"They that watch for providence will never want a providence to watch for." a proverb (Streams in the Desert)
"I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me…" Habakkuk 2:1
"Alas, a great many people play at praying. They do not expect God to give them an answer, and thus they are mere triflers. Our heavenly Father would have us do real business with Him in our prayer." ~C.H. Spurgeon
When you pray, do you really expect an answer???
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead Matthew 28:1-7
And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. Mark 16:2-6
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
And they remembered his words… Luke 24:1-8a
We can believe every promise that God ever made…
Because He did the greatest miracle ever known to man.
His resurrection gives us a greater hope than we can even comprehend.
Death – our greatest foe – has no power over our God.
Though we may walk through a valley in its very shadow, we have no cause for fear.
"…Death is swallowed up in victory." I Corinthians 15:54
"The Lord cannot do much with a crushed soul, hence the adversary's attempt to push the Lord's people into despair and hopelessness…" Streams in the Desert
Do you remember the story of Elisha and the king of Syria?
The king, tired of being thwarted in his battle plans by Elisha, sent out "horses, and chariots, and a great host" by night to camp around Elisha's town.
They had planned, no doubt, to destroy his entire city just to get rid of this man of God who "telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in the bedchamber."
Elisha's servant was an early riser, and as he went out, he discovered the huge army camped around them. He came to Elisha with the question,
"Alas, my master! how shall we do?"
(Can you sense the panic, the desparation, in his words? He thought they were doomed. He could not see a way out, and had no hope of a rescue.)
Elisha told him to not be afraid because the men who were for them were many more in number than the men who were battling for the king of Syria.
No doubt the servant was confused and dismayed by this answer, since all the fighting men were out fighting with the king of Israel.
Then Elisha asked the Lord to open the eyes of the servant, and when God did just that, the servant saw "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
Sometimes we see no hope in sight. We see no way for good to come out of the horrible reality that surrounds us.
We must remember that God has infinite and innumerable hosts camped around us.
He has not left us defenseless in the battle of life.
We have not been abandoned by His grace and mercy when our hearts are breaking.
God's plan is unfolding. His will is being done. He loving heart is preparing the way for His Glory to be shone in the midst of the turmoil surrounding us.
Father God, please open our eyes, so that we may see by the eye of faith, the path for victory and deliverance that You lay before us.
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Psalm 107:26-31
Negative thoughts get us nowhere.
"We can never see the sun rise by looking unto the west. " ~Japanese proverb, Streams in the Desert
When we keep our minds fixated on the pain, on the hurt, on the problem, we become powerless to see a way out.
We should dwell on the problem just long enough to identify a solution to that problem.
"A discouraged soul is helpless. He can neither resist the wiles of the enemy himself, while in this state, nor can he prevail in prayer for others…The very instant you wholeheartedly turn away from every symptom of distrust and discouragement, the blessed Holy Spirit will quicken your faith and inbreathe divine strength into your soul." ~Streams in the Desert
"For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." Hebrews 4:2
One of my favorite preachers, Bro. Cham McMillan, said it this way:
"God is full of solutions, and he is just looking for people to give them to."
That negative thought pattern in which we are indulging?
There is an answer, a solution, to it.
We will only find that answer when we wrench our thoughts away from the problem and begin to search by faith in God's Word for the solution.
"Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow." Isaiah 50:11
"Beloved, do not try to get out of a dark place, except in God's time and in God's way. The time of trouble is meant to teach you lessons that you sorely need…Just commit the whole situation to Him. Be willing to abide in darkness so long as you have His presence." ~from The Still Small Voice, Streams in the Desert
I know it's hard to be in the dark.
It is scary and time passes so slowly there.
But to try to "kindle a fire" so that you might walk yourself out of the darkness will not work. Your toiling and scheming will be counterproductive and your efforts will fail.
If the Lord has something to show you in the darkness, determine to know what it is and commit it to your heart and life. Stand still until He has shown you the part of His character that He wants you to know.
In His time, He will guide you out by His light of understanding and complete reliance upon Him. It will be a blessed time of intimacy with the Saviour.
If you want to know your God more, be still, even in the darkness.
His presence is enough to sustain you even there.
"And when they were gone over…" Matthew 14:34a
"Jesus Christ is no secutity against the storms, but He is perfect security in storms.
"He has never promised you an easy passage, only a safe landing." ~Streams in the Desert
"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.Are ye not much better than they?
"…Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Matthew 6:26, 28b,29
Trust
Lord, let me trust You.
You know what is best.
Lord, let me trust You,
Whether blessing or test.
I could demand sunshine
When I need the rain.
I might long for comfort
When my heart needs the pain.
You are my Father
In the day, in the night.
I know I can trust You
To give what is right.
My heart can rest easy,
When I don't see Your hand.
All things work together
As I follow Your plan.
I know I can trust You.
You know what is best.
I know I can trust You,
In Your will I rest.
We must…
Stop fighting. Stop demanding. Stop scheming.
We should…
Start trusting. Start believing. Start relying.
…And peace will follow.
Obtaining Mercy 