God All-Sufficient
O LORD OF GRACE,
The world is before me this day,
and I am weak and fearful,
but I look to thee for strength;
If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,
but on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal hills;
If left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame thy Name,
but if enlightened, guided, upheld by the Spirit,
I shall bring thee glory.
Be thou my arm to support,
my strength to stand,
my light to see,
my feet to run,
my shield to protect,
my sword to repel,
my sun to warm.
To enrich me will not diminish thy fullness;
All thy loving-kindness is in thy Son,
I bring him to thee in the arms of faith,
I urge his saving Name as the One who died for me.
I plead his blood to pay my debts of wrong.
Accept his worthiness for my unworthiness,
his sinlessness for my transgressions,
his purity for my uncleanness,
his sincerity for my guile,
his meekness for my pride,
his constancy for my backslidings,
his love for my enmity,
his fullness for my emptiness,
his faithfulness for my treachery,
his obedience for my lawlessness,
his glory for my shame,
his devotedness for my waywardness,
his holy life for my unchaste ways,
his righteousness for my dead works,
his death for my life.
Valley of Vision
A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions
I have a friend who is suffering with sores on her arm, a friend in her last days of pregnancy, a friend suffering from that awful depression after a newborn, one suffering from a broken, hopeless marriage and the list seems like it could go on and on. I remember attending a women's event with our church and listening to a great speaker/missionary. These words struck me to the core and it was just the words alone. She was talking about a young girl in another country. A country where if you were Christian or educated or meeting some other ridiculous standards, you were persecuted. You and your family were drug to an open field and shot to death right there, left for the scavengers. This one particular family was brought there when it was too dark so they wounded the family so they couldn't get away and planned to come back in the morning. This little girl escaped...she watched her family murdered. She was telling this missionary woman about praying when enduring suffering and she said, "In America you pray for the pain to stop. Here we pray that God would make our backs stronger to endure the pain."
So true! How easily irritated are we when we suffer or experience discomfort? We are so quick to fold our hands and ask God to take away any pain, we pray that we never endure any pain. We constantly pray, "keep us safe today, keep our kids safe, take away this sickness, take away this pain...." etc. I am NOT at all saying this is a wrong way to pray and NOT at all writing this to "convict" you of your prayers...but it does shine a different light on things doesn't it? We are so quick to grumble and become discontent.
In Numbers 21 the Israelites did just this. They just had a great victory (thanks be to God) and Moses had decided to take them along the Red Sea to avoid confrontation with Edom. They grew discontent. They grumbled. They complained about the Heavenly Bread...Manna. They spoke out against God and Moses. Their outcome was not pleasant.
"So God sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit them and many in Israel died. The people came to Moses and said, 'We sinned when we spoke out against God and you. Pray to God; ask him to take these snakes from us.' Moses prayed."
Praise God this is not the punishment for our grumbling. We would all be dead. Thank God for Jesus Christ and the blood that was spilled and is right now interceding on the behalf of his church....his bride.
I was thankful for this devotional yesterday as I was running on hardly any sleep. One of my little men was up every hour last night throwing up. His frail little shaking body had no strength and it would have been super easy for me to pray and beg for God to make him healthy again...but instead I tried to take the opportunity to thank God and "make my back stronger to endure". God reminded me of those suffering yesterday. This young woman in her country witnessing death. The colored map from Voices of the Martyrs where Christians are actively being persecuted. The 33 Christians sentenced to execution in North Korea.....
Rest in Jesus. His pain...it doesn't not compare to any pain we will ever face. Rest in His promises and in His Living and Active Word. This brought me back to the scripture in John that I'm memorizing...
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14
Drinking water from the things of this world will lead to thirst...discontentment. Drink from His Word.
Father, I repent of my grumbling, my complaining, of all the stuff I wail that I can no longer stomach. I have been bitten by the snake of discontentment. Cause my eyes to look on Jesus and live. With Jesus, we have more, more, than enough. Let not one word of ingratitude come from my lips today. And if it does let me dwell in the kiss of forgiveness.
These were some things I was thankful for yesterday. Thieves blend. Homemade cleaner. Disinfecting is easy and I rest in confidence with this mix that germs are being killed.
yes....I put scripture anywhere I can in this house....
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