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Trial to Triumph – or “Why is this happening to me?” Part 8

Posted on November 10, 2014 ·

picture gold cross13 Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. Exodus 14:13

When Moses spoke those words the Israelites were standing between a huge Egyptian army on chariots and a large body of water – the Red Sea. Apparently, they forgot in that terrifying moment all that the Lord had done for them when he dealt with Egypt with ten plagues and how they had come away with the riches of the Egyptians and how He was still standing as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When Moses told them to stand still it went against every natural inclination. Fight or flight. The Lord said “Fear not, stand firm and see”. They finally did and the Lord made a way that was a miracle – through the Red Sea!

Being a person who constantly has to remind my self to let the Lord be Lord and to not get in His way, it has been a challenge to learn to just stand firm and not fear. But when I have done this the Lord has always acted mightily on my behalf.

When I worked for the County Health Department I had many opportunities to share the Gospel with staff and patients. Only one nurse had a problem with me and she would complain periodically about me. When she did I would get called into the Director’s office and be told to stop talking about religion. What a temptation to “speak my peace”, but the Lord always told me to keep quiet. Nothing bad ever happened to me and later the Director came to me in secret and asked me to pray for her son-in–law who had lost his job.  I am thankful to the Lord for that great lesson in fearing not and standing firm.

We have seen that trials are for our good, purifying our faith and bringing us the characteristics of Jesus: patience, steadfastness and endurance. We have learned that trials are not punishments and that the Lord is with us during the trial. We found that the way to go through a trial is to let the Lord know what our needs are specifically and to fear not, stand firm and see him take care of all our needs and problems.

So the next time a trial comes we can say: “Woo hoo!”

Jesus is Lord!

Filed Under: Obedience, Peace, prayer, Victory ·
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Trial to Triumph – or “Why is this happening to me?” Part 7

Posted on November 3, 2014 ·

picture gold bars4 Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!

 Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The Lord is near [He is [a]coming soon].Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that [c]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall [d]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Going through a trial is no picnic but the Lord has given us some clear directions for how to continue in His peace during the trial. He tells us not to fret or worry but to tell Him by specific requests what we need.  I have learned to be accurate in asking for what I need.

 I have a sister in the Lord who was in deep debt. She added up all her debt and came to an amount of one hundred thousand dollars. We prayed and trusted the Lord that He would cleanse her of all debt. A few months later – her debt was met and cleared! Praise the Lord! When I prayed for a husband I was very specific. I searched my heart and asked the Lord for a tall businessman who was a seasoned Christian who had no children and did not need me to support him. The Lord answered my prayers with my wonderful husband Walt who is all of the things I asked for and so much more.

Notice what happens when we ask and also thank the Lord for all that He has done and for what He is going to do especially during a trial. His peace comes to us. That peace guards our hearts and minds from attacks of the enemy.

Jesus is Lord!

 

Filed Under: Hope, Love, Obedience, Victory ·
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Trial to Triumph – or “Why is this happening to me?” Part 6

Posted on October 27, 2014 ·

 

picture gold being meltedI have called you by your name; you are Mine.2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you. Isaiah 43:1-2

 

As I look back on the trial of losing two jobs and moving to a new state I can see how badly my faith needed to be purified. I can also see how the Lord never left me. He wasn’t mad at me. He is a good Dad. I worked in Emergency Care for eight years.

 

We often don’t understand why things happen to us. But even if we asked the Lord to explain it all to us, we might be incapable of really understanding it. Think about when we were babies and our parents or family members took us to get our immunizations. As far as we could see it was a bad thing. Somebody was holding us while someone else stuck a needle in our leg or arm. Ouch! Even if our mothers told us what the needles did – giving us protection from disease, it would have been nonsense to two month old us. We got our shots at two months, four months, six months, twelve months, eighteen months and age five. Those shots were painful to us, but provided us with precious protection against diseases that used to kill thousands of children. Our moms got us those shots because they loved us. The Lord is the same way.

 

When we go through a trial He is with us. He doesn’t leave us for a second. Trials are for our good.

 

Jesus is Lord!

