Not our home!

As your days--so shall your strength be!

(James Smith, "Comfort for Christians!")
"As your days--so shall your strength be!" Deuteronomy 33:25
Here is a precious promise for a trying day! It belongs to every Christian who is traveling to the Celestial City. It provides for every part of life's journey; for every day--as each day may require.
It is especially suited to the dark days, the wintry days, and the trying days--when all our earthly props fail us; the days when our fellow man cannot help us.
Fellow pilgrim! Are you dispirited, depressed, and cast down? Are you looking back upon the past with sorrow--and forward into the future with fear? Cheer up! The Lord will not lay on you more than He will enable you to bear--nor will He allow any other to do so.
However weak you may feel in yourself,
however rough the road you may need to travel,
however heavy the burden you may have to carry--
God will supply you with sufficient strength for the day!
He has never allowed you to be crushed yet, though you may have staggered under some heavy burdens. He who has helped you in the past--is still your helper today. He will also help you in all thefuture. "As your days"--be they as troublesome as they may--"so shall your strength be."
Whether your day brings life or death, joy or trial--it does not matter. God will send you exactly what you need to pass through it! Do not look at your trials, do not dwell on your inability--but lay hold on the promises of God and seek His grace to exercise faith in Him.
Then let Satan suggest what he pleases, or the flesh object as it may--you will be able to say, "I will not fear; for as my day--so shall my strength be. He who has promised--will also fulfill His promise."
Blessed Lord, I praise You for this precious promise! Help, oh, help me to trust in it; and day by day asduty or trials may require--enable me to look to You and expect sufficient strength from You!
"On the day I called--You answered me; You increased strength within me!" Psalm 138:3
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PRESSED BEYOND MEASURE

by David Wilkerson

Perhaps like Paul, you are being pressed beyond measure, tested beyond your
endurance. Your strength is nearly gone, and you are on the brink of giving up.
You want to run, but there is no place to go. Now you say with Paul, "This is
above my strength!"

So, what is the way to victory? All I can tell you is how God continues to
bring me out. Here are two important truths He has given me:

1. Don't think you are experiencing some strange, unique battle. On the
contrary, you are in good company. Recall Job, Jeremiah, Elijah, David, Paul
— even me. What you are going through is common to believers throughout the
centuries.

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may
be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

2. When you think you can't go on another hour — when everything looks
absolutely hopeless — cry out to God with all that is in you, "Lord, help!"
Consider the counsel of the psalmist in the following verses:

* "As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for
there were many with me" (Psalm 55:16-18).
* "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my
fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my
buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. . . . In my distress
I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his
temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears" (18:1-2, 6).
* "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou
hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should
not go down to the pit" (30:2-3).

Here is a key verse: "For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor
also, and him that hath no helper" (72:12). Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to
be your helper and He will not turn a deaf ear to your cry for help

Embracing What We Have Left

^{Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eater, the creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust. my great army which I sent among you You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you; then my people will never be put to shame. Joel 2:25-26}

It was an interesting conversation.

"You know, after Julie died - I wanted to die, too. There was so much pain. I didn't think I could make it through another day. Yet, morning after morning, I woke up. It finally dawned on me that if I was waking up day after day, God must want me here and I need to embrace the days I have left."

That was my family doctor/friend confiding in me about how he was doing since the death of his wife. She died four years ago - about the same time my dad died. They were in the same hospice center and their deaths are kind of a shared pain.

After I got home I started thinking about my own life since my diagnoses. I remember going to an Invisible Illness online conference where one of the speakers was talking about looking your best, making your best efforts to live as healthy a life as you can.

I was mad. Didn't this gal know I was SICK? Why act like I was ok?

Four years later .... I, too, finally get it.

Yes, there have been huge losses. Huge. Yes, there is pain. Yes, sometimes I wake up wondering why I have woken up to emptiness.

I am (and I think, slowly have been) awakening to the realization that I, like my doctor friend, need to embrace the days I have left.

I don't have the time to waste on pity parties (ok, maybe once in a while), I need to get on with what there is left for me to do. I think that is part of my writing - encouraging others is something to embrace.

It's part of my excitement at learning to do my tiny little pastel paintings. No, I can't do all I want to, and yes, I know that summer is the good time of year for me. So, I take advantage of the warmth.

I feel as if I need to make up for all the lost days, weeks, and years that have been lost to me.

