Suffering - There can be a sweet side to it....

Suffering...is so hard, so real, so painful, so terrible. So evident everywhere we look. It might be us, a friend, a neighbor, a community, a rodeo or a sports family who is suffering. We don't like being in the situation, but there is hope for us in suffering, as we all will go through it at some point. My intent in writing this is that you will see that suffering can have a sweet side, where we can learn to know and understand God better.  

For most of us sufferning isn't a choice.      It is thrust upon us.      It interrupts our lives and demands our attention.      It takes our time and energy, and changes our direction.      There is pain...loss... and deep grief. 

When suffering comes, we will, at some point, have a choice to make. Sometimes it takes some thought and time before we are ready to choose. When we have had time to think and reflect a bit, will we choose to be angry, bitter, and mad at God? Or will we choose to see the 'sweet side of suffering' when we choose to get close to God? Will we choose to see and know better the Man of Sorrows, Jesus, who has walked Himself in sorrow and who has seen our every step in our journey of life? 

When our daughter was hurt in a car wreck at seventeen, my husband looked out the hospital window at Pikes Peak. He said to himself in his mind, "I can get mad at God. I can be angry with Him.  If I do this, it would be like trying to tell Pikes Peak I'm going to get a shovel and dig you up." Gail knew it would do no good to be angry with God. Rather, he knew he needed to open his hand out to God so that God could 'pick him up' and carry him through this trial. Our family saw God show up in so many ways through this hard time. Did we like what we were going through? No, but we stayed close to God, and He took care of us!

Here are some suggestions for us when we face sorrow: listen to the sweetness of God's voice in His word, come to know God better through reading the Bible, learn God's character and see the love He has for you, learn to fully trust God and His love for you, and spend time with Him in prayer.  Tell God what you are feeling and thinking as you pray and ask Him for his help and comfort. Accept the salvation that Jesus offers to each one of us (Galatians 2:20), for then the Holy Spirit will come into your life as a Comforter interceding on our behalf to God (Romans 8:26). As humans, we can't understand everything that God permits, but we can know that He loves us and has good in His will for us (Rom. 8:28). Surrender your will to God and trust Him with your cares, worries, and life. God has promised to walk us through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). He does not lie. He can be trusted and leaned upon. 

Another thought to help in this time of suffering is that God will not only be with us through our time here on earth as we struggle, but that, at some point, if we have surrendered to Jesus, we will be with God for all of eternity. We can view our time here on earth as a temporary one as we await our time with God in heaven. Then there will be no more pain and suffering. He is our hope and peace. (Isaiah 26:3) 

I have personally seen loved ones in my life who have displayed 'the sweet side of suffering' as they navigated it. They have sought God and surrendered their will to Him. Yes, they grieved, sorrowed, and hurt deeply! But they looked to God and let His peace settle in their hearts. There is a joy in their lives that only God could give. They have peace knowing God is with them now, and that they will spend all of eternity with God.

If you are hurting, struggling, grieving....look to God and get to know Him.  Trust Him to take care of you, and He will be there to carry you through. God loves you immeasurably!

 

Reflection on the death of Charlie Kirk

 

The death of Charlie Kirk has left us all in a state of wonder, shock, and, to some extent, confusion.  Many questions are swirling through our minds.  What do we do now? Why did this happen? Who will carry on with Charlie's mission? What about his children? And his wife? And our nation? Who will share the gospel with others? What path do we take now? 

Charlie was truly amazing!  His ability to dialogue with others was way beyond what most of us could do.  He could think quickly and debate others effectively.  And his knowledge of our country, the Bible, history, and the Constitution was immense! 

This weekend, I read a book by Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, called "Shine the Light."  That is what Charlie was doing.  He was shining the light of Jesus! That is what we are to do too!  We are to shine the light of Jesus to the world.  We are to shine the light where we are, with those whom God puts into our path.  

We are each made unique by God.  God did not call me or you to do what he called Charlie to do.  But we ARE called by God to do the work he has for each of us to do. We must be salt: the flavor others want and see, and the preservative to bind evil in this world. (Mt. 5:13) We are also to be the light in the darkness so that others can see the Truth of the Bible and the love of Jesus. (Mt. 5:14) We must live in a way that allows others to see Jesus, but we must also share with others how to come to salvation. 

So what now? What do we do? WE need to be the flavor and light where we are.  Is there someone at work who doesn't know the Lord? Is there someone at school?  Someone in your neighborhood?  Pray for those people and let them know and see the Truth. God has a purpose for your life at this moment.  He wants to use you. Disciple and teach others about how Christ wants us to live.  Let the Holy Spirit guide and direct you.  BE used by Him!

Success in the game and your Christian 'walk'...

