, I felt discouraged but unwilling to give up.

I finally got a sympathetic receptionist and doctor.  They let me know what cream I could get to put around the edges of the hole as well as her body.  It would take some work putting it on, keeping her warm, and getting her dry.  I did have concerns about her oil glans but the vet assured me that he felt they should heal without a problem if I just followed the directions.  There was still a little question but it was so worth trying.

Preparing

Some of the memories have gone from me, but my mom must have taken me in somewhere so we could get what we needed and get started with the treatment.  We also were able to find a large box to put in the house to place her in.  Somehow we put some heat in the box to help get her warm and try to get her dry.  You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to get her dry but it was not easy.  It was amazing to be able to learn what those glans do to protect them.  And realizing how the oils coming from the glans keep the water from soaking in and sheds the water was so fascinating.

…Stomach

It did require a strong stomach in order to treat the duck.  I did not really want to do it before or right after eating.  As I recall my mom did not want to do it at all.  We had bought this cream and the vet said to take it and smear it around the opening of the hole.  It amazes me that the hole was not bloody.  So it was not to terribly difficult to smear it on.  I did wear gloves to do it though.

Now when it came to her back and wing area it was bloody.  It wasn’t massive amounts though, thankfully.  I can’t remember for sure but I think I used the same cream on them as well.  If I am remembering correctly it was a process that I did more than once a day.  The poor baby was so scared but seemed to know that I was helping her.  She allowed me to do what I needed to do without any complaint.

Healing

I don’t remember how long it took but her glans started to heal and the oils started to work again.  There was a question as to how long or if the glans would heal.  When we took her out to the pond for a test run I was so grateful that she did not get all soaked again.

It took quite a while for the hole to heal and fill in again.  But it finally did.  It amazes me at the healing power that God has put within our bodies and the bodies of an animal if we give it the right conditions.  God has made everything with amazing wonder.  And as I study more and more about our bodies I am even more amazed.  We definitely did not get here by chance.  All of creation was designed with such amazing intricacy it is impossible to be put together by chance.  We serve such an amazing God.

Thinking…

I started thinking about this experience a few days ago and it made me think of our lives in relation to God.  To most of those around us, we may look like an impossibility.  Our lives are full of holes and so many wounds that they may think for us to be made whole again is out of the question and fully impossible.  How can all those wounds be healed?  How can there be any hope?  I mean they are soaked in sin.  They are bleeding and fearful, which is covered with anger.

They don’t reach out to someone for help because of their fear of rejection.  So you try to find someone that can reach out to them.  Everyone you turn to laughs at you.  “You have got to be kidding me, you really think there is hope for them?  We don’t work on those kinds.”

But then you finally find Someone (the right Vet) that gives you some help in knowing where to turn.  He tells you about this amazing Salve that can help to heal the wounds.  There is no guarantee that the wounds will be healed because there is a factor that can keep those wounds from healing.

Choice…

The most amazing salve that can help heal the wounds of the most wounded soul is God’s Word.  There are a couple of factors that can stop the healing.  First, it has to be applied with prayer.  Because the healing is brought about by the power of the Word as it is applied through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And the second factor is the power of choice.  The person that is wounded has the choice to be helped or not.  Some people reject help.  They are so used to going through life with holes in their heart and with bloody wounds that they feel uncomfortable being out of their “comfort zone”.

They also need to be surrounded by those that are allowing the Word to work in their own lives.  People who have allowed the Word to so pray their lives that they have a warmth that will draw and warm those who are cold.  Assembling ourselves together with others helps to keep all of us warm.  It is like a lump of coal, if you take it out of the fire it will become cold.  Or if you take a cold piece of coal and lay it in a fire it will start to warm and glow like all the others.  Again it is still a choice.  You can’t force someone to join in and be close to those that can warm him or her.  But we can continue to love and to draw them.

Faith

It does require us to have a strong “stomach” (Faith).  Reaching out to people that are wounded requires a faith that will withstand the wounds that may lash out at us.  Wounded people can be full of so much anger that they lash out at those that even love them.  But on the same token we can be so turned off by the way they portray themselves because of their wounds that we may not want to even be around them.

