When I was walking through a very difficult time in my life, it was hard to see what God was doing in the moment. I had to continually speak the truth to myself and believe Him, no matter what I was feeling.
This is a well known verse from Lamentations-
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
Here are some of the verses surrounding that one...
"my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, 'My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD"...But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." (Lam. 3:17-18, 21-26 ESV)
Today God flooded me with memories of his faithfulness to my family through great hardship and trials that He allowed us to experience. I shared them with a new friend. As the words and stories left my lips, tears crept up in my eyes. Faith filled my heart as I remembered His goodness. I will declare that His love is great. His mercies never end. He is faithful. He was faithful then, and He's faithful to me today. I do have hope.
This song is extremely significant to me. I hope it blesses you today.
(If receiving this via email, click on the title of this post to view the video.)
Oct 4, 2014
Sep 27, 2014
Training My Brain
There's so much to look at and listen to. It doesn't matter if I'm on Facebook or simply examining myself and my own thoughts. I can get easily tangled in a "web".
I want to train my brain to think in healthy ways. I want to have self-control, wisdom, and discernment about what I meditate on. That means I have to be intentional about what I set before my eyes, and what I listen to with my ears. I have to recognize if I'm feeding fear, bitterness, or lies. I need to repent and replace! I have to "put those off", and put on faith, thankfulness, forgiveness, truth, etc.
If I'm careful and diligent to guard my mind, take my thoughts captive, and mediate on truth (according to God's word)...that will show in my words. Lord willing, the light that fills me can come out and pierce through a little bit of the darkness in the world around me. A bit of the darkness in others' souls. I won't even have to try, it will happen naturally.
The mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart.
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14 ESV)
"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Phil. 4:8 ESV)
I want to train my brain to think in healthy ways. I want to have self-control, wisdom, and discernment about what I meditate on. That means I have to be intentional about what I set before my eyes, and what I listen to with my ears. I have to recognize if I'm feeding fear, bitterness, or lies. I need to repent and replace! I have to "put those off", and put on faith, thankfulness, forgiveness, truth, etc.If I'm careful and diligent to guard my mind, take my thoughts captive, and mediate on truth (according to God's word)...that will show in my words. Lord willing, the light that fills me can come out and pierce through a little bit of the darkness in the world around me. A bit of the darkness in others' souls. I won't even have to try, it will happen naturally.
The mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart.
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14 ESV)
"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Phil. 4:8 ESV)
Jan 27, 2014
Glory Through Grief
As I look back on my life, I see the rich blessings God has given me through my most painful experiences. I am blown away. How does He do that? How does He bring glory through grief? I don't think I will ever be able to wrap my mind around it. His ways are far above mine.
What I do hope is that I will learn to trust Him more completely, and overcome fear. He loves me. He is with me. He uses all things for good for those who love Him and are called to His purposes.
Contentment and peace come when I desire His glory and His purposes, more than my own ideas and plans. He will be glorified. He will accomplish what He sets out to do.
My heart must crave His glory. In Him, I will not be disappointed.
I need to remember what He's already done in my life, be satisfied in Him right now, and have hope for what's ahead. He will never leave me. He is amazing and His ways are perfect.
I wrote this poem smack in the middle of one of the hardest years of my life. He was definitely with me!
Victory
Little by little, You give me victory.
Little by little, You set me free.
I must be patient,
And continue to call on Your name.
I don't want to go through the fire,
And at the end come out the same.
The trials I go through,
Can be for Your glory.
All of them put together,
Are telling a story.
A story of Your majesty,
Your love and Your grace.
Oh, how I long for the day,
That I may see Your face.
I don't want to experience
Shame on that day.
"Well done faithful servant"
Is what I want to hear You say.
I must stop worrying, fretting, and fighting,
The work You're doing is everlasting-
That's exciting!
I must trust You and know,
You will finish what You began.
All I must do,
Is surrender to Your plan.
(Rachel Ranae 6.23.10)
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4 ESV)
What I do hope is that I will learn to trust Him more completely, and overcome fear. He loves me. He is with me. He uses all things for good for those who love Him and are called to His purposes.
Contentment and peace come when I desire His glory and His purposes, more than my own ideas and plans. He will be glorified. He will accomplish what He sets out to do.
My heart must crave His glory. In Him, I will not be disappointed.
I need to remember what He's already done in my life, be satisfied in Him right now, and have hope for what's ahead. He will never leave me. He is amazing and His ways are perfect.
I wrote this poem smack in the middle of one of the hardest years of my life. He was definitely with me!
Victory
Little by little, You give me victory.
Little by little, You set me free.
I must be patient,
And continue to call on Your name.
I don't want to go through the fire,
And at the end come out the same.
The trials I go through,
Can be for Your glory.
All of them put together,
Are telling a story.
A story of Your majesty,
Your love and Your grace.
Oh, how I long for the day,
That I may see Your face.
I don't want to experience
Shame on that day.
"Well done faithful servant"
Is what I want to hear You say.
I must stop worrying, fretting, and fighting,
The work You're doing is everlasting-
That's exciting!
I must trust You and know,
You will finish what You began.
All I must do,
Is surrender to Your plan.
(Rachel Ranae 6.23.10)
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4 ESV)
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