Holding on to Hope 6

Thy will be done…

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

for ever. Amen.

 How many times have you prayed this prayer? I wonder if we realize what it is we are telling God. It is not a chant or catchy phrase that was made up, no it is so much more than that. We may recognize it as the Lord’s Prayer but what some of you may not know is these words flowed straight out of the mouth of Jesus spoken over his disciples as pattern in which to live by.

I love what Nancy says this week in the chapter titled Submission about changing the layout of our prayers.

She says, “Often, I see the body of Christ put so much into pursuing God for healing. With great boldness and passion and persistence, we cry out to God, begging for physical healing. And in these prayers, there is often a tiny P.S. added at the end where we say, “If it be your will.”

But shouldn’t we switch that around?

Shouldn’t we cry out to God with boldness and passion and persistence in a prayer that says, “God, would you please accomplish your will? Would you give me a willing heart to embrace your plan and your purpose? Would you mold me into a vessel that you can use to accomplish what you have in mind?” And then, perhaps, we could add a tiny P.S. that says, “If that includes healing, we will be grateful.”

Isn’t real faith revealed more through pursuing God and what he wants than through pursuing what we want?

On the outside we cry out to God saying things like, “Your will God, your plan. Then we boldly ask for him to provide for our daily needs (hence the word daily), then we wrap it all up in a pretty little package proclaiming all his great power and glory…that is until we have a bad day.  

On days that our world is upside down I wonder if we ask God for these same things with the same purpose.

I think we are more likely to ask things like, “How in the world could this be your will and part of the plan you have for my life?”

The Rope

(Start wrapping up in the rope)

And there we stand all wrapped up in a tangled mess of lies from the enemy and distrust in our God. We are bitter and hurt and confused. We are full of sorrow and sadness and we want answers.

I’m going to be so bold to say that I don’t think there could ever really be a good enough answer as to why these things happen in our life. Although at times it may bring us a little peace when something seems to fit, we are ultimately torn apart by the trials that we face here on earth.

I believe that one thing God has shown me over and over is that our answers are found in our willingness to bend the knee in obedience and the flexibility we allow in the stretching of our faith.

The Sword of the Spirit

When we take our Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) and began to put it into action (start cutting the rope and laying it at the feet of Jesus). That is when we began to feel the presence of God in our situation.

Listen, we all have days that it isn’t going to be easy to lay some of these things down, there are even days that we may yearn to wear the heaviness of those things again because at least at those times we don’t feel so exposed & vulnerable.

There are many times that I run back to the cross and take back the things that I don’t have the will to lay down that day. (go grab a few pieces of rope and start tying them back together). And that is ok, you can start again tomorrow…

As I stand here today I am not a person that is free from all of the things that I am burdened by. There are things that I yet to trust Jesus with and together with Him I am a work in progress. But I know that there will come a time that I will have the trust and courage to lay them all down.

This is part of the submission that Nancy was talking about this week in her reading chapter titled Submission. 

I love Matthew 16:24, that says, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.

Through our act of obedience and submission things become clear.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (talking about the Paul and the thorn in his flesh)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Sufficient in this passage means to ultimately be satisfied. So therefore my grace (His grace) is to satisfy you. Would we be willing to accept what God is saying to us here? To delight in our weaknesses and to know that when we are at our weakest state, through Christ we are the strongest.

Profiting in our trials

Let’s look at a few things that the Bible says about profiting from our trials:

James 1:2-4,

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Peter 1:6-7 (this one keeps coming up everywhere for me),

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Papa’s Land

I wanted to share with you what happened to me yesterday. For the first time since my grandfather has passed I loaded up my kids and followed my sister, mom and aunt out to his place. I was very anxious about going there and having the initial reality that as we drove over the hill he would not be waiting at the gate to greet us.

I kept thinking how this man had helped me so much by his encouragement he poured into me and by the simplicity of his life. If I had burdens they seemed to be put into perspective by sitting on his porch solving all life’s problems one historical story at a time. But yesterday my burden was deep and my sorrow was heavy and I was weary.

We made our way into the house, after we all pulled ourselves together, and begin to rummage through some of the things that we each wanted. After a bit I just sat in his chair and took it all in. Man was it quiet, too quiet, even with the energy of my kids and I wanted to get outside.