By faith, we need to claim the promises of God and know that the “Salve” (Prayer & the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit) will accomplish the healing.  It may take longer than we think but we need to continue to be consistent.

The healing may take time and may not happen depending on their choice but never give up.  If the duck had fought me and resisted she would have never lived.  The same is true as we work with wounded people.  But we should never give up.  Even if they will not accept anything we can pray for them.

Also, remember as people surround us that there are those that we don’t even realize are wounded.  So we need to be sure that as we interact with those around us that we are much in prayer.  We need to be as Jesus was when He was here on earth.  The method that Christ used on those around Him is how we should treat all around us.  It is His method that will when the heart of each person.  Remember it is not about us and what we think it is about Christ and what He thinks. As you look at people see Christ hanging on the cross for them.  Love them with a Christ-like love that only He can give as we surrender self to Him.

Healing

Healing can take time.  But the most amazing thing is that it will happen and they can be the most amazing people when their wounds are healed.  They become stronger than they have ever been as they cling to the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to wash them clean.

Maybe you who are reading this are the wounded one.  Let people love you.  Read God’s Word and claim the promises that He has for you.  Spend time in prayer pleading for God’s blessing.  Do not let Him go until He has blessed you.  There may be those around you that will hurt you, even those who claim to be Christians.  But don’t get discouraged because no matter what people think God loves you with an everlasting love.

Dear Father,

I ask for Your wisdom, as a Christian.  Help me reflect You to others.  I pray that each of us will see the value to work with others as Christ worked.  Help us to set self aside and only see You.  And allow You to work through our lives.

Lord, I also pray for those who are wounded.  I prayer that You will wrap reaches arms around them and that they will feel those loving arms.  Forgive us if we have wounded a hurting and fragile person.  Keep us focused on You and the love that You would have us spread to these hurting ones.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember to draw close to Jesus; He is the healer and reach out to those around you.

Love you all!

Do you have an experience to share about how God has helped in your healing process?  Or maybe it has been a person who has helped you?  Comment below about your experience.

If you are hurting and have no one around you to reach out to, reach out here.

Posted on

“The Machine is Down Again?!!!”

Disaster!

Have you ever felt as if everything is against you?  Things don’t go well at home, school, work, etc.  It seems like every step you make fails in some way.  And of course, your stress level is through the roof.

The stress has seemed to build in the last week and a half at my work.  It has caused stress for all involved.  I run a digital machine at a print shop.  One day a little over a week ago I made, what I thought was a routine call for a repair.  It wasn’t a big problem I was having with the print quality but it needed fixing.  The repairman came out the next day “fixed” the problem and we were good to go.  At least we thought it was fixed.

The next day…

The next day the problem started again.  The shop foreman had told me to go ahead and put in a call near the end of the day forgetting the fact that the next day was the end of the month.  We are always pushing as much out as possible the last day.  When digital is down it brings a real problem in getting through the work.

This time when the guy came for repairs he brought a helper and they got into the machine and replaced a lot of parts along with cleaning the machine.  In the process of taking out one of the rollers, which has a small long bulb that runs through it for heat, he broke the bulb.  No big deal right?  Wrong!!  They did not have another one to replace it.  So they had to order the part from back east.  It should be in the next day around 10 am and then they would have to come in and finish the work.  This was around 12 am so for me that meant time off.  So I went home early and didn’t come back in until around 11 am the next day.  Things got back together and I was finally able to print again.

Or was it?

I did start printing and the guy stuck around for a little while to see if things were going to go well.  It seemed good so off he went.  I started to notice that there was some kind of debris coming out with the paper when I was printing.  It was a concern to me.  Then I notice another problem.  There were some marks being made on the paper as well.  I opened up the machine to see if there was anything that I could see and all this debris was coming out of the machine.  By this time it was near the end of the day again.  So again I put in another call to service.

