Surrounded By His Peace

"You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.  With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall."  2 Samuel 22:29,30 

I was meditating on this verse recently.  I've faced a number of different challenges in the past few weeks.  None, thankfully, have involved scaling a wall!  But some of them have felt like it!!  I am so grateful how God has walked with me through each challenge.  He has been constantly by my side, advising me, helping me, encouraging me, and strengthening me.  I couldn't make it without Him.

In the midst of these challenges, we have had so many days with beautiful rainbows appearing.  It is unusual - and there have been some stunning ones.  I have taken each one as an opportunity to proclaim and thank the Lord for His promises.  He is faithful.

Most days I see the peacocks walking by on the mountain behind me.  Today they were inside my fence in my driveway and garden.  That doesn't happen very often.  They came in and laid down as if needing a rest.  As I watched them, I felt the Lord speak into my heart that I am surrounded by His peace.  That's why they were immediately laying down to rest.  It was a sweet moment.

I absolutely love how God speaks to me so often through nature - His creation.  His messages come through loud and clear if I just stop to listen.  I'm so grateful for His voice.

"He who promised is faithful."  Hebrews 10:23

"You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings I will rejoice."  Psalm 63:7

"Without me you can do nothing."  John 15:5 

"I know whom I have believed."  2 Timothy 1:12

"I have set the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."  Psalm 16:8

I'm watching and listening for ways God wants to speak to me - especially through His creation.

Guard Our Tongue

As I read/watch/listen to things in the news, I am often horrified at what I hear people saying.  My mother used to threaten to "wash my mouth out with soap" if she heard me saying anything wrong.  If that was carried out with people these days we might run out of soap!  As I was praying about one particularly grievous thing I heard, I felt the Lord remind me of my responsibility to put a guard over my tongue.  I'm usually pretty careful anyway, but I committed to a new standard of Godliness over my speech.  It starts with me, and you, and those around us.  We can be a Godly example.

"I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue."  Psalm 39:1

"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."  Colossians 4:6 

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."  Psalm 19:14

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control."  Galatians 5:22-23

That's quite a standard for us!!

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:16

I pray that my/our speech will "shine" in the world around us where so many are careless with their words.  I want to be a living example of Godly speech!  I pray for the Lord to help us all.

Don't Stop Praying

I can't believe we're already at the end of Jan.  This new year is flying by!

I shared last week about God's wonderful, often miraculous, provision of meeting our needs.  I have been so blessed to get responses from many of how God has met their needs.  He is truly a generous, faithful, caring, loving, giving Father who is mindful of our every need.  He knows every detail of our lives, and provides for us in detail.  How awesome He is!

I was visiting with some friends recently.  We were discussing "big" things we're praying for - and how sometimes we don't see the answers right away.  Sometimes there is a "persistence" that is required in our prayers - for days, weeks, months, years.  An unanswered prayer doesn't mean God hasn't heard or is unconcerned.  His ways and His timing are often, usually even, different to ours.  Our place is to keep lifting those prayers to the throne.  God is listening!!  He is mindful!!

Shortly after our discussion, my friend sent me a song called ‘Don’t Stop Praying’ by Matthew West.  It so ministered to my heart!  Keep praying.  Keep believing.  Amen and amen.

As a sweet confirmation - I was looking for something in a file and came across some notes of prayers I had prayed long ago.  My heart was encouraged to see how many of those prayers had been answered.  Seeing the list - and the results - gave my faith a fresh boost.  I will definitely keep praying for things on my heart now!!  And I'll be watching for the answers from our "prayer answering God!"

"And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him."  1 John 5:14, 15

I've sometimes read that verse and wondered if my prayers are "according to His will."  Well - we know God wants to heal, He wants to draw people to Himself, He wants to provide for us, He wants to help us with the problems of daily life caring for us more than He does the sparrows......so I think our prayers are most likely to be according to His will.  I doubt that we pray selfish prayers!  I also tell the Lord that I know He sees my heart and I trust Him to answer in the best way.

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."  John 15:7

"Pray without ceasing."  1 Thessalonians 5:17

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  Philippians 4:6

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved."  Psalm 55:22

I am so grateful that we serve a prayer answering God.  I could visit with you for hours and hours proclaiming prayers God has answered.  I strengthen my faith by recalling what God has done in the past as I "don't stop praying."

He Provides Lavishly

For days I have been meditating on God being mindful of every little need we have.  I read an old devotional that I came across - from "Our Daily Bread" in Jan. 1994.  I'm going to quote it:

"Pastor Roy S. Nicholson told of a time when he had no money to buy food.  Determined to trust God for his needs and not tell anyone, he and his wife presented their case to the Lord in prayer.

