This day was shaping up as a very hard day!!! I felt like, and still do somewhat, a piece of porcelain that is on the verge of falling off the counter and breaking into a thousand pieces. I cried out to God, literally, for quite some time this afternoon. I forged ahead in my Bible study afterward and got better with each reading of Ch. 7 in Daniel (in precept you read it multiple times). I have peace in my heart, but my pain is agonizing today. When you continue to lean on God and focus on Him, have no doubt that Satan will step up his efforts to get in! He is throwing darts at me right now. I am holding up my shield of faith and my sword of the Spirit and praying that the rest of the armor doesn't fall off! I guess I should say that I am more like Moses when his arms were getting tired during the battle and a man had to stand on each side of him and hold up his arms. God and Jesus are holding up my sword and shield today as I am weak and fragile. Thank You, Abba!!!
An aquaintance (which I hope will become a friend :)) left me a Bible passage to read. I had forgotten until I read my email again after I finished my Bible study. God really shows up when you need Him! She left me 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, and true to form I had to add 15 & 16 too.
For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
WOW! Everything God does in my life is for my sake. It is by His grace and for His glory! He is renewing my inward parts (my heart) every day!! Thank You, Abba, I need it more now than ever! This journey is working in me things that are eternal. God is doing mighty things in my midst. This helped my perspective as God knocked on my door to remind me that life is not about the things which are seen, but about the things that are not seen. My pain is still very deep today and my peace feels very shallow. Even so, I will press on and hold onto the promise that God is with me and He will never leave me, and I have victory in Jesus. He has armed me with strength for the battle! Today I am in survival mode as I do the army crawl again, but that is ok because I will have days like this.
Father, take my fears and turn them into love. May You continue Your good and perfect work in my life. I need You desperately today! As David said in Psalm 40:13 & 17 "Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!...I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me, You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God." Fill me with You and help me trust You so that my mind is stayed on You and You can fill me with Your perfect peace for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
Thank you all for your prayers today! You are a blessing to me!
I can see in your writings the hard but glorious work the Lord is doing in your heart, and through your journey. Praying, praying, and praising too, that even amidst the pain, God is evident. MB
ReplyDeleteHurting for you again today, but absolutely sure God will bring you through! I love you!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, This was posted on a friend of mine's blog for encouragement to her, she has CF and has had a double lung transplant. I thought of you when I read it... You are in my prayers tonight.
ReplyDeleteHere's the excerpt from a devotional book...
I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. (2Tim 2:10)
"Who has not learned that our most sorrowful days are frequently our best? The days when our face is full of smiles and we skip easily through the soft meadow God has adorned with spring flowers, the capacity of our heart is often wasted.
Remember, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn" (Matt 5:4). Stars shine the brightest during the long dark night of winter. And the gentian wildflowers display their fairest blooms among the nearly inaccessible heights of the mountain snow and ice.
God seems to use the pressure of pain to trample out the fulfillment of His promises and thereby release the sweetest juice of His winepress. Only those who have known sorrow can fully appreciate the great tenderness of the "man of sorrows" (Isa. 53:3).
You may be experiencing little sunshine, but the long periods of gloomy darkness have been wisely designed for you, for perhaps a lengthy stretch of summer weather would have made you like parched land or a barren wilderness. Your Lord knows best, and the clouds and the sun wait for His command."