I also know that only God can make me feel this way. As I embrace the time I have with Him each day - create my own little morning routine of spending time with Him, my life brightens. The music I want to play changes. My whole attitude begins to shift.

I can continue to mourn the past that has been more than adequately mourned - or embrace whatever time I have left and live this life the best I can, knowing God is helping me each step of the way.

Father God, I pray for encouragement for each reader, that when the time is right and their mourning days are over, they will embrace each day they have left finding all the joy in it they possibly can as you restore to them, the lost days. Amen and amen

http://www.pathways4change.org/todaysencouragingwordonline.com/encouraging-words-blog/embracing-what-we-have-left.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pathwaysforchange%2FfGJE+%28Encouraging+words%29

Stress, Anyone?

worry/stress

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.
Psalm 94:18-20

If patience is the most difficult thing I struggle with, I think anxiety can run a close second. I love what this verse says - not if ... but *when* my anxious thoughts multiply, my consolation will come from God. And not only will I be consoled - my soul will delight in those consolations.

Sometimes my world seems to call out, "Look to God. Look to God. Look to God."

Someone asked me the other day why I thought God allowed difficult times in our lives. I think that is a question we all ask at one time or another. I though about it for a while and though the thought wasn't well-formed, said this:

"What a bunch of self-centered, egotistical people we would be. If we never knew adversity, we'd never learn gratitude. If we never had bad times, we'd never come to cherish the good ones. We'd have no need for God."

I know I need God when my anxieties get out of control. I have to look to Him, acknowledge that He is still in control. I have to grow my faith, bit by bit. I have to trust. I have to pull myself out of the land of "what if," and simply let go of the outcome. I'm not saying I don't do the things I need to do for whatever the situation is - but I do what I believe God is saying is my part - and let go.

Letting go means putting no expectations on that outcome. I have come to know things won't always turn out the way I want them to, or the way I expect - but I do know nothing takes God by surprise. I know He can take any and every situation and bring good from it. His plan is larger than mine.

When I can relax in that, I can let go of the anxieties that plague me. I can find God. And I can delight in the fact that He is the one who will console me - no matter what comes across my path.

Father God, Thank you that you have everything covered. There is nothing about our situation that takes You by surprise. Thank you that you have created our world so that we realize our need for You, and You will be by our side in each and every situation. Amen and amen.

http://www.pathways4change.org/todaysencouragingwordonline.com/encouraging-words-blog/stress-anyone.html

Testing, Testing ... (Yes, this is a post!)

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction." Exodus 16:4

I'm sure you've seen and heard them. You know, those tests by the emergency broadcast systems on TV. The screen gets a pattern on it and you hear beeping sounds. "This is a test of the emergency broadcast system. Had it been a real emergency you would have been given instructions to ..." and it goes on.

As I am reading/listening through the Bible, the verse in Exodus stood out. It got me to wondering ... is this life a test? Am I to be tested on what I know? Are the events in my life opportunities to show God I have learned the lessons?

I think of when my daughter and her unborn child were killed. Was that an opportunity to prove I had learned the lessons of trust?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

When I have been in situations when it would have been easy to judge and condemn, were those opportunities to prove I had learned the lessons of love?

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Luke 6:35

When I had the opportunities to go my own way and do my own thing after promising to others, were they chances to show I had learned the lessons of faithfulness?

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

When everything looks dark and bleak around me, are they really opportunities to show I have learned the lessons of hope?

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

The list goes on.

What an interesting twist as to how we look at the difficult events in our lives. Are they opportunities to trust? To love? To be faithful? To hope?

As we travel with Him day by day, learning the lessons He has for us, of one thing we can be assured:

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. 1 Peter 4:19

Even when it's bad ... there is good.

Oh, and about feeling you fail at a testing?

This is the opportunity to show you remember:

"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Father God, Help us as we go about this day to remember the things you have shown us, told us, and done for us so that present ourselves approved by You. Amen and amen.

(Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15)

http://www.pathways4change.org/todaysencouragingwordonline.com/encouraging-words-blog/

Get Up…Fill Up…Go

Discouragements and hurts can always slow you down in life. If conscious efforts are not taken, one can brood over them and forget the whole purpose of life. People often have the tendency to stay on where they are hurt..they think and rethink the reason behind it..but they forget that its one of Satan’s ways to trap you from moving on with God’s purpose.