The next day the repair guy came right away in the morning.  He opened up the machine and started to take some things apart.  As he took things apart debris just fell out.  He was amazed that the machine had not thrown an error code.  Something had happened and it had totally shredded a belt.

He got everything cleaned up and got things running.  He stuck around for a while and noticed that there was another problem.  The machine was not heating up right.  And it was leaving a rub mark on the prints as well.  He figured out what the problem was but he had no parts for it.  It was Friday by now and he would order the parts and then be back on Monday around 10:30 am.  In the meantime, I could only run a certain weight paper because the heat wasn’t working for the more heavy paper.

Monday…

On Monday I waited and went into work around 10 am.  There had been some other lightweight jobs that had come in so I started printing them.  My boss came to let me know the repair guy called and the parts he had ordered were not going to arrive from back east that day as they were supposed to.  He was driving to another location, which was a 4-hour round trip drive to pick up the part.  So he arrived at about 12 pm.

The unusual thing is that the heating problem had gone away and we couldn’t see the rub mark anymore.  So he was afraid to even touch the machine since it seemed to be working now.  We didn’t know why but it was.  He stuck around for a few jobs and everything seemed to be fine.  So he finally left.  He wasn’t gone long when I notice the rub mark again.  It was only in a certain area so I could only run certain things that it did not show up on, how frustrating.

By this time we decided to wait until the end of the day to call it in so I could get as much printing done as possible being we had so much downtime.  I tried to put in a request on the computer after 5 pm so that a repair guy would contact us in the morning.  The repair guy had not closed out the last repair so it would not let me put in a new one.  I had his phone number so I texted him.  He said how sorry he was about the digital print not being fix and that he would come first thing in the morning.

Tuesday…

When he got there it did not take him long to see that there was a roller that needed replacing.  It had just been replaced last week but with all the debris from the belt that shredded it probably did damage to it.  He was concerned because that was the roller that the other repair guy had been trying to fix when he broke the bulb that ran through the center.  The new repair guy planned to be very careful.  The way that it is put together is not the best.  He proceeded to remove the roller but yes he broke the bulb.  Afterward, he let me know that it was not a big deal because the other repair guy had ordered two when he ordered.  He said, “I will just go pick it up from him and be back in about 20 minutes.”

When he arrived back I was working in the back in the bindery.  We were all discussing what would happen if he broke the second and last one.  Within seconds the guy came back and told me when he opened the box the bulb was broken in 3 pieces.  The choices were to order another one, which would arrive the next day around 10 am.  Or he could take a 4 hour round trip to the different location, where he had gone the day before and get the part there.  Of course, we asked him to drive and get it.  We needed our machine up and running.

Home…

The repair guy headed off for his 4-hour trip while I went home for a few hours.  The frustration I felt was unspeakable.  Financially we could not afford for me to lose hours and I had lost so many already.  I knew that I needed to quit thinking about it and just make the best of my time doing things that needed to be done at home.  It actually felt good to be home and I do miss it a great deal.

Soon the time came for me to head back to work.  The repair guy was there and things went quickly.  When I started printing the repair guy stuck around for another 30 minutes just to be sure that things were going to run well.  Then he left.

More problems…

He hadn’t been gone 30 minutes when I noticed another problem.  My foreman said let’s try to get through as much printing as we can before we call in again.  So I waited another few hours until the end of the day.

He came the next morning and fixed the problem.  And we were off and running again for a few hours.  It is Friday now and we are now waiting until Monday for another part.  Another repair guy did a temp fix that we know could quick working at any time.  Every time I pushed the print button I prayed it would work and I made it through the day on the temporary fix.  The question is when is this going to be over?  I don’t know!  It has been frustrating.  I have lost money, my boss has lost money and it has affected 3 other guys also in lack of hours.  And it has affected our customers and gives the potential for losing customers.

Learning…

But with all these problems what can I learn.  Because we all go through trials every day, right?  We can always learn things in all our everyday experiences.  God wants to teach us things.  The number one thing He wants to teach us is to trust Him.  He is beside us to guide us through all circumstances.  We just need to reach out to Him.  I am planning on a miracle.  Because even though I made less money I want to see how He is going to bless that money to fulfilled the needs that it provides.

