Light In The Storm

 

Photo by Alvesgaspar2009

My heart is heavy today for all those affected by catastrophic Hurricane Helene, especially for those who lost loved ones. Our beach home, which inspired the post below (from the archives), has extensive damage, the extent of which is still unclear, just as we had finally completed repairs from Hurricane Ian, which struck nearly exactly two years ago.  But we thank God in all things (Ephesians 5:20), despite our loss and the far worse losses of our neighbors in Florida and northward. We thank Him for sparing our lives and home and the lives and homes of our loved ones, for the peace that passes all understanding (Phillipians 4:7), for the joy in His salvation (Psalm 35:9), and for the reassurance that He works all things together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). Prayers for all those affected by this devastating storm, for grace, strength, peace and comfort.

  

As my husband and I sat overlooking the beach while reading our morning devotionals, we could sense the storm brewing. The breeze was strengthening, allowing a pair of ospreys to soar effortlessly through the darkening sky. Waves lapping the shore began to

 chop and churn, and the usually pale blue, glassy sea became rough and darkened with deep purple blots like ink stains under the gathering clouds.

I spotted an unusual cloud formation that resembled a rocky cliff with a sharp drop-off, abutting what looked like an immense boulder. In the cleft between the boulder and the cliff was a human figure, huddled in a fetal position. Standing on the cliff was an angel with outstretched arms, as if protecting the person below.

As we watched the clouds change shape in the shifting winds, we witnessed an amazing transformation. The human figure looked up at the angel and straightened up, while still trapped between the cliff and the boulder. Although the angel began to recede into the distance, the sun’s rays, previously hidden, began to illuminate the human figure so that it shone brightly in the otherwise dark sky.

How often do we feel as if we’re trapped between a rock and a hard place? Like the psalmist David, who hid in caves as he fled for his life, we may feel like we’ve fallen into a pit (Psalm 40:2), a deep crevice flanked by impenetrable rock, and an impossibly long way up to safety. We can’t pull ourselves from it or climb out in our own strength, and we are reminded that God is our only hope (Psalm 38:15; 42:5,11; 71:5).

David wrote that the evils surrounding him and the consequences of his own sins were so great that he could not even look up, and his heart failed him. But God alone could save him through His tender mercies, loving kindness and truth, which continually preserved and delivered him (Psalm 40:11-17).

Praise God that He is our refuge in the storm, and that in our moments of deepest despair, He is with us, for He will never leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5). He has not promised to remove us from our trials, for they accomplish His purpose for us in ways we cannot begin to understand, as they did with Job (Job 1:21).

God did not answer the apostle Paul’s repeated prayers to remove his thorn in the flesh, for His grace is sufficient in our trials and His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), and we can have faith in His infinite love, power and wisdom to always work all things together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

While still trapped in the rocks, the human figure in the clouds looked up, straightened up, and shone brightly. When in trouble, we should look up to the heavens, for God is the source of our help (Psalm 121:1). We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus! He alone enables us to stand fast (1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 1:27) and straight in the storm, and to shine brightly with His reflected light to be a beacon and encouragement to others (John 1:9; 8:12; Philippians 2:15).

Recently our Pastor has been preaching from Scripture verses that comfort us in times of trouble. There are no coincidences or accidents with God.

At the very time we were at the beach watching this majestic demonstration of His handiwork (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:20), His Word spoke to us through the devotionals we were reading. One of these referenced Iguazu Falls, a stunning chain of 275 waterfalls in South America, bordered by a wall on which is inscribed the words “God is always greater than all our troubles,” under Psalm 93:4: The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

The brightness of the human figure enfolded in the rocks also reminded me that in times of trouble, God hides (Psalm 32:7) and protects us within Himself, in His pavilion and in the secret of His tabernacle, and that He will set us upon a rock (Psalm 27:5). That Rock is the sure foundation (Luke 6:48; Matthew 16:18) of His Son Jesus Christ, Who saves and gives eternal life (John 3:16) to all who trust in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6).

May we trust in Christ alone, and in His mercy, for He is our Rock, salvation, defense, glory, strength and refuge! (Psalm 62:5-8; 59:16-17; 94:22)

His protection and guidance from our enemies, threats and dangers (Psalm 32:8) enables us through faith to lift our head above these trials, to seek His face, offer sacrifices of joy and sing praises to Him (Psalm 27:6-8). Praise God that He is our refuge, strength, and very present help in trouble, so that we have no reason to fear even if the earth crumbles, the mountains explode and are carried into the roaring sea (Psalm 46:1-3).