 

 

Filed Under: Hope, Obedience, Peace, Victory ·
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Trial to Triumph – or “Why is this happening to me?” Part 1

Posted on September 22, 2014 ·

Trials to Triumph – or “Why is this Happening to Me?!” Part 1

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in picture gold oreor encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. James 1:2-8

 I remember the first time I read James’s words. I was shocked! I wondered “Am I supposed to say “Woo hoo!” when I am in a trial!? How am I supposed to be joyful when I am in a trial?” It wasn’t until I had been through several trials that I began to see how joy can come.

But I didn’t always have joy.

One day as I was working as a Director of Patient Services for a New York County Health Department my boss let me know that he was going to give my position to a friend of his in a few weeks and I would be out of a job.  I panicked! Did I pray? Yes, I said a quick prayer and quickly returned to my panicked state. I had three children to support. Over a period of about three hours I called every contact I had in my profession. No openings. I was a mess! I badly needed to learn how to navigate a trial in a godly fashion. The Lord was with me to help me learn how to triumph through a trial.

The first thing I learned is that trials are not punishments.

11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Jeremiah 29:11

I know that the Lord has known me and my days from before the earth was created. He has only my good in mind. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Peace, Victory, Word of God ·
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Be Patient with Me- I’m Being Pruned

Posted on July 7, 2014 ·

picture of man pruning tree15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

 

I was out looking at my rosebushes a few days ago and decided that they desperately needed some pruning.  Branches were going everywhere, flowerless branches stuck out among the bloomers. They were overgrown and the flowers were getting unimpressive. Air and light were having trouble getting to the inner parts of the plant.

So  I Googled “pruning rose bushes”. Apparently pruning is a delicate business. Fruitless branches are removed; blooming branches are cut back but not too far. You have to look and see just the right spot to make the cut- not too high and not too low. Branches growing across the bush in the wrong direction are removed too. At first the bush looks pretty bad. No blooms and it looks kind of scrawny. But later wonderful large roses will bloom in abundance.

We are like those rose bushes. We may have some fruitless activities in our lives, maybe some things going in the wrong direction. Maybe our growth has gotten stale and slow or out of control. We need a good pruning by the Word of God. 

Another thing I learned is that the pruner has the best interest of the plant at heart. Pruning is done lovingly to bless and help the plant. But maybe the plant sees it another way. Ouch!, branches are being removed. Maybe the plant liked that branch that was not productive. Maybe we like some things in our lives that do us no good.

Jesus prunes us with the word of God. Our job is to listen, heed and obey the word of the Lord. Sometimes it can feel a little uncomfortable, but hang in there. The Lord is doing this to make you even more fruitful.

“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,” Galatians 5:21-23

Good pruning brings good fruit. Prune us,  Lord.

Jesus is Lord!

Filed Under: Holiness, Obedience, Uncategorized, Victory, Word of God ·
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It’s a Matter of Give and Take

Posted on May 12, 2014 ·

blog picture woman hurt feelings

 

 

13)Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13(NLT)

 

Offence: to cause (a person or group) to feel hurt, angry, or upset by something said or done.

 

I was thinking about “giving offence and taking offence” this last week. This is probably the easiest tool that Satan has for dividing the Body of Christ. It can effectively eliminate harmony and peace between people who have been told they must “Love one another” – if we let it.

We can all give offence. Let’s face it, an unguarded word or look can speak volumes to a sensitive person. Sometimes we can offend without even knowing we are doing it. Sometimes even a Christian can deliberately do or say something to hurt another Christian. Sadly, I have seen many “offended” people leave a church because their feelings were hurt by another Christian. We can more easily forgive a non-believer than a brother or sister in the Lord. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Forgiveness, Obedience, Peace, prayer, Uncategorized, Victory ·
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Encouraging Ourselves

Posted on April 7, 2014 · 
picture encouraging ourselves

 

David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened  himself in  the Lord 1 Samuel 30:6.

You have probably read about the time when David and his men came home one day to Ziklag to find  that everything and everybody had been carried away by their enemies. David’s men were a mess. They blamed David and wanted to stone him. But David did something different. He encouraged  and strengthened himself in the Lord. Then he went out and the Lord gave him victory. The Lord restored.

How did he do that?

He began to remind himself of all the times the Lord had shone Himself strong on his behalf. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Uncategorized, Victory, wisdom ·