Obtaining Mercy

 

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.

 

 

"Christ would not test us if He did not see the precious ore of faith mingled in the rocky matrix of our nature;

"And it is to bring this out into purity and beauty that He forces us through the fiery ordeal." ~from Tried by Fair, via Streams in the Desert

 

 "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:8-10

 

We often do not see our own worth as God sees it. 

We must trust, as Job did, that even when we cannot see God's design, and we cannot feel His presence nor ascertain His plan, He is working to bring out the glorious glow of Christ-likeness in us.

The trials teach us what God knew all along:  we are created as a vessel of gold to be used by the Master.