The next morning he set the table for breakfast, confident that the Lord would provide something to eat.  Just then a boy from their Sunday school came to the house with a sack of flour and some milk.  Tears welled up in the pastor's eyes.  No sooner had he left than "Granny" Turner appeared at the door carrying a large serving tray loaded with Virginia ham, eggs, grits and gravy, hot biscuits, butter, jelly, and coffee.  Nicholson was filled with praise to God."

I actually teared up when I read it.  God didn't just provide - He provided lavishly.  A beautiful feast!

It reminded me of a couple occasions in our lives.  I'm pretty sure I've shared them before, but I want to do so again.  I was blessed afresh as I thought back to these times of how God met our needs. 

We had spoken at an evening service at a church.  Everyone was gone, and we were sitting in our vehicle (a YWAM car) in an empty parking lot in the cold of winter.  We weren't sure what to do.  We had no money.  We were low on petrol, had nowhere to stay that night, and hadn't eaten dinner.  We were praying together, and discussing how we could sleep in the car.

Just then a car pulled up to the driver's side of the car, rolled down its window, and handed Floyd some money.  The man said he was sitting at home watching the news, when he felt the Lord told him to come back to the church parking lot and give us money.  The 3 of us wept at God's wonderful provision.

The other time that came back so clearly to my mind was in Afghanistan.  We had a house ministry reaching out to the hippies of that day.  At the time we had about 20-25 young people in the house.  I set the table for dinner.  We had some guests from the expat community joining us that evening.  I told Floyd that we were eating the last of the food we had.  I had no idea what we would do for breakfast.  We had a wonderful evening of sharing and fellowship.  We had a combination of non-believers and new believers in the house.  It was wonderful to share testimonies of God's goodness.

Afterwards, as I was clearing the table, I found some money under the plate of one of our guests.  I had tears as I told Floyd we would be able to buy food for breakfast!

Honestly, I could go on and on sharing wonderful examples like these of how God has provided over and over and over, in so many different ways, in our lives.  He is a wonderful, generous, caring Father.  He knows every detail of our lives - and He provides in detail.  He is so good!!  He longs for us to share our hearts, our needs, our struggles with Him.  He is always listening, and always working to help us.  And always providing!!

"Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb.' "  Genesis 22:8

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  Hebrews 13:5

"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:33

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Philippians 4:6

"My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19

"Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."  Psalm 34:10

"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."  Psalm 37:25

Amen, amen!!  We can bring every need, every care, every problem, every burden to Him.  He cares.  Even as I've been writing this, something came up and I needed to stop and talk to the Lord.  I'm so grateful that I can take every detail to Him.  What a wonderful God He is!

He Encamps Around Us

In the midst of an emergency last week, I thought "I bet some people are praying for me."  We had a very close call with a fire.  It started in a field just down the road, and with the very high winds we had it spread incredibly fast.  

It was at the edge of our village in minutes - and continuing to spread.  The firemen evacuated some of those on the edge.  I began throwing things into bags - with the smoke getting really thick inside the house.

I left to go be at a friend's house who was out of the smoke field.  My son, who was helping me, went back to water our roof and help the firemen who were pulling hoses through our property onto the mountain.  The fire was halfway down the mountain by then.

Thankfully, it was still daylight and the water bombing helicopters arrived soon.  They're amazing!  They beat back the fire before they had to leave as it got dark.  I returned home shortly after - very, very grateful that I had a home to return to!!

There were flareups during the night, but there were lots of firemen on the mountain taking care of them. 

Whew!  So much adrenaline!  I'm so, so thankful to be safe - no homes lost - no injuries. 

"For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."  Psalm 91:11

"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them."  Psalm 34:7

I'm grateful for the angels that were watching over us and I’m grateful for the prayers that are prayed for me.

Don't Let Disappointment Stick

A few days ago I had a disappointment.  It wasn't some earth-shattering thing.  It was actually quite small, but none-the-less it stuck in my heart.  A day or so later when I realized it was still impacting me, I knew I had to deal with it.  I've learned through the years that even the smallest disappointment, if un-dealt with, can cause big problems.

It's so important to give the disappointment to the Lord.  It frees Him to act, to intervene on our behalf.  It's when He can take lemons and make lemonade.  He can bring good out of a bad or difficult situation because of His creative ability.  We shouldn't pout, or bargain, or threaten.....we just simply turn over the disappointment to Him.