I walked out to his shop and realized that the oddness of the quietness had followed me. I began to look around I realized that there were very few animals, if any that were roaming about. You see he qualified for Ag exemption on his property which meant that he literally had feeding stations and nesting stations set up at various places around his place. He fed the birds, the squirrels, the chickens and even the coons. Things that are a nuisance to us were friends to him. He had a butterfly garden and sometimes even bee hives. But now the absence of his presence and the food that he had once provided resulted in an absence of the animals. I thought, “how they must miss him…” It made me wonder how many times the animals that he tended to daily came back to see if he had returned and how long did it take them before they gave up and went elsewhere.

I stared out into an open field and began to ask God if this was a place that was meant for Will and I to purchase. Would we be able to be happy when visiting here and could this be a place that would bring us closer to God? I felt God lay these words on my heart.

“I have never once left you but at times you don’t notice me there because you don’t like how it looks. Don’t fear that I am not there, I am. As I took that short walk with God I felt that he made clear to me in my spirit, that If we choose to not put in the work & commitment it takes to seek him and fill up on what his Word has for us, then our hunger and our thirst for figuring this all out will never be quenched and we will undoubtedly go elsewhere for food.

How many of us are looking at an empty, lifeless landscape trying to figure out where God is in all of it? Maybe it is us that have turned away and chosen to not bend the knee and dive into his Word for healing and fresh revelations. Or maybe we are spinning circles trying to find him when all along he is right there. Sometimes the best place to start is on our knees. 

The Bible says, ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.

How many times do we get discouraged waiting on the LORD when the whole time morning after morning he continues to pour out the manna we need to fulfill our daily needs. 

He pours out his love for us through his word, but how will we ever know if we don’t open it up and read it? Don’t say it’s too hard or confusing, if I can do this than so can you. Sit down and ask God for discernment and wisdom and a heart and mind to receive whatever it is he has to show you. Tell him when you are confused or don’t understand something. Beg him to open your eyes to the bigger picture and to help you bend the knee into submission and obedience to accept the plan and His will over your life. I say this to you so boldly because for me I see no Plan B. I want to live in freedom through Christ and I know this is the only way.

                                    The beauty in nature

For some reason after walking with God Papa’s place became even more beautiful to me. God reveals himself to us in so many ways and for me yesterday, it was through nature.

 I began to thank God for the things that I take for granted. Theresa has mentioned several times that the appropriate response for a gift is gratitude. When was the last time that you thanked God for a sunset? Every evening he paints the most beautiful picture in the sky for all to see, and do we even take the time to notice it? And when we do are we giving him credit for it? I love that he gives us a small window into his beauty. I listened to a preacher a while back and he said, “God is Holy and majestic and so powerful, and yet we treat him like a hobby.”

All of this made me think of all the many ways that God reveals his love for us and how often we over look them. Are we so bitter or self-focused by some of the things that have happened in our life that we miss out on the things he is laying right before our eyes?

I’ve often wondered if God doesn’t allow me to enter through trials so that I put aside everything else and seek him. Where else can you experience the immense amount of love that he has for you? I want to experience the kind of love from God that I don’t forget in a day or two…don’t you?

Several years ago I began praying this scripture over my life. I started out saying it with hesitation, but now I say it with confidence in who He is to me.

Proverbs 30:5-9 says,

5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

7 Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

I am committed to trusting God to provide for me in my daily needs in my walk with him. And I am praying this same verse over my husband and children. It is not easy for me to lay my kids at his feet and pray “thy will be done”, but if I have no trust and confidence in my savior what do I have at all? I ask God constantly to help me correctly speak the truth in his Word for I don’t want to mislead you or myself in anything that I bring forth.

I speak in confidence when I say that your God loves you and cares about you with unconditional love. I know for most of us when looking at our tragedies the answers as to why aren’t always clear. I am just thankful that we serve a God that gives us the opportunity to seek him and find some peace in the storms.

Matthew 7:7-8 says,

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Nowhere does this passage imply that we will find the answers we want, but we will find the answers he has for us.

I have prayed that each of us will open our hearts to him in a way that he is able to fill us to the measure of his love. I pray that through trials and sifting we become spiritually mature and have an increase in faith that surpasses all doubt, because we serve a God that is far more capable of anything that myself or anyone else could ever bring forth. He is our healer and our great deliver. In Him I will put my trust and through Him I will survive this storm.

Holding on to Hope 5

Reaching out in FAITH

1 Peter 1:7
7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire —may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Ok we are going to do a little recap from the 1^st week of study.

Tonight is all about the visual of what we are talking about, so even if you are not a visual learner please try and go through this with me. Even if it takes you closing your eyes at times…I don’t want you to miss this.

So there we were in the place we are calling the Calm before the storm when all of a sudden it happens. We get the call, or the diagnosis or the pink slip or whatever it is and before we know it, before we can even grasp what has happened there we are in the midst of the storm. We are thrown out into the raging waters and we feel like we are about to drown.