Another lesson that came to me in this experience is that the digital machine is a lot like us.  The machine is fairly new, maybe a year and a half old.  And it reminds me of when a person decides to give their heart to the Lord.  You may or may not have grown up in a Christian home.  But you have to come to a point in your life where you surrender and give your heart to God.  And you become a new creation, just like a brand new digital machine.

But then…

Everything seems to be going well with our brand new walk with God.  We are having victories and we are on fire for God.  But as time goes by we tend to get distracted.  The devil makes sure it happens.  Things in our life start to breakdown.  It starts out small, just a “little print” quality.  Maybe we fail to spend the quality time we need one day.  We realize we need to get back connected so we seek out the Repair Man.  God is always there to help repair our lives and the great thing; we don’t have to wait because He is too busy.  We make things right with God and go on our way.

But the next day something comes up unexpectedly and your time with God is cut short again.  Believe me, the devil will make sure there are distractions if we are not intentional.  We get a little stitch of time with God but not what it should be.  And sometimes it goes into days, weeks, and even months that our quality time is diminished.

Major repair…

Before we know it we have become so spiritually wore out that we need major repairs.  The great thing about God is that when we let Him He repairs everything the first time.  But a lot of times what happens is that we don’t allow Him to get in and do the repairs before we allow life to take over again and get in the way of spending that quality time.  And every time we do that the need for repairs become more major.  The outcome can be different for everyone depending on how long we keep letting things go and not allowing God to fully repair us.

God is the only one that can do the major repairs that we need.  But we have to make a total and complete surrender to Him and allow Him to do it.  And we have to commit to spending the quality time with Him.  Believe me, I am speaking to myself as I write this.  It is so easy to get distracted.  And God also gives us so many opportunities to connect with Him throughout the day.

Time…

We need to have that special time each morning where we spend time in prayer and study of God’s Word.  And if we don’t initially schedule it in it won’t happen.  Besides our scheduled time, we should take advantage of every opportunity to connect with God.

For those of us who drive to work, we can be praying during those times.  Praying out loud can keep us focused.  This is a great time to pray about those things that are really on your heart for yourself, family, friends, etc.  It is a great way to keep yourself on track with keeping connected with God and keep your sanity while driving with “crazy” people on the road.  You can also be listening to God’s Word while you are traveling.  Some may be able to listen to God’s Word while they are working depending on where you work and what you are doing.  I actually have that opportunity at work and I love it.

Dear Father,

We live in such a crazy busy world.  Forgive us for not making you the priority that we should. I want to surrender my time to You and make sure that my time is used wisely.  I pray for the problems with my machine at work and for those that may be having troubles at their work.  Help us to reach out to You more and be a witness to Your power.  Thank You for the lessons that You teach us through the trials.  And I am praising Your name to see how You are going to stretch my paycheck this pay period.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to God today.  Be intentional about your time with Him.

Love you all!

What trial has come into your life that you have learned some lessons from?  I would love to hear it.  Please share below.

Posted on

“Asleep, While Walking!”

My daughter (14) had a really good illustration and I want to share it with you.

Asleep!

“Our everyday lives are full of biblical illustrations.  Just recently, my eldest brother, mom, and I went for an afternoon hike up our mountain.  It is a fairly difficult hike.  And to make it worse there were a lot of dead and dry pine needles on the ground.  You would take a step and nearly start to slide down the hill.  It took a lot of effort to make it up.

I had just stopped to rest and I began to think.   I remember taking hikes life this when I was little.  When we would hike I would start out hiking along beside my parents but when I felt tired or just couldn’t make it any longer, my dad would pick me up and put me on his shoulders.  It was great to ride up high, I could see so much more.

