We have been fed the idea that, if we are suffering, we necessarily must be doing something wrong, or that we deserve, and have been promised, a pain-free life because we are Christ-followers. God has promised no such thing. God's people can and do suffer - they always have, and they will until Jesus returns.
Evening, May 11 - Charles Haddon Spurgeon “Only be thou strong and very courageous.” Joshua 1:7 Our God’s tender love for his servants makes him concerned for the state of their inward feelings. He desires them to be of good courage. Some esteem it a small thing for a believer to be vexed with doubts and …
"Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing:" Psalm 31:9-10 Psalms Chapter 31
Knowing God, pursuing an accurate knowledge of His Word, and believing what He has said, clarifies our perspective and gives us the eyes of gratitude that see His loving hand in all things. For the hurting heart, this is the way of peace.
Kincaid Park, Anchorage, Alaska “How are you doing?” There are no words in any language that are sufficient to the task of expressing what I am experiencing. That is why, in some cultures, the women wail when someone dies. Even wailing is inadequate. There are some things that cannot be halved by sharing them. Grief …
Let, then, this triumphant language be ours. “I shall come forth as gold” is not the language of carnal boasting, but the confidence of one whose mind was stayed upon God. There will be no credit to our account—the glory will all belong to the divine Refiner.
More lines as seen through Hans' eyes... Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Job 38:4-5 Weekly Photo Challenge:Lines
Hans took many of his photos while he was away working. Log homes have lots of lines. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest …
Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines
It’s not that sorrow wears off, or grieving gets easier. It’s just that you come to an awareness that sorrow is not getting you anywhere. Slowly, you realize your tears will not bring your child back. The churning rawness begins to level off, not because the pain is less, but because you become too worn …
Continue reading Another Day Closer
There is a needs-be for our “trials,” and therefore we are to think them not strange—we should expect them.
C.H. Spurgeon | Morning, April 20th (excerpts) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”— Hebrews 2:14 O child of God, death hath lost its …
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.Psalm 139:5 I do not believe in accidents. If I thought the crash was “just an accident”, a freak chance event, I might just lose myself in despair, in the pointlessness of it. It would take an impossible amount of faith for me …
Continue reading An Act of Love and Sovereign Purpose
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. Genesis 1:20 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his …
Continue reading WP Photo Challenge: Prolific
Which way are you taking—the narrow way that leadeth unto life or the broad road that leadeth to destruction? Make certain on this point, dear friend.
If it "shall be" well, then it "is well" even now. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him. Isaiah 3:10 It is well with the righteous always. If it had said, “Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity,” we must have been thankful …
Continue reading It Shall Be Well | Evening – C.H. Spurgeon
You Can Trust Him 