Not too long ago, I listened to a message from Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas. This message was about achieving success in life. He made some valid points that prompted me to reflect on my own life. 

Dr. Jeffress said, "The key to success in the game is what you do in preparation away from the game." He also said, " You can't imitate someone and what he does to be successful."

In life, this is very true. To be successful in any area of life, you must learn the skills needed and spend a lot of time practicing to be able to perform the skill well.

Missy, our youngest daughter, has been working with her two children, aged 4 and 5, this summer, teaching them to run the barrels and poles. It is a lot of work to catch and saddle the horses for the kids to ride. They are young yet, so they only ride for a short time. It takes just as long to get ready to ride as it does to ride. With each practice session, the grandchildren have shown improvement. At first, they had to be led to learn their patterns. Then they were able to slowly do the poles and barrels by themselves. By midsummer, after competing several times, the grandkids can go at a faster and more competitive pace. This preparation is necessary for them to be successful.

Now, let's apply this to our lives spiritually. To be successful in our lives as Christians, we need to be prepared and 'practiced up'! Well then, how do we do this? We strengthen ourselves with God before the contests or battles begin. 

Let's look at what Jesus did. Luke 4 says it was Jesus' custom to enter the synagogue - He went to church. Matthew 14 tells us Jesus spent time in prayer by himself on the mountainside.  We see that he prayed and attended church. We know he sought God and obeyed Him. He was prepared for His mission here on earth. Are we prepared? Are we doing what we need to do to ensure success in our Christian lives? Are we preparing for battle? Are we exercising to be strong and victorious? Are we planning ahead by nourishing our spiritual lives? 

Our grandson, Traven, has been riding saddle broncs for several years now and has had success doing so.  He has now started riding in the pro-rodeos and it has stretched him! He knows the basics but he has had some struggles.  I encouraged him to show endurance - to do something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. He needs to endure and do the hard things to get better!

Success in any endeavor takes training. Are you in training now to accomplish what you want in life? If your Christian life is essential to you and you want to glorify God in it, then you must practice knowing and pursuing God!

Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?  Have you admitted you are a sinner in need of a Savior? Accept his gift of eternal life now by asking Jesus to come into your life.  Then He will come in and give you the Holy Spirit to guide you.  Then you can begin learning of His ways and His will for you. 

Get into His Word and study it.  Join a truth-seeking Bible study and church. Work at knowing and glorifying God! 

The Queen of Sheba: how does her encounter with Solomon apply to us?

Gail was recently reading in his daily reading about Solomon and the visit he had from the Queen of Sheba. We had a nice discussion after his reading about what he'd read and how it could apply to us. The Bible says, "The Queen of Sheba had heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh." So she'd heard of Solomon and his wisdom and devotion to God, and she went to check him out. She saw how he took care of everything from the food served to his household, to the placement of his servants and their attire, to the things he had built to glorify God. The Bible says, 'There was no more spirit in her.' My commentary says the experience she had 'left her breathless'.   She was in amazement at the organization and splendor of Solomon's kingdom!

How does this apply to us? It encouraged Gail and me to see that we must be good stewards of all we have so that God gets the glory. Other people are watching us. Are our homes and yards neat and orderly? Or is everything in chaos? Is God glorified by the appearance of your home or business? This prompted me to look around. I have had a tote under my desk for about two years that was full of old Sunday school materials. There were some good things in there that I had saved from teaching in previous years, but I hadn't used any of the items in the last ten years. It was time to clean up and downsize. I was compelled to condense and discard much of it. I still have more 'piles' I need to get after. And I better do it soon before my guests arrive!! Cleaning up and clearing out will glorify God! My guests and I will both be blessed!

How about you? Do you have some things that need cleaned out and straightened up? What would the Queen think if she came to your house?!

  

Hurting? Grieving? Struggling? God gives us the grace to continue on ...

I am currently reading through the book of Matthew. In chapter 14, I just read the account of John the Baptist, who spoke out against Herod and his lifestyle. Herod had John put in prison and ultimately had him beheaded. When Jesus heard about this terrible event, his heart and soul hurt. He tried to withdraw to a desolate place where He could spend time with God. But the crowds found out where Jesus was and followed him there. The Bible says Jesus cared for the people and ministered to their needs - healing and feeding them. Then, when evening came, Jesus sent the disciples back across the lake, and He went up into the mountains to pray. He went to spend time with His Father. All was good, and Jesus could get in a few hours of prayer with God. Then a terrible wind came up, endangering the disciple's lives out on the lake. Again, Jesus put his needs aside and went to rescue the disciples. 

As I read this, I felt badly for Jesus. He was hurting, grieving, and mourning the loss of John the Baptist. There was no time for Him to sit quietly, grieve, mourn, or talk with God. Life was screaming out at Him to minister and serve. 