Most of the time when I would ride on my dad’s shoulders I would fall asleep.  At this point, I was no long grueling up some hill or down some path. I could just relax.  As I had been walking it seemed that we would never get there and it took forever.  But as I rode on my father’s shoulders I had no fear or worry about getting to our destination, I had trust in my father that I would get there.  And the amazing part was when I would wake up from sleeping we would be there and it seemed such a short time.

Another thing that I was remembering is when we would be coming home from visiting someone.  I would always fall asleep on our way home.  I never sat there and worried about falling asleep, wondering how I would get in the house once we were home.   But I knew I could trust my father to carry me in the house once we got there.  And most of the time when I did wake up I was already in my bed.  I never knew how I got there except by the faith that I had in my father to accomplish it.

What about God?

These experiences made me start to think about God and how I need to have that kind of trust in Him.  No matter what situation that I am in He is always there.  I can trust Him through the grueling trials or whatever comes my way.  And if I can learn to trust Him as I did my earthly father, the next thing I will know is I will be on the other side of my trial or hardship and it will seem like it has been a short time.  My question will be, ‘How did I make it through so quickly?’  I will not know how I have gotten through the trials except by faith in God that He has accomplished what He has promised.”

—Rebekah

 

Get to know Him!

How can we learn to trust God as my daughter trusted her dad?  We have to come to the point that we don’t fear God.  And the kind of fear I am talking about is the fear that He won’t take care of us.  We have to come to the point that we trust Him fully and there is only one way.  In order for us to trust anyone, we have to get to know him or her.  We have to know that God has our best interest in mind and the only way that this can happen is to spend time in prayer and in His Word.

You may be saying, “That is what you always say.”  And you are right.  There is no other answer in life.  We have to have an intimate relationship with Him.  And the devil does everything in his power to keep us from spending time with God.  It doesn’t matter what he can distract us with, he will distract.  Often times he uses good things because we seem to be able to justify it more.

It may seem at times, as we go through difficulties that God is not there.  But what we need to realize is that when we are going through our most difficult times He is carrying us, and we can rest in Him.  At those times we have to claim His promises and not go by how we feel.

This is a poem that I have always loved.  It really brings it home.

 

FOOTPRINTS

“One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene, he noticed two sets of

footprints in the sand: one belonging

to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of

his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very

lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he

questioned the LORD about it:

“LORD, you said that once I decided to follow

you, you’d walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most

troublesome times in my life,

there is only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why when

I needed you most you would leave me.”

The LORD replied:

“My son, my precious child,

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson

 

Dear Father,

Thank You that You are always there for us.  I pray that we will realize our need to stay so connected with You that You will carry us.  Forgive us for getting caught up with the things of this world and neglecting time with You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give yourself to God each day and trust His leading.

Love you all!

Do you remember being carried by your dad, whether you were hiking or being brought in from the car after a trip?  What lesson can you draw from it?

 

 

 

Posted on

“He Was Healed?!!”

How often have you seen a miracle?

Sometimes I think there are many miracles that happen around us but we don’t seem to pay attention.  It needs to be something big to draw our attention away from the things that we think is “important”.  When a big miracle happens we forget the blessings of the Lord.  It is like it is just expected that He should do it.

I remember when my son was in India.  He had gotten very sick.  The people that were with him felt he may die.  My son was even ready to give up the fight.  But then a local pastor came by and he was asked to have an anointing of healing as state in James 5:14 & 15.  Many prayed that night and there was a miraculous healing.  The tenancy is to forget these things.  Yes, we know that it happened but as time passes we forget.

The Bible

I have been reading through the Bible and it amazes me what miracles God did for different people and how easily they forgot.  There are a two that stand out to me.  One was the Children of Israel.  The Lord did mighty miracles for them and they were happy when the miracles came but they quickly forgot them.  Secondly, I have been reading about the life of Christ.  Jesus had crowds that followed Him.  When He performed a miracle the people were so amazed.  It is like they were so amazed every time as if He had not already performed a miracle before.

What about us?