We reach out and grab hold to our life vest that represents the Word of God but it doesn’t take long to realize that even with that we are barely keeping above water. We are not only emotionally and mentally wearing down, but our physical body is wearing thin. We were so blind sided by this tragedy that we never even noticed the enemy has taken a rope with that thousand pound anchor and tied it around our leg and if we don’t take back the foothold we unknowingly gave him then it won’t be long before we go under.

We have our freedom verse that says, For it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, so stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1.

This tragedy on it’s own is not slavery but if we don’t cut the ties that the enemy has us bound up in, then it will be next to impossible to survive it.

Thankfully we are not asked nor required to go at this alone.

Ephesians 3:14-21 says this,14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

You need to know that there is a time that it is appropriate to stand your ground & fight the enemy to take back what is yours. Ephesians just said that he will strengthen you with power through his Spirit.
　                                      
I know we talked about this a few weeks ago but this one is so important…

Ephesians 6:10-1410 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Do you know that there is nothing in the Bible that ever says for you to take if off? We are to never be unguarded or unprepared always standing firm in the Word of God and in his power that dwells within us.
　　
So What Now?

So here we are, we’ve stood our ground through the power of the HS. We’ve taken back the foothold from the enemy and yet…we are still in the storm.

I think what happens is the longer we stay in the storm the harder it rains. Sometimes we start out with this big faith in God then once we realize the pain isn’t subsiding our faith starts to drift away.
　
When we are hurt or burned we wear that pain. When we are sad or devastated we wear fear. When we are tested and tormented we wear that distrust. Those feelings turn into hurt and resentment and resentment left undealt with leads to bitterness and more loss.

(Ok, here is the disadvantage of reading this on a blog, you can’t see the visual of the rope.)

We have to be willing to lay every piece of this down at the feet of Jesus. 

Learning to lay it down

The longer we choose to not lay these things down at his feet, the longer we stay in the storm. This doesn’t mean that when we lay them down we are instantly healed but this is the beginning of the process we must go through to allow God to heal our hearts and mend our broken places.

When we are freed from the ropes that we are in bondage to, we are able to reach up and into the arms of Jesus.

And it is there that we begin our journey out of the storm into the still waters, to the cove of his mercy and peace.

2 Corinthians 3:1818 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
And it is then, in the midst of our tragedy in the midst of the storm, the clouds start to part we will reflect His glory!!!

As we close tonight I want you to listen to the words of this song. Take out your pen and tell Him the things that you are holding onto that you haven’t been able to lay down. Ask Him to give you the ability and willingness to do so and ask Him how to show you His glory through His healing.

Part the waters/I need Thee

When I think I'm goin' under, part the waters Lord
When I feel the waves around me, calm the sea
When I cry for help, oh, hear me Lord and hold out Your hand
Touch my life, and still the raging storm in me

Knowing You love me, through the burdens I must bear
Hearing Your footsteps, lets me know I'm in Your care
And in the night of my life, You bring the promise of day
Here is my hand, show me the way

Knowing You love me, helps me face another day
Hearing Your footsteps, drives the clouds and fears away
And in the tears of my life, I see the sorrow You bore
Here is my pain, heal it once more.....
Once more....

Touch my life, and still the raging storm in me!

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; no tender voice like thine can peace afford.

I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby; temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.

I need thee every hour, in joy or pain; come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee
　

　

Holding on to Hope 4

Does God really care about our sorrow?

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

Please stop here and follow the link below to a short video that is crucial for you to watch to get the fullness of today’s topic.

http://lifetoday.org/video/?search=Beth%20Moore then look for the video that is dated Wednesday, June 27^th, 2012. Don’t forget you can fast forward to 7:39 to start the story that I want you to hear.

__________________________________________________________

He doesn’t look at you in the middle of this storm and in the middle of these raging waters and say, “I sure hope she is a good swimmer, I guess we’ll just wait and see.” Are you kidding? That is not the God that we serve. Sometimes we are the vessel that God uses to speak a word to just like you just watched with Beth, and then sometimes we are the one who has a need and God begins to prepare the heart of someone else to tend to us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 says,
  ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

My question for you tonight is, “Do you believe that?”

My biggest experiences that I have had with God and the times that I have been pulled furthest out of my comfort zone are the times when God lays something on my heart for someone. You always know when this takes place because you can feel the HS pressing so heavily upon it. I will tell you that almost every time I have internally fought with God over it, but when I pushed away the pride and humility and bent the knee, the most beautiful thing takes place. Through our obedience…He uses us.