Isn't that how life is often? We may be hurting from the loss of a loved one, a marriage gone wrong, a catastrophe with one of our children, a struggling business, or just the busyness of life. We may not have much time to sit and meditate and pray.  

The message is to seek 'windows' to meet with God. They may not be long, but those 'windows' will give you the strength to continue.  

Then, God will give you the grace you need to get through. One definition of grace I learned many years ago is the power and ability to carry out God's will. God gives us this power and ability when we look to Him.  

We know Jesus became flesh and was like us. He sought ways and places to spend with His father, God. We, too, must do this. Then, when tragedies and hard times arise, we can use God's grace to get through them. 

Mothers of young children, this is especially true for you. You have many demands on your life, and there is little time for your needs. Let me encourage you to find 'windows' where you can meet with God in prayer and reading His Word. This will fill you up and prepare you to serve. God will give you the grace you need to minister to your children.

Altars to remember.....

I started reading the Bible at the beginning of this year. As I read, I noticed how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob set up altars. These altars served as reminders of times when God had met with man and made an agreement. Gotquestions.org says, "An altar was built to commemorate an encounter with God that had a profound impact upon someone." The altar was intended to serve as a reminder of the encounter with God for the person involved. It was also for the next generations to learn about God and His promises. 

I began asking myself what we do today to remind ourselves and future generations of the great things that God has done for us. We don't usually stack rocks on top of one another, but there are things we can do. We can write down in a notebook the miracles we have seen God do in our lives through the years. Then, from time to time, we can look back through these notes to remind us of God's faithfulness. These notebooks can be copied or adapted in a way that allows them to be passed down to future generations. We can also speak to others about our answered prayers and share the goodness of God. We can put pictures or plaques in our homes. We can wear articles of clothing proclaiming God's goodness. I recently purchased a shirt that said. "All my life, You have been faithful; all my life, You have been oh so good." This was 'an altar' - a way of acknowledging my encounter with God.

Or...you can write a book as Missy has done. We are so very thankful for our son-in-law,Austin's, miraculous recovery after his accident in November of 2024. The book Missy wrote is Missy and Austin's way of making an altar to tell of God's wonderous gift of restored life. A story that needs to be told and retold as a way to honor God, to remember His goodness, and to give Him glory! Thank you, Missy and Austin, for sharing your encounter with God with us!If you'd like a copy of the book please reach out to me and I'll mail you one.

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FEAR....we must Not let it become our master

This message about fear came to me recently.  I want to share it with you. 

Most of you know that our son-in-law, Austin, was hurt very badly in a machinery accident in November of 2024.  It was a very serious accident.  I prayed, but I did have a lot of fear in my heart.  What if he didn't make it?  His wife and children needed him.  We needed and loved him.  To be honest, I was scared and felt like I was holding my breath.  Yes, I was very scared and found it hard to pray.  I am so very thankful for those who prayed hard for Austin's recovery.  We are so very grateful for Austin's recovery and health now!

I try to pray daily for our grandchildren.  I pray for each one on the day of their birthday.  So if we have two that have birthdays on the 6th of any month I pray for those two.  There are a few days each month that no one has a birthday.  On those days, I pray for the future spouses of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren not yet born.  As I was praying last week, I felt fear come over me again.  I thought, 'This world is a mess.  How can our grandchildren find Godly mates?  How will our great-grandchildren know Christ and how He wants them to live?" Again, fear was trying to stop me from praying.

And then I read in my Bible reading that day about Abraham and the faith he had in offering up Isaac as a sacrifice. He did not fear.  When God told him what to do, he obeyed.  He left right away to go as God told him to. He didn't procrastinate, complain, delay, or disobey.  He went.  And when he was asked by Isaac where the sacrifice was, he said that God would provide.  Abraham had faith in God.  My commentary said that either Abraham thought God would provide another sacrifice or that God would bring Isaac back from the dead if necessary.  

Abraham had not always proved to be faithful.  Twice, he let fear rule in his heart, and he spoke a half-lie/truth about his wife, Sarah, because he was fearful for his life. I think he must have learned from his failure and was now more faithful to God and obedient. 

This reading really spoke to me about faith and fear.  I realized I must have faith in God.  He is big and He is able to do anything and everything.  Fear comes from Satan, not from God.  I must guard my heart from letting fear creep in.  I must set my face toward our awesome and capable God to give Him my prayers and requests.  He does hear, and He is able to answer our prayers.   Keep on praying with strength in your heart and mind.  Be strong like Abraham.  Be known, as Abraham was, as a friend of God - a person who has faith and one who trusts and obeys God.