It makes me think of myself.  How do I do at remembering the miracles that God has done for me?  He does little miracles for me every day but I tend to shrug it off as if that is just the normal expected thing.  I mean it is His job right?  And then when there is a big one, like my son being healed, it amazes me and I tend to share it more often.  But there again as time passes I forget.  And then when things seem to be going wrong I get into a frenzy forgetting what God is capable of if I just allow Him and trust His ways. And I tend to share the big miracles but don’t consider the little ones worth sharing. But the reality is they are all a blessing.

How much faith do I need?

Matthew 17:20 says, “…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”  Wow, I don’t have much faith.  It doesn’t take much faith to accomplish mighty things.

We are told, “But without faith, it is impossible to please God…”Hebrews 11:6. So I can’t even please God unless I have faith?  I think there are two aspects to think about.  One is unless our obedience to God is due to our faith in Him, trusting that He knows what is best for us, we can’t really please God with our obedience.  Secondly, as we are living in obedience to God through faith diligently seeking Him, His power will be made manifest through us.  We will have a testimony to share of how God has been faithful.  And not only that He has been faithful but that He has been faithful in the little things in life as well as the big things.

How can I strengthen my faith?

I believe a key way to strengthen our faith is to pay close attention to how God is working in our lives and be willing to acknowledge it no matter how small.  As we see the Lord working each day in our lives and we take it to heart our faith will grow by leaps and bounds.  And journaling how God has been faithful can help us during those times of forgetfulness.  The more we seek God and allow Him to work within our lives we will grow in faith.

Dear Father,

Increase our faith.  We can all struggle with not having the faith and trust in You that we should have.  Continue to draw our hearts to Your love and strength.  Help us all to move forward in faith without fear.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

In faith, take God at His Word.  He is more powerful to save than any other, so trust Him today.

Love you all.

What has happened in your life that has helped your faith to grow?

 

Posted on

“I Made a Commitment, Now What?!!!”

Have you ever made a commitment to do something?  Maybe you committed to meet with a friend.  Or maybe you committed to doing something with your son or daughter.  Or maybe you have committed to giving money to someone or even God.  How well do you keep your commitments?

We need to be cautious about making commitments.  I think it is important to really think through the commitments that we plan to make because what we commit to we should follow through with.  The other thing is that when we make a commitment we need to leave self out of it.  Are we committing to this for us or for them, or for some advantage or maybe even a blessing?

It makes me think about tithe paying.  I have a conviction to pay tithe and offerings through my local church.  It helps to pay my pastor, help missionaries, pay for Christian teachers, etc.  But why do I do it?  Do I do it because I want the Lord to bless me?  Or do I do it because I love the Lord and I want to support His cause to save souls?  The motive is so important.  I want to be motivated by love for God.

The reason I do pay is that God has asked me to.  Yes, I want to be blessed as well but I realize that His blessing may not be monetary, which I am perfectly happy with.  I also realize that obeying the Lord does not always bring “peace”.  I want to clarify.  We can have peace in obeying God but we may not have “peace”.  When we obey God, Satan does not like it and he is going to bring trials and storms our way.  But the blessing is that, as we trust God we can have peace knowing that we are in harmony with God and His Word as we go through the storms.

We have been struggling financially for quite a few years.  During that time we got ourselves into a lot of credit card debt.  Last year we went to a Dave Ramsey Seminar for the second time.  This time my husband really got on board.  We have been doing the Snowball Method for our debt, which has been working very slowly.  There are also those bills that end up “falling below the line”; if you have been through Dave Ramsey’s Seminar you know what I am talking about.

We also owed a lot of taxes this year.  When you get into a lot of credit card debt the government doesn’t take that into account.  So you work hard to make more money in order to pay off the credit cards and the government considers you making more so they charge you more taxes and the vicious cycle goes on.  So this year we owed more taxes and had to put in an extension.  We finally filed Oct. 15 and paid what we could toward the taxes.  We had to step out in faith because we really did not have the money to pay and still pay our bills.

