Walking with God
"We all know our peace comes not from how good our circumstances are but rather from how close we are walking with God. We all know life is hard and that we need Him daily. God is our run-to ... He is daily bread and He is faithful. He has never left us and never forsaken us. He is strength to go on no matter how crazy life gets. He has proven every word He says in His Bible true. He loves us with a perfect love, and He is hope when life seems hopeless." Kim Jaggers. Kim is a speaker and author who knows painfully well the mark suicide leaves. Her husband committed suicide 15 years ago.
Romans 8:26 - 39
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.God's Everlasting Love
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What circumstances in your life is God using to make you more like Jesus?
This weekend, Frank and I previewed the movie, "Soul Surfer." It's a movie many of you said you wanted to see, so we purchased it with the plan to have a movie night with all of you.
The movie was excellent. What impressed me more, however, was the personal video Bethany Hamilton (the soul surfer) and friends created, which is on the DVD under "extras." Weeks before Bethany lost her arm to a shark while surfing, she and her mother had been praying God would reveal His plan for Bethany's life. They were a committed Christian family and Bethany was at a crossroads of going the professional surfer circuit or something else. This 13 year old teenager did not become bitter nor angry towards God. She began to see God's plan for her life: to proclaim the name of Jesus and give Him the glory for her life. As her Youth Leader commented, "Bethany brought light to a dark industry [professional surfing]."
When I rented the van for our camping trip, it came with satellite radio. We were able to listen to Christian music exclusively in the van. Some of my fondest memories on that trip revolved around that Christian station: cranking it up when the Revelation Song came on and Christine Byars and I singing along as loudly as we could; having my whole van sing with Chris Tomlin's "Our God" as loud as they could and two little heads (Christine and Alex) bopping back in forth in the back of the van; and hearing, many, many times, the song, "Blessings" by Laura Story.
It seemed I always caught the song halfway through. It wasn't until our drive home that I heard the complete song.
Wow.
Here are the lyrics for you:
We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
* It's not our home *
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
* It's not our home *
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
Thank God for whatever your trials are today - good or bad. He will use all things to chip away at us and make us more into the image of Jesus. And, it will be pleasing to Him.
I love you all and pray for you daily!
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