My Stronghold in Time of Trouble

When I was a child, I used to quote a certain Bible verse when I had to go down a dark alley: "What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee." What time I am afraid......of failing....of being let down....of trusting....of trusting too much....of being angry....of being angry and sinning in it....of caring too much....of caring too much about the wrong things....of letting you down....of not lifting you up....of what You'll ask of me....of what You won't ask of me. What time I am afraid...I will trust in YOU......to lift me when I fall."The Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm." Psalm 37:24...to lift me up when others let me down."Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Psalm 37:7...to place the right desires in my heart."Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4...to show me who is trustworthy; to provide discernment."The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster, they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty." Psalm 37:18-19...to calm my anger and appease my fretting with peace."Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil." Psalm 37:8...to focus my priorities on the main thing--YOU."Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to possess the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it." Psalm 37:34...to create a person of peace within me."Consider the blameless; observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace." Psalm 37:37...to be my refuge and strength."The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord. He is their STRONGHOLD IN TIME OF TROUBLE. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him." Psalm 37:39-40"What time I am afraid I will trust in YOU," for you are my "Stronghold in time of trouble."Whenever I am afraid of what YOU might ask me to do, I can lean on You, my Stronghold, and ask YOU through me to be all that YOUR heart desires. You are my Stronghold, the hand to which I still cling in life's dark alleys.

Join Me in Hope-MORE!

Grief happens when things seem hopeless. I think we should start a hope-MORE club.Observe with me some of the things that make us grieve:*lost time.*broken promises.*hurtful words.*dead ends.*heavy hearts.*stress fractures.*ungrateful reactions.It strikes me that God grieves over the same things that hurt us. His heart breaks over the same things that break ours. Yet He brings healing when we grieve. He resurrects our buried dreams. He reunites families and friends. He takes the dead things and brings new life to them. He gives new meaning by His presence and His TOUCH on our lives.God shares our hurts. His heart breaks over:*Lost time and opportunities but, not being bound by time, He restores those moments.*Broken promises when He offers His new covenant full of the promise of first love.*Unfaithful followers when He regains trust with His unfailing kindness and mercy.*Hurtful words or gaping wounds by healing us through His goodness.*Dead ends become detours to the faithful who persevere.*Heavy hearts who turn to Him see that "joy comes in the morning." Wait for the Light after the night.*Stress fractures in our hearts receive His peace and restoration.*Ungrateful reactions are wooed to gratitude by His Spirit.In Nain Jesus raised the son of a widow (Luke 7:11-17). Eugene Peterson refers to Nain as "a place of holy mystery." What is your "place of holy mystery," the time in your life when God flipped your grief from hope-less to hope-MORE?Romans 5:3b-5 tells us that suffering becomes perseverance which builds character which breeds hope. Maybe we got stuck at Hope-Less Junction in the suffering mode. Shift gears into Perseverance and watch Him develop the character in your life that is fertile soil for hope. Join me in the Land of Hope-More:"And we rejoice in the HOPE of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, HOPE, and HOPE does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Suffering -> Perseverance -> Character -> HOPE = Overflowing LOVE!

Weigh In!

I'm struggling with what it means to "count the cost." In fact, "I don't think that word means what you think it means!" When I weigh in on what it means to follow Christ, it looks like I don't have what it takes. Surely He doesn't mean for me to take stock of what I bring to the Table, because it's not much. Check out the cost of following Christ in Luke 14:25-35. See if you can uncover where Christ describes His system of measuring. They don't even do physics like this at Purdue, do they, Darbs? Maybe He wants me to weigh in like this...? *Don't sign up if you're gonna' back down. Otherwise, the other team gets the points just as surely as if you stuffed the ball into the wrong basket. *Don't value your life when you're being asked to die. *Don't count your pennies if your pocket has a hole in it. Or, don't try to pay your buddy's way when He's got the golden token. *Don't lay down banana peels when you're starting a marathon. Or, don't plan an escape route when you can trace the road to success. *Don't sign a peace treaty with the enemy when you know your side's gonna win! *Don't store up when He says, "Put your hands up!" *Don't try to flavor someone else's life when your own life is tasteless. *Don't go with the flow when you can row to a Banquet upstream. *Don't give up everything you have unless you desire the bigger Prize.

I Stinketh, Therefore, I Am

Lately, I have been so unproductive. I am just realizing what an achievement junkie I am. Getting things accomplished energizes me. Sure, I can stew and contemplate with the best of them. Admittedly, it is in the quiet that God reveals Himself to me. But if I got to choose, then I would pick the fast lane of God's activity. I just want Him to let me do something for Him. Like a new puppy whose tail is wagging so hard against his frail ribs that he falls over from the needless exertion, I am anxious and spinning my wheels. I want to run out into the streets and yell and scream and make His name known, and He wants me to sit with Him a while. Sometimes, I just need to sit. Other times, all I want to do is sit and stare and "veg" out. Those are not the times when He is with me. Those are the times when I am so into myself that the puppy in me has given way to the lap dog, the one whose owners have to purchase organic food because he's too overweight to see his paws. The lapdog and the exuberant puppy in me need the same thing. They both crave a dose of Jesus. Most of the time, my heart is not a place where He wants to set up camp and hold a meetin'. There's no place to sit due to the clutter from an unconfessing nature. That's when "I stinketh." There's just one cure. Not just a dose of Jesus but a total Blood Transfusion. The name of Jesus on my lips and the promises in the Word of God through Jesus in my heart will fight those distractions off--for the lapdog and the eager pup. Focusing UP rather than INWARD. Saying JESUS' name over and over in my head rather than ME, MY, MINE. Last night a great friend encouraged me--a lot. When we first began to converse, things were awkward between us, tense, strained. I realized there was hurt in the voice in my ear. We started to laugh and to share what was in our hearts. Before long, my friend was encouraging me through a difficult patch. Having already conquered the boulders on that trail, my friend knew where all the good views were, the places to sit a while. Being able to encourage someone like that when you yourself are hurting is something only the Spirit of God can do in us. I saw Jesus in my friend. It struck me. That's exactly how it is with Jesus and me. When we first start to converse, things can be a bit strained. Remember: "I stinketh?" There is a pain in His voice that seeps through His obvious affection. Soon, we are laughing about the ridiculous way I have of chasing my tail, and I begin to be honest with Him about what's been keeping us apart. Remember: "I stinketh?" He knows where all of the great boulders in my life are placed, and He perches on one and sits with me a while. The hard places in my life are places to perch and sit a while with Him. A novel idea! He whispers to me: "I know you stinketh...Therefore, I AM!" Did I mention that He encourages me--a lot? Sometimes it is hard to stay focused. Often it's hard to stay faithful. But look back at the spiritual markers in your life, the times when you stationed one of those roadside Civil-War signs to recall what happened between you and the Father. Usually, the trail to the marker was not so pleasant when you were walking it. That's because something in us has to die for something perfect in Christ to be born in us there. Once I give into death ("I stinketh") and let Christ live in me, then I AM comes to reside in me. The stench of death and sin becomes the aroma of Heaven. He produces, and I abide. Suddenly, I'm no longer so unproductive any more! "Noah built an altar to the Lord and...he sacrificed...on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma..." Genesis 8:20-21. The smell of a sacrifice is the odor of something burning, of death, but out of the ashes God blesses.