Let me ask you this, what is the worst thing that could happen to you if were obedient to God and went to the very person that God has laid on your heart and shared with them what it was he had to say. I know several times I have even started the conversation out like this, “I know this sounds crazy but God loves you so much that I believe he has laid this on my heart to share with you.

A few years after I had given my life over to Christ I felt God molding my heart in the direction of women’s ministry. I had really struggled with this and still dealt with so much pride and humility over the changes that God was requiring me to make. I wasn’t sure how it would really look like and was even more worried about when he showed me what it looked like how I would be able to conform to it. One day I had called my step mom Mona in a slight panic over some things that God had been revealing to me and she said this, “Why are you so worried about acting or looking like a fool for Jesus, when you have acted a fool for Satan for so long?” Isn’t that the truth…

I’m going to share with you that although God may have given me the opportunity to stand up here for these 8 weeks and share with you the things that he has laid upon my heart; don’t think for a second that he isn’t using this opportunity also to reveal to me every week the areas of my life that still need to be sifted and changed. Whether it is dealing with the humility of mispronouncing words or the nerves that some weeks I can’t shake. Or the simple fact that my mouth at times over speaks my faith, He is sure to let me know that it is not about me. We are a group of women from all types of walks and each with a different story. God has placed us here together to grow and learn and receive the freedom and healing he was waiting for us.

So the question is, Does God really care about the hurt and pain and insecurities that we hold inside? Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about that.

Psalm 139 says,

O Lord, you have searched me
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
⁵ You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. (Jesus…)

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

He knows our needs, even when we just need our hair brushed…I think we all know that there was way more than a physical need met there.

You see I think we can hear all these wonderful things about Gods love for us and the power of the cross. We can listen to how guilt is not from God and that it is a crafty scheme from the devil and how we are to gear up and fight against the strongholds that the enemy tries to lure us into. We can be taught what the word of God says about our life here on earth and the gift of eternal salvation and how one of the few things that we are promised here on earth are the day that we are born and the day that we die.

We've spent each week leading up to this one sifting through the ultimate plan and purpose for this tragedy and yet day after day some of us are still just as lost, if not more lost, then when we started. We can slap scripture cards over every inch of our homes, cars and offices and show up for Bible study and church every week, and continue to walk through every physical step known to man to find some reasoning in all of it. But all of that will not mean a thing if we don’t believe and accept that our Father loves us and cares for us and is capable of healing our hearts and filling this emptiness in our life.

We have to come to a place with him, a place that no one can bring you to other then you and Jesus himself. It has to be built on the foundation of trust, in which some of us have lost through this storm, and the willingness to be healed. Matthew 10:30 says, But the very hairs on your head are numbered.

We are left with one vital choice, are we going to choose fear or faith? The definition of faith that we as Christians live by is this, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11

I don’t know about you but I can tell you from my experiences in the storms of this unruly life have rarely offered me a clear picture as to why they are taking place. It isn’t until I am willing to grab hold to the uncertainty of what it is that I’m going through and lay it at the feet of Jesus that I begin to understand the hope in which I have in my LORD. And then I have to choose to stay on my knees until my faith and my hope in my God carries me to the other side.   

I wanted this scripture to be what I prayed over us tonight in closing.

Ephesians 1:17-23
¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰ which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

I wish I knew how to put a song on here so you could here this.

He knows my name

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands
I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

Holding on to Hope Part 3

I'm late on posting the notes for the bible study. Please keep praying for us as we continue to press on through his word and love and mercy...

If you did your homework this week then this verse should be a fresh word for you. If you did not do your homework please take the time to catch up, Nancy Guthrie did a beautiful job comparing scripture on the power and authority of our God.

And just like in our study we are going to travel all over Gods word tonight.

*Open your bible to Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”…

I was asked this question at a Beth Moore Bible Study a few years ago and it completely changed my relationship with God.

Question: Do you believe that God is more of a taker than a giver?

And that your rewards will only be received in heaven and not here on earth?

While I share mine I want you to think about your answer on this one.

For me this was the first time I heard someone put into words the fear and the distrust that I carried in my heart with God. I was so taken back by what this question meant to me and more importantly that my answer was sadly yes.

I can tell you that this is the big one for me still. I want to trust God fully and with everything that I have. But when it comes down to certain things I cannot lay them down. I’ve begged God not to have me learn the hard way on this one. I want to accept his love for me and my family and I want to accept His grace.