Even in our darkest storms, may His light shine through us so that we can be a beacon of hope to a lost and dying world!

© 2017 Laurie Collett

Edited, expanded and reposted from the archives

Top Ten Thankful Thoughts

 

Photo by Ms Jones 2005

As Christians, we have so many blessings for which to thank God, not only at Thanksgiving but every day, that a list of only ten cannot even begin to describe it! Every good and perfect gift comes from God above (James 1:17), for the unsaved as well as for born-again believers (Matthew 5:45; John 3:3-8). The Psalms repeatedly echo what was first said in 1 Chronicles 16 (v. 34; 41): “Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,29; 136:1,3). So let’s use this verse as a departure point! 

 

1.God is good. Only the Triune God (the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is good (Lamentations 3:25), meaning holy, without sin, righteous (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19). Because He is good, He desires only the best for His children (Romans 8:16-17), meaning those who are saved by our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). Because He is righteous, God sees all who have trusted Him as righteous, for He has clothed us in His righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; Psalm 132:9). 

 

2. God is merciful (1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chronicles 6:14; Nehemiah 1:5; Psalm 52:8; 66:20; Micah 7:18; Luke 1:78; Romans 9:16; Ephesians 2:4; 1 Peter 1:3; Jude 1:21; etc.). It is great news that God is good, but it is also the worst possible news if we cannot meet His standard of holiness, and none can (Romans 3:23). Holy God cannot allow an unsaved sinner into Heaven, for that would defile Him. Because of His mercy, He does not give us what we deserve, which is eternal punishment in hell (Psalm 86:13). 

 

Instead, He loved us so much that He gave His Son (John 3:16) to pay the price in full for our sins, so that sinful man could be reconciled to Holy God (2 Corinthians 5:18). When God looks at born-again believers, He no longer sees our sins, but instead sees the perfect righteousness of His Son, which He has credited to our account. If we confess our sins, He forgives us (1 John 1:9), removing us from our sins as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). His mercies are new every morning (Psalm 59:16; Lamentations 3:22-23). 

 

3. God is full of grace. His mercy spares us from what we deserve, and His grace, freely given as unmerited favor, gives us what we do not deserve – eternal life in Heaven with Him and with our loved ones who have trusted Him by faith (Ephesians 2:3-8). There is no good work we can do to earn our way to Heaven, for our attempts to be righteous on our own are like filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).   

 

While we look forward to eternal life in Heaven, He gives us abundant life here and now (John 10:10). His grace showers us with blessings every day (Ezekiel 34:26), grace upon grace. His grace is sufficient for us to endure trials (2 Corinthians 12:9) and empowers us to carry out the work He has appointed to us (1 Corinthians 15:10). 

 

4. God endures forever. He cannot change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), so we don’t have to worry about an unstable god wresting our promised future away from us. We are not gambling on the whim of some capricious god finding favor with us when we die, or judging that our good deeds outweigh the bad. We have the blessed, living hope and promise of the One True God, our Rock (1 Samuel 2:2; Matthew 16:18) and Fortress (Psalm 18:2), returning for His children to spend eternity with Him in Heaven (Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 1:3). 

 

There is nothing we, He, nor anyone or anything else can do to reverse that, to rob us of salvation once we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior (Romans 8:35-39). We did nothing to earn it, and nothing can ever remove it from us. He is faithful and true (Jeremiah 42:5; Revelation 3:14; 19:11), steadfast and constant (Daniel 6:26), always delivering on His promises (James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13). 

 

5. God is love (1 John 4:8). Because God loves us, He not only saved us, but He always acts toward us out of love. We may not always understand His ways, just as a rebellious child does not always understand why a loving father slaps the hand that is reaching for the hot stove (Hebrews 12:6-11). But we can always trust that He is working all things together for those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He loves us infinitely, so He can’t love us any more, and we don’t have to work to earn His love. Similarly, He can’t love us any less, even when we rebel.  Because God is love, His Spirit in our heart teaches us to love and serve Him and one another, and our earthly relationships can thrive when motivated by love (John 13:34-35). 