For today’s devotion, I would like you to read 1 Samuel 16. There we see God asking Samuel “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”. We all know the context of this scripture. Samuel upon the will of God had anointed Saul as the King of Israel. But when he disobeyed God, HE removed him from his position. Saul had to pay a great price for his act of disobedience..his position and his kingdom.

From the day he anointed him as the King of Israel, he had high hopes about Saul. He never expected Saul to do something that is against the will of God. Samuel started mourning over Saul’s failures. God does not say…Do not mourn over Saul. He says, How long?? Many a times, just like Samuel, we mourn over situations…if only this would have never happened in my life….Am I a failure in my purpose? Now what?? There are a lot of unanswered questions that reign our mind as long as we are there in that same spot.

But God is asking Samuel to get up, fill his horn and go. How do you think that this is the end of Israel’s Kingdom? Samuel…God has someone in mind…But for that purpose to be fulfilled…you have to first GET UP from that place. ..the place you call yourself a failure..the place you lost all hopes…the place you were discouraged..the place where someone failed your expectations.

When you are downhearted and low, your vision is just around those circumstances….you cannot see anything beyond..but as soon as you get up…your vision changes…now you are able to see over your problems. Now is the time to FILL UP your horn..you cannot just go without the oil in the horn…you need a special anointing to move on…to forget the past and to move forward…you need this oil to seek His will in your next steps…You need this special anointing to see God’s chosen purpose.

Samuel reached Jesse’s house and saw David’s elder brothers one by one…They were all well built and fit for a king..But God told him that they were not the one..This special anointing made him think beyond the normal and wait for the right one…When the right one did not appear, this anointing send forth for him from the fields and brought him to the house…When the right one appeared..this anointing had to be poured upon the chosen…to be the KING.

When you take the efforts to get up from that situation of yours, God wants you to go out for his purpose. But before that, he needs you to fill up your horn. He wants you to be filled by the Holy Spirit..He wants you to carry a special anointing for the task ahead. You need this special anointing to bring forth few from the forests…from the fields…from the unexpected places and anoint them as the chosen…to be the sons and daughters of the Kingdom…as the chosen generation..as the heirs of heavenly riches.

The next step is to GO with the anointing you received. The way ahead may not be very clear and well described. But God will guide you in every step of your ways and lead you to the right places. He will protect you from all your fears and direct you to His perfect will.

Today, God wants to tell you..”Stop mourning over your yesterdays. Get Up…Fill Up..and GO.”

God Bless,

Rani John

http://springsinthedesert.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/get-upfill-upgo/

PBPGITWWMY

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 New International Version)

No – my cat did not just walk across the top of my computer keyboard. Those are letters I saw on a button worn by a gal at the store. Curious, I had to ask her what it stood for. She grinned as she replied, “Please be patient, God isn’t through working with me yet.”

She and I laughed a bit about it, agreeing that is such a true statement. It seems that once folks know you are a “Christian,” there is somehow the expectation that you will have it all together and be … well … perfect.

I think at one time or another we have all been guilty of assuming that of a fellow believer.

What really strikes me though, is how patient are those of us with chronic illnesses and challenges with ourselves? Seems to me that we are harder on ourselves than anyone else.

Sometimes we complain. Sometimes we are angry with God. Sometimes we want to give up.

I wonder if we realize that God isn’t through working with us yet, either. The race is not over – we still have lessons to learn and ways to grow.

Living this life is difficult. Anyone who says otherwise has probably not had a good taste of what the day-in and day-out issues are like. Yet, somehow, it seems we beat ourselves up when we don’t react the way we think we ought to.

I’m not saying use our illnesses as an excuse for ungodly behavior. Not at all. I am saying that, when we hit those bumps in the road, the times of feat, doubt, and anger – that we turn back to God realizing we’ve not reacted as we could have, but also realizing that God is simply showing us another area we need to work on.

I think I need an internal button to wear:

“Please be patient with yourself, deni – God isn’t through working with you yet.”

And my beloved readers … He’s not through working with you yet, either.

Father God, I pray you help us to be as kind and understanding of ourselves as we are to others. Grant us the ability to see that you are working in our lives and to appreciate how far we have already come. Help us to realize that You are the perfecter of our faith. Amen and amen.

Allow God To Lead You Out of the Desert When Illness Makes You Want to Give Up !