Then God throws me into the mix of this Bible Study and in the midst of your stories and your tragedies and I want to crawl up under a rock and hide. I’m thinking God I’m trusting you with these things in my life but yet I’m sitting here in this room with these women and they are going through it, through those exact things that I fear…and I have to look at each of them every week, into their eyes full of sorrow and full of pain…and offer them what?

How can we look at each other with the situations that we have been dealt and say that we don’t believe that God is more of a taker then a giver? I think if we are just being honest then we would say our hearts are shattered and our trust is broken and although we love God, we aren’t sure how to be ok with what has happened.

Isaiah 40:28-31 says,  

²⁸ Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator^(C) of the ends of the earth.^(D) He will not grow tired or weary,^(E) and his understanding no one can fathom.^{(F) 29} He gives strength^(G) to the weary^(H) and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men^(I) stumble and fall;^{(J) 31} but those who hope^(K) in the Lord
will renew their strength.^(L) They will soar on wings like eagles;^(M) they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.^(N)

Isaiah 41:10 says,

¹⁰ So do not fear,^(A) for I am with you;^(B) do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen^(C) you and help^(D) you;
I will uphold you^(E) with my righteous right hand.^(F)

Isaiah 45:7

I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form the light and create darkness,^(D)
I bring prosperity and create disaster;^(E) I, the Lord, do all these things.

We hear these words, and I don’t know about you but as wonderful as they are my first response is, them why, why is all of this happening?

I told you last week that we have lost 3 inner circle people in my family in less than 2 years. Last August I sat at my 48 year old step moms funeral and listened to the preacher say this, “Mona Pennington was born December 24^th 1963 and died August 28, 2011. And as he pointed to her casket he said this, “and she was promised nothing more than this.”

Silence fell across the room and it was then that I realized, just as Nancy talked about through the life of Job, that this life is a precious gift. When we receive it we need to grab hold and savior it for everything it is worth and when it has expired we need to let it go and praise God for the blessings it brought to our life.

Mona was a godly woman and one that in the last 15 years had fully devoted herself to service in the Kingdom of God. She had a powerful calling on her life that we were able to watch unfold page by page, then all of a sudden sickness took over and we knew that hand of God was not going to heal her but to pick her up and take her home. I remember at her funeral looking at her 20 year old daughter and 15 year old son thinking “how are they ever going to understand this?” Then the words of the preacher rang in my ears again…”She was promised nothing more than this.”

Right before she passed God had laid this scripture on my heart to give to her. I know it’s one we are probably familiar with but the words are so simple and true.

Ecclesiastes 3

3 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

⁹ What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹² I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴ I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵ That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

I wonder what would happen if in the midst of our raging waters we could breathe in long enough to praise Him in this storm…

Could we trust him enough to know that his ways are bigger than ours and even though it makes no sense to us we can move toward trusting him in the midst of our hurt, our anger and our sorrow?

Do you believe that like Job he can make all things new and in turn bless our life with a double portion of his mercy and love?

When tragedy strikes, we go into survival mode, but are we geared up and ready to fight? And if so are we covered in the right armor?

You know where I am going next…and if you write in your bible and you don’t have this portion of scripture underlined then I’m going to give you a minute to turn there so you can do that.

*Turn to Ephesians 6:10-18,

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Listen; let’s not let the familiar words of these verses fall short of the power that they carry.  Read them again as if it was your first time and for some of you if it is your first time then take it all in and ask God to give you a heart to receive it and a mind to conceive it.

We don’t know why this thing has taken place in our lives or why and for what purpose God allowed it, maybe in some strange way that is the unforeseen beauty about it. Do we believe that he can turn these ashes into beauty? If you remember Ecclesiastics said “He has made everything beautiful in its time”.

So, in the midst of our raging waters would we be willing to call out to him in worship.

I want to read what Nancy has written in the chapter of the book Worship.

“When our skin is pricked by a thorn, what comes out is what’s inside: blood. When our lives are pricked by difficulty, what comes out is what’s inside. For some of us, it is selfishness, pride, bitterness and anger that comes seeping out. For others, it is the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). What came out when Job was not just pricked, but pierced, was worship. (Page 17)

“Surely our worship in the midst of pain and sorrow is particularly precious to God-because it costs us so much. Worship is not made easier, but it becomes all the more meaningful when offered from a heart that is hurting.” (Page 18)

“because we are acutely aware of our desperate need for God and our own incapacitating weakness. We have our helplessness and inadequacy in proper perspective to God’s power and sufficiency.”

We will close with this:

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

¹¹ Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
¹² Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.

¹³ “Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.