 

6. God is all knowing and all powerful. Not only does God love us infinitely, but He has all wisdom about all things past, present and future (Psalm 139:1-6). He knows what is best for us, what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32), and what must be done to accomplish that. Is anything too hard for God? (Jeremiah 32:27) Can the One Who spoke the worlds into existence (Genesis 1), Who made the sun stand still (Joshua 10:12), and Who parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21) be unable to do whatever is best for us? 

 

7. God is light. Once His Holy Spirit enters our heart at the moment of salvation (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13), His Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105), showing us where to go, how to follow Him, and to understand His will and plan for our life. He is the Light of the world (John 8:12), yet His light shining through us and reflecting from us allows us to be lights (Matthew 5:14), illuminating a dark and wicked world with His truth. 

 

8. God provides for all our needs. If God cares for the birds of the air and clothes the flowers in beautiful apparel (Luke 12:22-33), will He not provide for His children? We are the crown jewel of His creation (Genesis 1:26-27), made for His good pleasure (Ephesians 1:5,9), and He will provide all we need to carry out the mission He has appointed to us (Philippians 4:14-19). If we seek Him first, and His righteousness, all other needs will be met (Matthew 6:33) – food, clothing, shelter, safety (Psalm 37:23-25). 

 

9. God gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). He provides not only for our basic needs, but for special blessings to enrich our life. These may not be financial or material, appealing to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, for these are of the world (1 John 2:16). Yet the beauty and majesty of His creation, freely available to all, is beyond measure (Genesis 1:31; Psalm 19:1). 

 

The spiritual blessings He gives us of peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) and joy in Him (Psalm 21:1; 35:9; etc.) cannot be bought at any price, except for that of His shed blood on Calvary’s cross (Hebrews 9:22). How can we compare to any earthly treasure the joy of knowing that we will see our sisters and brothers in Christ once more and forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), never having to say goodbye; in glorified bodies without tears, pain, sickness, aging or death? (1 Corinthians 15:35-58) 

 

10. God has a plan for our life. Praise God, He has freed us from the bondage of sin, death and hell! Praise God, we are no longer His enemies (Romans 5:10), but His children (Galatians 3:26), joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17) to His inheritance of eternal life, and united as the body (Romans 12:5) and bride (Revelation 21:2) of Christ! But it gets even better – we are His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) and His fellow-laborers (1 Corinthians 3:9). 

 

His general plan for our lives is that all be saved (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13), and that once saved, to keep His commandments, to tell others about Him, to pray, and study His Word. Beyond that, He has a specific plan for each of us (Ephesians 2:10), which He designed before time even began (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:5,11). If we have faith, He will reveal that plan to us, piece by piece. If we yield to His Holy Spirit and follow that plan, we will have the joy of hearing Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21) 

 

Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever! 

 

© 2016 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

God's Exchange

 

Photo by Myotus 2022

Would you trade the toaster oven in your hands for what’s behind Door Number 3? It might be a new car or a lump of coal – on a game show, there is no way of knowing. One thing is for sure, though -- you have to give up what you have to get something new.

With God, we have the assurance of knowing that what we will get by trusting Him is infinitely better than what we give up, because you can’t outgive God. 

When we pray for Him to meet a specific need, He does not just add a little something to what we already have; He takes away a burden and replaces it with a priceless gift (Philippians 4: 4-6). The best gift of all is eternal life (John 3:16), freely given to all who trust in Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). 

What’s the catch? There is no catch, except that we have to release the burden to Him before He will bless us with the gift. If we clutch on to the old and familiar because we’re afraid to let go, we lack the faith that He knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8), and that He will answer our prayer exceeding abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:14).

This is not a prosperity gospel or a name-it-and-claim-it philosophy, because we should recognize that not all our specific requests are in line with God’s perfect will, and that His blessings are often not in the material realm. As we become more conformed to Christ’s image (Philippians 3:10), and trust Him more and more, He will grant us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) because those desires become more aligned with His perfect will for us.

When we feel that God is not blessing us as we had hoped, it may be because we haven’t yet asked Him (James 4:2; Matthew 7:8; 21:22; Luke 11:10), or because we’re asking for something to satisfy our fleshly wants rather than our spiritual needs (James 4:3). Or it may be that our heart is not right with God because we have not forgiven those who have wronged us, or we have not repented of our sins, or because we are relying on our own limited resources to solve the problem, instead of trusting in His abundant grace.