“But He brought His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the desert.” (Psalm 78:52)

I have made a number of drives over to Phoenix, from San Diego. It is dry and hot, yet before you reach the desert you go over mountains. I always think about the settlers who came through these difficult paths to reach San Diego and eventually settle there. How many horses were injured? How many wheels on covered wagon broken? How many people buried those they loved along that trail?

But even more interesting to me is the question, did those who built a homestead out in the desert ever regret that they stopped? “Why didn’t you keep going?” I want to ask. “Did you send out a scout and he never returned? Did you begin to believe the Pacific Ocean didn’t exist or was months away by foot?”

How many families had to make the difficult choice between stopping and being assured they would have food and shelter, versus continuing on, not knowing what lay over those hills. More hills, famine, or sickness? Who made it to the ocean and, though their bodies ached and even suffered some permanent disabilities, they sat by the ocean and were in awe about God’s creation of the sea?

Living a life full of chronic illness we face daily struggles, infections, side effects, and life-risking choices more frequently than most people. When we hit that desert in our life, it is tempting to just sit down and say, “Lord, I can’t go another step. I am done.”

Rather than giving up, however, give in. Give in to accepting the strength God offers when your own is completely depleted. If you sit down in the desert and just give up, you will surely never feel the ocean breeze, see the power of the Lord in those waves. Keep on going until you reach the place where you can sit down and say, “Thank You, Lord. We made it. I have reached a place of joy despite the ache of my bones.”

Whenever I am feeling weak, tired, and wondering where God is in it all, I go to the ocean. Fortunately, I have always lived within an hour of the Pacific Ocean. Even in my earliest days of being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I remember feeling pulled to the shores to talk to the Lord about my future.

Don’t give up and live in the desert of life. Instead, give in and accept Jesus’ hand as He pulls you to the seashore.

Prayer: Lord, it is so hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other most days and I know I cannot do it on my own. Help me when I feel like giving up. When I am tempted to just give in and cancel all my plans and live in isolation, don’t allow me to get stuck here. Amen.

You can now read this on your Kindle. Find out more athttp://TodaysDevotionOnKindle.com

Our Dependency on Christ

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 7:5

"We are troubled on every side" (2 Cor. 7:5).

Why should God have to lead us thus, and allow the pressure to be so hard and constant? Well, in the first place, it shows His all-sufficient strength and grace much better than if we were exempt from pressure and trial. "The treasure is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

It makes us more conscious of our dependence upon Him. God is constantly trying to teach us our dependence, and to hold us absolutely in His hand and hanging upon His care.

This was the place where Jesus Himself stood and where He wants us to stand, not with self-constituted strength, but with a hand ever leaning upon His, and a trust that dare not take one step alone. It teaches us trust.

There is no way of learning faith except by trial. It is God's school of faith, and it is far better for us to learn to trust God than to enjoy life.

The lesson of faith once learned, is an everlasting acquisition and an eternal fortune made; and without trust even riches will leave us poor. --Days of Heaven upon Earth

"Why must I weep when others sing?
'To test the deeps of suffering.'
Why must I work while others rest?
'To spend my strength at God's request.'
Why must I lose while others gain?
'To understand defeat's sharp pain.'
Why must this lot of life be mine
When that which fairer seems is thine?
'Because God knows what plans for me
Shall blossom in eternity.'"

Trust Amid the Silence

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: Zephaniah 3:17-17 Matthew 15:23-23

"He answered her not a word"

(Matt. 15:23).

"He will be silent in his love"
(Zeph. 3:17).
It may be a child of God is reading these words who has had some great crushing sorrow, some bitter disappointment, some heart-breaking blow from a totally unexpected quarter. You are longing for your Master's voice bidding you "Be of good cheer," but only silence and a sense of mystery and misery meet you--"He answered her not a word."

God's tender heart must often ache listening to all the sad, complaining cries which arise from our weak, impatient hearts, because we do not see that for our own sakes He answers not at all or otherwise than seems best to our tear-blinded, short-sighted eyes.

The silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His speech and may be a sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and of a deep purpose of blessing for you.

"Why art thou cast down, O...soul?" Thou shalt yet praise Him, yes, even for His silence. Listen to an old and beautiful story of how one Christian dreamed that she saw three others at prayer. As they knelt the Master drew near to them.

As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music.

Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval.

The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance. The woman in her dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.

"I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?" As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall.

"The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do.

"The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service.

"She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel;--because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.

"I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth."

He "will do marvels" if you will learn the mystery of His silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts that you may better know and love the Giver. --Selected

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