Moments of Quiet Truth

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." Ps. 115:3       The Lord is growing me in my understanding of His sovereignty. He is God and I am not. Being God, He has the right to order the events of my life in accordance with His plan, not mine. I am to submit. He is powerful enough to order the events of my life for my good, He is good enough to want my good, and He is wise enough to know what that good is. My good, however, is never divorced from His glory because His glory is my good. "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4 (If you delight yourself in the Lord, doesn't He become your desire?)      I recently ran up against a situation that I believed was for my good, but God steered me away from it. I wanted (still sometimes do) to cling to what I thought was good, partly because I feared the Lord could not do better for me. I was h

     I started a study on the book of Job. The Lord has brought me through some pretty deep and scary waters of late and I needed to find hope in the midst of them. He gave me that word - hope - and has encouraged me with it since I passed through the torrent and came out on the other side.      Hope. It's not something one would expect to find very much of in a book like Job, but as I traced its footsteps though the Old Testament I was amazed at how often it showed up in that book.      I'm planning on placing my bare feet into each foot print and explore the topography surrounding the marks it made in the dirt of the book. I want to understand the context of this theme in one of the hardest books in the Old Testament to get a grasp of.      In conjunction with my reading of the book itself, I'm also working my way through "Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job" by Layton Talbert. It's been quite enlightening. One thing that has struck me so

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!   Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,        who forgives all your iniquity,        who heals all your diseases,           who redeems your life from the pit,             who crowns your life with good, so that your strength is renewed like the eagle's. . . . The LORD is merciful and gracious,   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. . . . . He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth,   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;        as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion on his children,   so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.                                                                             For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are d

"If I call, will you come?    When I cry, do you hear?      I believe ev'ry tear is caught up by a faithful God.        So, I will cry until You come, cast my cares into Your arms.          I can't see past this storm, but I'm counting on a faithful God. Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my God is like a fire defending me, faithfully. I believe You still heal, and demons still bow.   I'm convinced there is power in trusting in a faithful God.     So, I will praise 'til You appear, and set Your foot upon this shore,       And I declare that ev'ry foe is subject to my faithful God. Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my God is like a fire defending me, faithfully. I'm Yours and You are mine, and I am Yours, I am Yours! And I know Your faithfulness, it will endure, it will endure! Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my

"f ear 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."                                                  Is. 41:10      How do you respond when God hands you the unexpected, the complete surprise, the out-of-nowhere blessing? What do you do when God hands you something out of the ordinary and tells you to enjoy it? Where do you step when there is no clearly laid out road map? "Give us this day our daily bread." Matt. 6:11 Seek His daily sufficient grace (2 Cor. 12:9). Be content with hardship (2 Cor. 12:10), because nothing separates you from His all-powerful love (Rom. 8:37-39). Be still, rest and trust in Him (Ps. 46:10). Take God at His Word, believe Him and live for eternity as you exist in the here and now. "For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Ps. 108:4 Amen

S omething new has happened over the past few days.      For the first time, there is a settled sense of contentment being where I am right now with no strong desire to not be here. I am loving my church and putting down roots without the apprehension that they might have to be pulled up when I leave someday. I've been scared for a long while of becoming too attached to people here in Greenville. I told myself it was because I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life here and would most likely be leaving shortly (where to, I don't know). I told myself it would be easier to leave if I didn't get too close. I'm not afraid anymore.      The anxiety that accompanied the attempt to keep people at arm's length is gone (for the most part). The anxiety about what I'm supposed to be doing right now is gone.      The Lord has given me two part-time jobs, one of which starts next week and the other I've had for a few months. I'm supposed to be here. I&

     D o you ever wonder why it's hard to hear God in the hard times? When life is so full of noise, it's hard to spend time with Him and, if so, to enjoy it. When life is stressful and full of unanswered questions, why is it hard to hear truth? Why is it hard to hear God? Why is it hard to believe in His gentle, faithful love when life is painful? "I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me up from the pit of [noise] and out of the [places of destruction].  He set my feet upon [a broad place], making my steps secure. . . ." Ps. 40:1-2      Life can get to be so hard that you stop listening to the voice of His love. Life can be weighed down with so much pressure that you stop thanking Him for His obvious and good gifts. You stop seeing them. His love seems to be put on mute.      When God removes the pressure, answers the questions, removes the thing(s) that was causing the noise, it's easier to hear Him, to stop and

" O that all my distresses and apprehensions         might prove but Christ's school         to make me fit for greater service         by teaching me the great lesson of humbly"                                                "Need of Grace" - Valley of Vision      These past few months have been full of distresses and apprehensions for me as I have sought the Lord's mind concerning a possible teaching position for this upcoming fall. The job fell through and I'm thankful.      I'm the type of person who works well when she knows what the next thing is. I think that's all of us. I do really well, feel as though I am best able to utilize my time, when I am given a checklist of things to do, of tasks to accomplish, when I know what the next thing is. Teaching was going to be that for me. Knowing the various struggles that would have been a part of that job, I'm thankful I won't be heading in that direction right now. So, . . . .