Once I've given my disappointment to the Lord, I know I have to put it behind me - sometimes easier said than done!  I haven't really given it to the Lord if I keep dwelling on it.  I have found that God uses my disappointments - small, medium sized, and large - to help me grow.  Simply put - our disappointments are God's appointments.  He'll use the disappointment for good in our lives.  And once I've given the disappointment to the Lord, I must choose to be content in the situation - even if nothing ever changes.  Again, not always easy!

If I've responded in a wrong way to my disappointment, I know I need to repent.  It frees me from hanging on to the disappointment.  We'll never be completely free of disappointments in life, but we can be free from the burden and weight of them as we respond right to them.  I've been learning all this afresh these last few days!!  Good lessons for me. 

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."  Proverbs 13:12

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  Psalm 34:18

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."  Philippians 4:11-13

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:31

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God."  Psalm 42:11

I guess I still wish the disappointment hadn't been there - that things had gone a different way, but I'm "free" of it.  It's not stuck in my heart!  I'm so very grateful that the Lord helps us with the disappointments in life.  He is good and faithful - in every little detail!

Not Getting Tangled

A few days ago I experienced something that is one of those "learning from life" type of things.  Two friends were helping me take down my Christmas tree.  We were taking the strands of lights off the tree.  The strands here are in large circles rather than one long strand, which makes it a bit more complicated to maneuver.  With just a couple quick, wrong moves - we had a tangled mess!!  It seemed to take forever to get everything untangled.  Oh my - it was frustrating.

As I thought about this experience, it made me think of how quickly we can make one or two quick wrong choices and end up with a "tangled" mess in our lives.  It's so important to ask God's help and guidance for even the simplest things we face each day.  I have been bringing my everyday activities to the Lord afresh and asking for His help and guidance.  It's too easy for me to make mistakes on my own.  I need God's wisdom!

I also have some bigger needs I'm bringing to the Lord too that I need His help with.  I find myself just "talking" to Him all through the day.  I'm so grateful that He listens. :)  It makes me feel secure to know that the One who holds the universe is also the One who is holding me.  He's right by my side, He's guiding me, protecting me, providing for me, strengthening me, helping me, and keeping me from getting tangled up!!

"Let not your heart be troubled."  John 14:1

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on."  Luke 12:22

"They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright."  Psalms 92:14-15

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust."  Psalm 103:13,14

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."  Psalm 130:5,6

In little things and big things - In youth and in old age - In the day and through the night - God is with us and helping us to face everything that is before us.....and He'll help us not to get in a big tangle!!  I am so grateful for His constant faithfulness. 

Confident Faith

The new year has started with some fresh challenges.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I would have preferred to have a less stressful beginning.  I saw a quote - "the presence of trouble does not mean the absence of God."  SO very true!  God is right here with me as He's been these last 9+ years on our unexpected journey.  I would be lost without Him.  My trust in Him has proven His faithfulness.

The "blessing" in Numbers 6 has always been so special to me.  I shared about it a couple months ago when I woke up with it running through my mind one morning.  Several friends have sent it to me during Christmas and New Year's.  I receive it afresh for 2024. 

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."  

I think the Lord wants to bless us more than we can ever imagine.  We just need to turn our hearts fully to Him. 

I recently found a short article by David Wilkerson from many years ago.  I love this quote from him:

"I believe the greatest sign or wonder to the world these days is not a person who has been raised from the dead.  No, what truly makes an impact on the mind and spirit of the ungodly is the Christian who endures all trials, storms, pain and suffering with a confident faith.  Such a believer emerges from his troubles stronger in character, stronger in faith, stronger in Christ."

That's my prayer for every challenge I face this year!!  May God help my faith in Him to be confident in the face of everything that comes my way.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"  Psalm 34:8

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

The Bitter and the Sweet

Happy New Year to you!  My prayer is that it will be filled with God's goodness and closeness to you.  I look forward to what God has for us in this year.

As we came to the new year, I reflected on the year gone by.  Thinking through month by month, it was so clear that God was with me.  The first 7 months were pretty rough, and then I turned a corner and started gaining health and strength.  I have so much to be thankful for.

I saw a notice that said "a contented person has learned to accept the bitter with the sweet."  My prayer is that I will be "content" this year - whatever comes my way.  I'm trusting for God's help and grace day by day.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Him who gives me strength."  Philippians 4:12,13

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you."  Isaiah 43:2

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:38,39

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."  Psalm 143:8

God is so faithful to help us, to cover us, to protect us, to guide us, and to never/ever forsake us!  I have fresh hope and confidence as I enter this new year.