We have recently started another business.  It is a water loss business.  The basics are, you get a leak that floods your house or business, we come in and extract and dry it out.  Right after we stepped out in faith to pay the majority of our taxes we got a big water job call.  Praise the Lord!  We are still praying in Faith that we will get paid right away for the job.  These insurance jobs can take up to 4 months to be paid but we know God can make it quicker.  We have seen Him do it.

There is another thing that I stepped out in faith and did a couple of weeks ago.  I received my check from where I work.  I work part-time and I have mostly been using that money for anything you would buy at a store, food and such, whatever the household needs are.  As I shared above I have a commitment to paying tithe and offering.  I also decided to commit the same percentage that I give to the Lord to put toward my smallest credit card to get it paid off, the Snowball Method.  So I figured it all out and submitted the payment to my church for the Lord and paid an extra amount toward my lowest credit card.  A few days later my boss called me in to talk to me and let me know he was giving me a dollar raise.  Wow!  The blessings of the Lord are so wonderful.

It can be hard to step out in faith not knowing the outcome.  And we still don’t know how we will make it for the next day, week, or month.  Is it scary? Yes!  But as I continue to give it to the Lord and let Him work out the details, is so much better than trying to make it happen myself.  As long as we are doing our part we have to let God do the rest or it will destroy us physically, emotionally, spiritually, and maybe even financially.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your blessings.   To be honest it is really a struggle to trust You.  Thank You for Your patience with us.  Continue to guide and lead us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Do your part today and give the rest to God.  He will see you through.

Do you have a story to share?  How has God blessed you when you stepped out in faith?  I would love to hear your story.  It is always encouraging to hear others faith stories.

Posted on

“Are You Going To Help Me??!!”

Have you ever felt like you really needed help but no matter how desperate you were no one would step forward and help you?  The One you know that can really help you seems to be silent about the whole matter.  You’re praying and praying but it seems your prayers are not going anywhere.  Then, if your like me the “why” question starts to occur.

It is funny how that is.  You know how children are; they are constantly asking the question “why”.  I remember how annoyed I would get at times with the whys.  I tried not to show it to my children but nonetheless I still would get to the point where I was struggling with always answering those questions.  I have discovered I am just like a child with God.  He knows way better than any earthly parent and I still ask why.

I was so grateful to the Lord when He provided a job that I so desperately needed.  They hired me on a temporary bases.  They liked my work.  They told me that they would call me in every time they had extra work and needed help.  I told the Lord I would take this job and rely on Him to provide the work I needed.  It was busy for a while and then things dried up.

At first when I was out of work for just a few days it was no big deal, I trusted the Lord.  But as a few days went into more days I was frustrated.  Then came the question why.

If we could only know the end from the beginning as God does.  But the reality is human nature is never satisfied.  All God wants from us is our whole heart.  He wants us to put full trust in Him that He is working out all things for our good.  He wants to create in us, patience. We live in a society that says give me what I want and give it to me now.  I don’t think we consciously think about it but we want God to be like a fast food restaurant.  I want to ask for my order and drive to the window and get the answer and it better be what I ordered not what God thinks I should have.

As I was struggling with the “why” I started thinking of things I wanted to do.  But if they called me in to work I would not be able to do them.  So at that point I even had the feeling that maybe I didn’t want to even keep praying for work to come in.  At that point I just let go of it and thought if I am supposed to do some of these things that I want to do no work will come but if not work will come.  I finally let go.

A couple of days later I went in to pick up my check and my boss offered me a part-time position.  Wow!  From coming in when needed to actually being hired to work part-time.  I realized the Lord knew what He was doing all along.  He gave me the time I needed to get familiar with the line of work, in coming in when needed, to prepare me for the part-time work.

I shake my head at myself.  Why do I keep doing this?  How many times does the Lord need to keep sending me through these things before I get it?

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your patience and for Your willingness to not give up on me.  Forgive me for my lack of faith in what You are trying to accomplish in my life.  Thank You for Your unfailing love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep trusting Jesus with your life and if you do fail to trust, don’t give up and keep going.

Do you have an experience that you can share about trusting God?  Please share I would love to hear your experiences.