"I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me ; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice . For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.' The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you , into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!" Jonah 2:2-9      I have never really paid attention to Jonah's p

(from the time spent at home this past winter) C ontentment is grounded in a firm trust in your God.      That is a lesson the Lord has been teaching me over these past few months and even days. Things have been a bit topsy turvy here at home. It's taken some adjustment to get into the swing of a crazy stressful schedule - food pantry, care of elderly lady here in the building, sibling time, time with friends, etc. My life has been very busy, just in a very different sense than it was back in Greenville. Through it all, the Lord is continuing to teach me contentment and trust in His love for me and His desire to do me only good. I'm wiped out and emotionally drained but hopeful in Him.      It hasn't all be work and stress. There have been some sweet times with my Savior too. :) I'm reminded often of my need for absolute dependence on Him. He doesn't scold or disapprove when I come to Him with things, situations, people I can't handle or don't understan

W hat God ordains is always good: His will is just and holy: And though the path be wrought with thorns, I follow meek and lowly. My God, indeed, in every need knows well how He will shield me. To Him, then, I will yield me; to Him, then, I will yield me. "What God Ordains" by Samuel Rodigast  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyoIPjE6dMM      That has been the theme that my Jesus has woven throughout these past six months. The battle is already won and the struggle and straining for the right is never in vain. Submission to Him is never the wrong thing to do. " Every act of obedience is an act of worship." Ernest Prentiss      These past six months He has brought me to the edge of the precipice, the emptying of my strength, the end of my rope and He has brought me back again. I don't know why God cracks open doors of opportunity, leaves them open with the possibility of stepping through them, and then closes them. I have to know that He does it f

" B ut he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him ." 1 Cor. 6:17 " But he who is joined [glued to, cleaves, is firmly fastened to, cemented to] the Lord becomes one [numeral] spirit with him ." " Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and hold fast to [cleave to] his wife, and they shall become one [numeral] flesh. " Gen. 2:24 " Draw [to bring near, to join one thing to another] near to God and he will draw near to you." James 4:8a This is the marriage language of union and communion. " Abide [remain, tarry, continue, wait for] in me, and I in you. . . . .Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. . . .If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish . . . As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. . . .These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:4,5, 7,9, 11      We have b

Hope: It can be a small stone or a giant boulder in the middle of life’s never-ending stream. It can be a place of fearless calm,   though surrounded by the torrents of Ever-changing circumstances. Life won’t stand still but the stone does not budge. Some may question its placement in the riverbed, Some may welcome its respite from the noises of life. Some may try to move it to a more suitable location. Life won’t stand still but the stone does not budge. The same waters that coursed around it in days gone by Have made their way to the sea and back again. New water and old mix, caressing its base, But the stone does not budge. Two strangers, on far, distant banks, Find comfort and solace in the reminder That the stone reminds of its Creator in His unwavering purpose For their good. Whether big or small, the stone does not budge.

S ubmission is sweet. Admitting that I don’t know everything and can’t figure it all out takes courage. It’s an exciting place to be when you admit that you don’t know what’s best for you and you lay your unknown into His hands. You tell Him you know that He knows what’s best for you and you’re tired of fighting for your own will. You ask Him to show you His best and there's an instant calm and peace. You get excited about what He might have in store for you. It's exciting to think that your future may turn out completely different from the way you imagined it.  The sweet confidence found in dependence on Him to figure out the details is amazing. It is pleasant to trust Him.  Some things will remain the same but some things (many things) will change. That's ok. 

" b lessed by the LORD, . . . who had led me by the right way " Gen. 24:48 This verse is taken from the story of Abraham's servant seeking a wife for Isaac. The details that God directed in order for Abraham's servant to find exactly who the Lord had for Isaac are incredible. Nothing escapes His notice and nothing is beyond His reach. Just as He worked on behalf of Isaac, my God works on my behalf. He leads and directs, if only to the next baby step on the path.  "in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them." Ps. 139:16b "I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know that plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found

" There's a peace I've come to know     Though my heart and flesh may fail   There's an anchor for my soul  I can say "It is well"  Jesus has overcome  And the grave is overwhelmed  The victory is won  He is risen from the dead  [Chorus:]   And I will rise when He calls my name  No more sorrow, no more pain  I will rise on eagles' wings  Before my God fall on my knees  And rise  I will rise  There's a day that's drawing near  When this darkness breaks to light  And the shadows disappear  And my faith shall be my eyes  Jesus has overcome  And the grave is overwhelmed  The victory is won  He is risen from the dead  [Chorus:]   And I will rise when He calls my name  No more sorrow, no more pain  I will rise on eagles' wings  Before my God fall on my knees  And rise  I will rise  And I hear the voice of many angels sing,  "Worthy is the Lamb"  And I hear the cry

" O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore." Ps. 131      The psalmist is speaking back to the Lord His working of grace in his life. This is speaking peace after a turbulent storm. The Lord brings still and calm after overwhelming storms. He speaks peace into our hearts and assurance that He is there and loves us fiercely. " The love of God reigning in the heart, will subdue self-love. " Matthew Henry      So often our storms are the results of self-worship and a striving for our own will. So often, in these storms, we feel overwhelmed by emotion and pressure and uncertainty. But the Master is in the boat with us. He sends us through storms to encourage us, nay, force us to flee to Hi