"You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings"~L.B. Cowman
"Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me." Psalm 119:49-50
Let despair drive you to the Word.
Your faith will come alive as you trust in Him.
"He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on foot : there did we rejoice in him." Psalm 66:6
"How many there are who can endorse this as their experience:
that "there", in their very seasons of distress and sadness,
they have been enabled, as they never did before,
to triump and rejoice."
~Dr. Macduff, Streams in the Desert
No matter where your "there" is…you can rejoice in the Lord today.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
~Helen H. Lemmel
"…in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;" Isaiah 49:2
"The photograph of His face can only be fixed in the dark chamber.
"But do not suppose that He has cast thee aside. Thou art still in His quiver, He has not flung thee away as a worthless thing…" ~Meyer
Praise the Lord, He is holding me close, even in the darkness…I am hidden in His hand!
"Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon,
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." Luke 5:4
"How far have we advanced into this river of life? The Holy Sprit would have a complete self-effacement (modesty, constraint, humbleness, humility). Not merely ankle-deep, knee-deep, loin-deep, but self-deep." ~J.G.M., Streams in the Desert
"…and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles." Ezekiel 47:3b
"…and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees." Ezekiel 47:4b
"…and brought me through; the waters were to the loins." Ezekiel 47:4c
"…and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over…Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river." Ezekiel 47:5b, 6b
In every instance, no matter how deep the water, God brought Ezekiel through…even when the water became a raging river, he was "caused" to "return to the brink of the river."
No matter how deep, He is with us.
"How deep He does not say. The depth into which we launch will depend upon how perfectly we have given up the shore…
"Jesus bids us launch. He made us and He made the deep, and to its fathomless depths He has fitted our longings and capabilities." ~From Soul Food, Streams in the Desert
Have we given up the shore?
Have we launched out beyond our own abilities?
Are we "self-deep" in this river of God?
That gives me much to think on today. 🙂
"…let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually…" Hebrews 13:15a
"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;" II Corinthians 4:8
"These pains and troubles here are like the type wich the printers set; as they look now, we have to read them backwards, and they seem to have no sense or meaning in them;
but up yonder, when the Lord God prints us off in the life to come, we shall find they make brave reading." ~Martin Luther on his sickbed
"And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest…And now I exhort you to be of good cheer" Acts 27:18a, 22a
One day, we will know the truth about every storm, every pain, every trial that we went through here on earth; and it will all make sense.
We will see that God is a purposeful God. He wastes no pain. It all works for our good, and to His glory.
Keep on praising Him, my friend…even in the midst of your adversity!
When I read about the humaness of the disciples, I am encouraged.
They were confused by the words of Jesus:
"And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." Mark 9:10
They were inconsistent in their serving:
"And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?" Mark 9:28
They were afraid to ask Him questions:
"But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him." Mark 9:32
They were embarrassed by their desire for greatness:
"And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest." Mark 9:34
If Jesus used this group of men – with all their frailties and failures – to begin his earthly ministry, and later allowed them to continue that work as missionaries and preachers, I have no doubt that He can use us too.
His ministry through us is in direct proportion to our submission to Him.
As we surrender our confusion, our weakness, our fear and our pride, He will use us for His glory.
What weakness is stopping you from serving Him?
Surrender it…and enter in to the joy of serving Jesus!
This quote from Streams in the Desert really ministered to my heart today, along with this wonderful verse, that I have somehow overlooked before. I pray it is a blessing to you, too.
"And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true."
~John 10:41
"You may be very discontented with yourself.
You are no genuis, have no brilliant gifts,
and are inconspicuous for any special faculty.
Mediocrity is the law of your existence.
You days are remarkable for nothing,
but sameness and insipidity.
Yet you may live a great life…
"We are doing more good than we know, sowing seeds, starting streamlets, giving men true thoughts of Christ, to which they will refer one day as the first things that started them thinking of Him…" ~George Matheson
May we never fail to speak true things of our Saviour!
Obtaining Mercy 