But God delights in blessing His children with good things beyond our imagination! (Matthew 7:11; Ephesians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:14) If we have faith to leave our burdens at the foot of the cross, He will fill us up with blessings beyond measure (Hebrews 11:6). He will exchange:

Our sins for His righteousness (Hebrews 12:11)

Our bondage for His liberty (James 1:25)

Our weakness for His strength (2 Corinthians 12:9; Isaiah 40:31)

Our exhaustion for His rest (Matthew 11:28)

Our loneliness for His presence (Hebrews 13:5; Proverbs 18:24) and for brothers and sisters in Christ (Galatians 6:2)

Our pride for His humility (Philippians 2:5-7; Mark 10:45)

Our limitations for His omnipotence (Luke 18:27; Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13)

Our ignorance for His wisdom (James 1:5; Colossians 2:3) and teaching (John 14:26; Ephesians 1:17-18)

Our confusion for His direction (Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 119:105)

Our guilt for His forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9; Romans 8:1; Colossians 1:13-14)

Our doubt and fear for His perfect love, faith, and the peace that passes all understanding (1 John 4:18; Philippians 4:7).

Our sin sickness for His healing (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24)

Our tears for joy in Him (Philippians 4:4; Psalm 5:11; 1 John 1:4)

Our lack for His abundance (Philippians 4:19)

A death sentence of eternity in hell for abundant life now and eternity with Him in Heaven (Ephesians 2:1; John 3:16).

Dying to self for living with and in Him (Galatians 2:20)

Being children of the devil for being children of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

A story has circulated on the Internet about a little girl who dearly loved a necklace of plastic pearls she bought at the dime store after scrimping and saving her allowance. Her father asked her to trust him to give them to her so he could give her something better, but each time he asked, she turned away defiantly with pouting and tears, clinging to the plastic pearls even though their coating had long since flaked away. After all, she had worked so hard and given up so much to get them.

Finally she realized that her love for her father and her desire to please him outweighed her attachment to her necklace. Reluctantly, timidly, she removed them from her neck and offered them to him. Imagine her surprise and delight when he placed around her neck a string of perfectly matched, cultured pearls of great beauty and value.

How often are we like the little girl, refusing to give up the childish trinkets we acquire by our own efforts, letting them take on the importance of idols in our life? Why are we so often afraid to exchange what we have for what the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer longs to give us?

Copyright Laurie Collett 2012

Edited and reposted from the archives

Lessons Learned In Illness

Our love and prayers go out to all those who are currently suffering with illness, whether from Covid-19 or other issues. Many in our personal circle are afflicted, and the sheer numbers of those who are ill in our state, country and the world are staggering. Sickness of any kind is a heavy burden that weighs on the individual themselves, their family, and their communities, physically, spiritually, and economically. 

Although my husband is still undergoing cancer treatment, we are blessed that he is tolerating it well and that we enjoy good health and energy levels overall and an active lifestyle. But as the Lord gives, He can also take away (Job 1:21), and we know that circumstances could change at any moment according to His perfect will (James 4:14). When we were both acutely ill with respiratory issues in 2017, I wrote the blog post below, and I felt led to edit and repost it now in hopes that it might bless someone currently struggling with illness. 

 

 

The Bible and our own lives overflow with examples of why God allows us to suffer through trials for our ultimate good and His glory (Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:12). They draw us closer to Him in faith and complete reliance on His strength (2 Corinthians 12:9); they give us wisdom, compassion and experience to counsel others going through similar trials (1 Corinthians 10:13), and they mold us into the image of His Son through suffering (Philippians 3:10).

 

Praise God, my husband Richard and I have been blessed with generally excellent health since being saved, although we have not been immune to other trials. But in the fall of  2017,as he was recovering from bronchitis, and I far more slowly from pneumonia, we  realized that there are additional lessons to be learned from illness in particular. These include:

Gratitude for blessings we ordinarily take for granted. There is a saying, “What if we had today only those things we thanked God for yesterday?” As the pneumonia grabbed hold, I wished I had thanked God more for the gifts of breathing freely, undisturbed sleep, appetite, and walking across the room without having to cough or get short of breath.

