Even So, It is Well With My Soul

The Lord has been so very kind to me over the past few weeks. Every day that goes by I become more aware that the Lord knew I needed these few weeks not just for physical rest, but to find rest in my soul. He has been so kind to meet me even during the most painful times of recovery. I have been overwhelmed by caring words and encouraging e-mails!

I will be the first person to say that the Lord most certainly does use pain and suffering to draw us closer to Himself. How gracious of Him to shower so many blessing upon my life.

During my recovery time I’ve been going through a study titled “Nurturing a Heart of Humility” by Elizabeth George. The study is on the life of Mary and her example of humility. This morning I read through Luke 1:46-55 and was inspired by Mary’s example of magnifying the Lord through prayer. Her prayer overflows with information about God and the wonderful things He does for us!

“A heart of humility is a heart that prays…”

Mary’s Example:

Luke 1:46-55- “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. God behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the might from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Let Your Requests Be Made Known to God

Psalm 94:17-18, 22- “If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up….The Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”

Because we’re not all-wise or omnipotent, none of us know what our futures hold. For me, not knowing what my future holds or what the outcome of a situation will be can become, at times, a temptation to worry or fear. What God has taught me over the past few years is the precious truth that He is good and that He DOES release us from trials and tribulations in His perfect timing. Whether it’s God’s will to calm our storm or add another dimension to it, we don’t know. What we can be sure of, though, is that when we approach our gracious Father with prayer and praise, we’ll be freed from all our fears, and we’ll know the guarding power of His love, as Paul reminded the Philippians….

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7)

Charles Spurgeon said, “There is no place to which you can be banished where God is not near, and there is no time of day or night when His throne is inaccessible. The caves have heard best prayer. Some of God’s people shine brightest in the dark.”

For This is The Will of The Lord

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18- "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

The verse above has been playing over and over again in my head recently. As I’ve meditated on it God has been good to show me areas I’ve been lacking in. I pray you find the following breakdown helpful. I know I’ve been convicted!

“Rejoice ALWAYS” This is a very clear command. There is no option set forth. It doesn’t say rejoice when we feel like it. It says rejoice always! Rejoice in all situations! We are to rejoice every second of our days whether we want to or not. For “this is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24) As I mentioned yesterday, something I’ve been learning recently is as I delight in the Lord, I find joy in all the daily tasks of life and what a difference it makes in my days! It’s not just an “I’m in a good mood joy”, but a lasting joy from the Lord!

Philippians 4:4- Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, REJOICE!”

“Pray without ceasing” So many times I’ve been convicted of my lack of faith when praying. There have been times when praying that I’ve doubted God is really listening or that He would even want to answer my prayers, especially if it’s something I’ve been praying about for a long time. BUT God is always kind to extend grace and remind me that I am to pray without ceasing! We are to trust that God will heal, trust that He will provide, trust that all His ways and timing is perfect and have faith for the things that we cannot see. We are to walk by faith, not by sight! (2 Corinthians 5:7) Father forgive me for the times I haven’t trusted in Your Sovereignty and the times I haven’t been faithful to pray without ceasing! Thank you for the grace you extend to me over and over again every time I fail to walk by faith.

“Give thanks in ALL circumstances” This is pretty clear! We are to give thanks in every single circumstance of life; even the ones we think are bad. Something I try to remind myself of daily is even when I think something isn’t going well (Sitting in traffic, bad day at work, car breaks down, etc.) God does! He has planned out every step we take! He has ordained that we face difficult circumstances because they are for our good and His glory and we are to give thanks and rejoice through them!

“For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” It isn’t very often that I think of rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks as something the Lord wills. I’ve thought/think about them quite a bit but haven’t thought much about when we don’t rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks at all times it is going against the will of the Lord. Thank you Lord for revealing this to me!

Here is the last bunch of ski trip pictures... Hope you've enjoyed them!

Prayer for Growth

David Prayed: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11)

And : “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4)

We should pray the same thing! If we are committed to the practice of godliness, our prayer life will reflect it. We will be regularly asking God to increase our fear of Him, to deepen our understanding of His love for us, and to heighten our desire for His fellowship.

Jesus said: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

The Lord's Prayer Part 3

I decided it would take a little too long to get through the entire “Lord’s prayer” that Elizabeth Elliot has summed up so greatly in doing it step by step every day, sooo… here is the rest of it broken down.

Hallowed Be Thy Name:
"God longs for his children to be actively involved with him through prayer. Because he loves us, he gives us a part to play in hallowing his name here on earth."

Thy Kingdom Come:
"As you lay your individual prayers before God, you do so recognizing that the answer has to fit the coming of the kingdom and the holiness of his name."

Thy Will Be Done on Earth As It Is in Heaven:
"Jesus teaches us to pray for the coming of the kingdom in the only way the kingdom can possibly come: through the doing of the Father’s will. As we learn to live more intimately with him, it will become our sole object in life. In every act that accords with his will, we are also hallowing his name."

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread:
"The humble business of ordinary food necessities reminds us of our utter dependence on God. To him nothing is trivial or important, nothing small or great, for he is all and fills all in all."

Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass against Us:
"God must often delay the answer to our prayers for special guidance because we have already chosen a path of disobedience. When this happens, we must repent, which means to turn around. Go back to the point of departure. Then pray to be shown the path of God’s will."

Lead Us Not into Temptation but Deliver Us from Evil:
"Temptation is not in itself a sin. Satan uses it to cause us to sin. God’s purpose in allowing it is to test our faith, and his Word even tell us to welcome it (James 1:2-3)"

Who Art in Heaven

Psalm 139:13-16-“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully make. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. You eyes saw my unformed substance; in you book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were not of them.”

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.

“The Father to whom we come is in heaven. We are on earth, where there are so many divergent pathways, such potential for choosing the wrong one. The mystery of prayer brings the finite into contact with the infinite, the temporal with the eternal, the seen with the unseen. This is a great comfort when we are asking to be shown what to do, for while we look at our own small world and the particular perplexity that brings us to the Father’s knee, our minds fogged with doubts, anxieties, and frightening pictures of what the future may hold, he can see the end form the beginning. He is like the captain on the bridge who can see what the man in the engine room cannot. The far horizons, the positions of the stars, the direction of the wind are all known to the one who is in charge. Our heavenly Father knows every inch of our earthly journeys, sees it whole, has been over the course himself, and say to us, ‘fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)’”

Daily Bible Verse:

Psalm 115:3-“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

The Lord’s Prayer

I’ve been reading a book titled, “God’s Guidance” by Elisabeth Elliot and she has broken down the Lord’s Prayer into deep depth and detail. I thought that a thoughtful consideration of the words in this prayer would be helpful to some.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.

“Our Father”

“When we address God we address the Creator of the Universe, the Ancient of days, the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty God. The thought of him should inspire awe and reverence. But he is also the Everlasting Father. Jesus taught his desciples to call him our Father. If we trust the Son who died for us and come to the Father aware of our need of his grace, we may take our position before him as a child, not knowing what is best for us but come asking to be shown what to do. It is merely a request, not a demand, and can be granted of refused. Surely any father would look tenderly on a child’s desire to be shown what to do. He will show him.

Our Father God is love, essential love, and therefore cannot possibly desire for his child anything but what is best.

He is all-wise and therefore knows just what that best is.
He is all-powerful and therefore can give what he wants to give.
His timing, his way of showing, and the things shown may not be at all according to the child’s expectations. But never mind. The Father will give all the help his child needs, he will take him by the hand and the child will learn.”

Daily Bible Verse:

Psalm 73:25-26-" Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart my fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."