The apostle Paul tells us to give thanks in all things, for this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). In other words, it is God’s will that we have a thankful heart through all trials. In addition, we can have faith that whatever He allows into our life is His perfect will for us – not something we would choose or may even understand, but something He will use for our ultimate good and His glory.

Humility. When I am well, part of my ego and flesh are invested in my worldly accomplishments: teaching, singing, dancing. I have long realized and acknowledged that these are only possible as He allows, and that He has entrusted these gifts to my stewardship provided I am faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2).

But nothing drives the point home that without Him, I can’t even take my next breath, when I struggled to do just that. By the grace of God, in 2017 before getting sick we completed in four days a series of five physically demanding dance shows (ten dances) to a total audience of more than 5000 people. Yet once I became ill, it was a struggle to stand up long enough to brush my teeth, and I am thankful that no one witnessed that struggle.

Without Him I am nothing and can do nothing (John 15:5), but with Him all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26) I prayed that He would restore my strength in His perfect will and timing, and He answered that prayer! But while awaiting recovery, I praised God that His grace is sufficient, and that His strength is made perfect in my weakness! He gave me reason to glory in the illness, for when I am weak, He is strong, and His power may rest upon me! (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Compassion and intercession for others. It is relatively easy to pray for those who are sick and hurting as their names come up on our prayer list. But sometimes it takes being sick ourselves to have empathy for what these dear ones are going through, empathy that brings them into our heart in the still of the night and leads us to lift them up before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). If we pray one for another, we will be healed (James 5:16), for when we do that, we are not praying for our own selfish desires (James 4:3).

God finally ended Job’s troubles and restored him completely once he began praying for his friends (Job 42:10). Personal sickness reminds us of what the apostle Paul said about the whole church body being out of joint when a single member hurts (1 Corinthians 12:26-27). It teaches us to pray fervently, not only in our affliction, but once our health is restored, for those brethren in physical need. Only then are we showing God’s love, by bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

When I was ill, I was humbled by expressions of love and kindness, as well as prayers, from those who were chronically ill and had health and other issues far worse than mine. My prayer was that this illness would teach me to follow their Godly example of self-sacrificing love!

Knowing that God is working all things together.  Once we are saved by placing our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), we are His called and chosen people, for whom He has had a specific purpose or mission since before the world began (Ephesians 1:5,11). This illness did not catch Him by surprise, and He made provision to lessen the burden in so many ways.

My husband’s illness began before mine, so that I was able to take care of him at his worst, and to do household chores and order supplies that would simplify our lives once my illness began. When my pneumonia was at its peak, Richard had already begun to recover, and I am truly blessed and humbled by his loving care and attention to me when I needed it most.

Because of our extended time away for the dance shows, we had cleaned and organized the house before we left, so the environment was more conducive to healing once we returned. Because of Hurricane Irma, the Missions Conference at our church, to which we ordinarily devote a considerable amount of our time, energy, and resources, was postponed.

At the worst point of the pneumonia God gave me the wisdom to realize that we could not be ready for a major event scheduled at our ballroom in only two weeks, despite our best intentions. Richard was in complete agreement and made all arrangements for it to be rescheduled for early 2018, which turned out to be an unexpected blessing for many others involved, as well as a considerable load off our minds and weary bodies.

Praying and living moment by moment. As I lay awake one night feverish and unable to sleep, I thoughtlessly prayed, “Dear Lord, Please let me sleep restfully through the night and let me be completely healed in the morning.” We always want what we want, and we want it now!  

But God knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8), even if it is not what we think we want; He answers in the best possible way (Matthew 7:11); and His timing is always perfect (Galatians 4:4). Tribulation gives rise to patience and increased faith as we wait on His perfect solution, and patience in turn leads to experience, hope, and the loveof God flowing from our hearts to others (Romans 5:3-5). 

We are not promised tomorrow (James 4:14; Luke 12:16-20), so we should be mindful of and thankful for every moment He allots us. God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), and He asks us to pray each day for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11), not for supplies to hoard for the future. When the Israelites attempted to gather manna for the next day, it would spoil (Exodus 16). Praise God that He gives us fresh blessings every moment!

As I thought about my prayer, I realized that in an extreme form, it would be like being born again (John 3:3-8), and then praying: “Dear Lord, Thank You for saving me. Now please let me have a great life serving You, and when I see You face-to-face, I’ll give You all the glory!” A Christian praying such a prayer in isolation could not be a useful vessel to Jesus Christ, as our walk with Him (Colossians 2:6; 1 John 1:7) depends on constantly listening for and following the sound of His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12).

So I modified my sleepless prayer, “Dear Lord, You have promised never to leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5), Please enfold me in Your arms for the next hour and give your beloved sleep (Psalm 127:2) that is peaceful, healing, restoring, and renewing. Thank You for the healing You will bring about with Your perfect timing and grace.”

God answered that prayer, and when I awoke in a little over an hour I prayed it again, this time sleeping for more than two hours, for He answers our prayers exceeding abundantly beyond what we could do or think! (Ephesians 3:20). Throughout the night I alternated between refreshing sleep, sweet fellowship with Him, and prayer for others He brought to my heart. In the morning I felt that healing was beginning to be underway.

Under Divine inspiration, the apostle Paul commanded us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 1:9; 2 Timothy 1:3). When life seems to be going as we had planned and hoped, we are less likely to thank God in constant praise and worship and to seek His face regarding His will for our life. But when He brings us to our knees, we are in the best possible position to pray continually to be aligned with His specific mission for us.

This involves not only His overall will for our life, but specific assignments He gives us daily to test our obedience and accomplish His purposes. What would have happened if Jesus, Who had the single most significant God-given destiny, did not take the time or considered Himself too important to be interrupted by the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), or the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-44), the lepers, the blind, or so many others?

May the lessons learned in illness and other trials stay with us, reminding us to rely solely on Jesus Christ and His perfect plan for our lives; to pray for and help others with sincere, heartfelt compassion; and to live empowered by Him, thank Him and pray to Him moment by moment!

© 2017 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

Top Ten Thankful Thoughts

Photo by Ms Jones 2005

As Christians, we have so many blessings for which to thank God, not only at Thanksgiving but every day, that a list of only ten cannot even begin to describe it! Every good and perfect gift comes from God above (James 1:17), for the unsaved as well as for born-again believers (Matthew 5:45; John 3:3-8). The Psalms repeatedly echo what was first said in 1 Chronicles 16 (v. 34; 41): “Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,29; 136:1,3). So let’s use this verse as a departure point! 

 

1.God is good. Only the Triune God (the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is good (Lamentations 3:25), meaning holy, without sin, righteous (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19). Because He is good, He desires only the best for His children (Romans 8:16-17), meaning those who are saved by our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). Because He is righteous, God sees all who have trusted Him as righteous, for He has clothed us in His righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; Psalm 132:9). 

 

2. God is merciful (1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chronicles 6:14; Nehemiah 1:5; Psalm 52:8; 66:20; Micah 7:18; Luke 1:78; Romans 9:16; Ephesians 2:4; 1 Peter 1:3; Jude 1:21; etc.). It is great news that God is good, but it is also the worst possible news if we cannot meet His standard of holiness, and none can (Romans 3:23). Holy God cannot allow an unsaved sinner into Heaven, for that would defile Him. Because of His mercy, He does not give us what we deserve, which is eternal punishment in hell (Psalm 86:13). 

 

Instead, He loved us so much that He gave His Son (John 3:16) to pay the price in full for our sins, so that sinful man could be reconciled to Holy God (2 Corinthians 5:18). When God looks at born-again believers, He no longer sees our sins, but instead sees the perfect righteousness of His Son, which He has credited to our account. If we confess our sins, He forgives us (1 John 1:9), removing us from our sins as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). His mercies are new every morning (Psalm 59:16; Lamentations 3:22-23). 

 

3. God is full of grace. His mercy spares us from what we deserve, and His grace, freely given as unmerited favor, gives us what we do not deserve – eternal life in Heaven with Him and with our loved ones who have trusted Him by faith (Ephesians 2:3-8). There is no good work we can do to earn our way to Heaven, for our attempts to be righteous on our own are like filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).   

 

While we look forward to eternal life in Heaven, He gives us abundant life here and now (John 10:10). His grace showers us with blessings every day (Ezekiel 34:26), grace upon grace. His grace is sufficient for us to endure trials (2 Corinthians 12:9) and empowers us to carry out the work He has appointed to us (1 Corinthians 15:10). 

 

4. God endures forever. He cannot change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), so we don’t have to worry about an unstable god wresting our promised future away from us. We are not gambling on the whim of some capricious god finding favor with us when we die, or judging that our good deeds outweigh the bad. We have the blessed, living hope and promise of the One True God, our Rock (1 Samuel 2:2; Matthew 16:18) and Fortress (Psalm 18:2), returning for His children to spend eternity with Him in Heaven (Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 1:3). 

 

There is nothing we, He, nor anyone or anything else can do to reverse that, to rob us of salvation once we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior (Romans 8:35-39). We did nothing to earn it, and nothing can ever remove it from us. He is faithful and true (Jeremiah 42:5; Revelation 3:14; 19:11), steadfast and constant (Daniel 6:26), always delivering on His promises (James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13). 

 

5. God is love (1 John 4:8). Because God loves us, He not only saved us, but He always acts toward us out of love. We may not always understand His ways, just as a rebellious child does not always understand why a loving father slaps the hand that is reaching for the hot stove (Hebrews 12:6-11). But we can always trust that He is working all things together for those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He loves us infinitely, so He can’t love us any more, and we don’t have to work to earn His love. Similarly, He can’t love us any less, even when we rebel.  Because God is love, His Spirit in our heart teaches us to love and serve Him and one another, and our earthly relationships can thrive when motivated by love (John 13:34-35). 

 

6. God is all knowing and all powerful. Not only does God love us infinitely, but He has all wisdom about all things past, present and future (Psalm 139:1-6). He knows what is best for us, what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32), and what must be done to accomplish that. Is anything too hard for God? (Jeremiah 32:27) Can the One Who spoke the worlds into existence (Genesis 1), Who made the sun stand still (Joshua 10:12), and Who parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21) be unable to do whatever is best for us? 

 

7. God is light. Once His Holy Spirit enters our heart at the moment of salvation (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13), His Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105), showing us where to go, how to follow Him, and to understand His will and plan for our life. He is the Light of the world (John 8:12), yet His light shining through us and reflecting from us allows us to be lights (Matthew 5:14), illuminating a dark and wicked world with His truth. 

 

8. God provides for all our needs. If God cares for the birds of the air and clothes the flowers in beautiful apparel (Luke 12:22-33), will He not provide for His children? We are the crown jewel of His creation (Genesis 1:26-27), made for His good pleasure (Ephesians 1:5,9), and He will provide all we need to carry out the mission He has appointed to us (Philippians 4:14-19). If we seek Him first, and His righteousness, all other needs will be met (Matthew 6:33) – food, clothing, shelter, safety (Psalm 37:23-25). 

 

9. God gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). He provides not only for our basic needs, but for special blessings to enrich our life. These may not be financial or material, appealing to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, for these are of the world (1 John 2:16). Yet the beauty and majesty of His creation, freely available to all, is beyond measure (Genesis 1:31; Psalm 19:1). 

 

The spiritual blessings He gives us of peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) and joy in Him (Psalm 21:1; 35:9; etc.) cannot be bought at any price, except for that of His shed blood on Calvary’s cross (Hebrews 9:22). How can we compare to any earthly treasure the joy of knowing that we will see our sisters and brothers in Christ once more and forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), never having to say goodbye; in glorified bodies without tears, pain, sickness, aging or death? (1 Corinthians 15:35-58) 

 

10. God has a plan for our life. Praise God, He has freed us from the bondage of sin, death and hell! Praise God, we are no longer His enemies (Romans 5:10), but His children (Galatians 3:26), joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17) to His inheritance of eternal life, and united as the body (Romans 12:5) and bride (Revelation 21:2) of Christ! But it gets even better – we are His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) and His fellow-laborers (1 Corinthians 3:9). 

 

His general plan for our lives is that all be saved (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13), and that once saved, to keep His commandments, to tell others about Him, to pray, and study His Word. Beyond that, He has a specific plan for each of us (Ephesians 2:10), which He designed before time even began (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:5,11). If we have faith, He will reveal that plan to us, piece by piece. If we yield to His Holy Spirit and follow that plan, we will have the joy of hearing Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21) 

 

Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever! 

 

© 2016 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives