Peace in the midst of the storm

The past few weeks have been very trying for me. The Tyranny of the urgent has worn me out. My best laid plans have been sidetracked for the more urgent matters. Stacks of paperwork lie on my desk for me to sort through, fill out, scan and file. Checkbooks to balance and schedules to sync and update.... it seems a little overwhelming ... but it hit me... God has this! He has given me the strength to meet all of the challenges of each day. He has given me strength for the day! He has given me peace in the troubled times. Believe me ... when you helping people who are sick, you are in troubled water!
I am finding such comfort at 3:00 am just reading God's word.
in Psalm 92 verse 14,15 and 16 he tells us this : " Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him,; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and  honor him. with long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

I think about that old hymn "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus"....
Jesus, Jesus how I trust him, how I've proved him over and over. Jesus ,Jesus precious Jesus... O for grace to trust him more...
We don't have to go through life in our own strength ... we can fill our our cup to overflowing ... how? On our knees... giving our burdens to The Lord.  We can rest assure that he will give us peace.
Oh, what a comfort to know that God is our faithful friend. He sees all and holds us in his tender loving care. O What a Saviour!
Trust him with your life.
In his grip.
Sherry

The Secret Place: When Trouble comes....

The Secret Place: When Trouble comes....: When trouble comes, what do you do?  When your in a holding pattern and God is not giving you direction. What next? There are Good decision...

When Trouble comes....

When trouble comes, what do you do?  When your in a holding pattern and God is not giving you direction. What next?
There are Good decisions and there are "God decisions". How do you know if you are hearing God's voice?  You have to be close to the lips of the whisperer. Remember, God speaks in a Quiet Still Voice. Amongst chaos... we must slip away to a QUIET place. Of course, it's not the Starbucks coffee shop... it's your Prayer closet.
The place where you study God's word. The place where you get on your knees. When  you don't know what to do... Just trust God and keep serving him.
In your taking on OPB ( Other Peoples Burdons) you will lay yours at the feet of Jesus. When you help people to know Jesus and trust him... your faith will increase.
We only have a short time on this earth. We all have families that need us. We have co-workers that need us. We have Pastors and Church family that need us. We have such influence and it can be for good... or evil.
My question is... Will your words be those of encouragement or of doubt and fear? Who's side are you on anyway?
We must be on the right side of the but... Here's what I mean by that.

Fear says:  I trust God, But I don't know what to do.
Faith says: I don't know what to do, But I'm trusting God, he knows and he will lead me.

We must make the best of each day. We don't know when our last day will be.
Psalm 90:12 says... "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom".
We can't sweat the small stuff. Guess what... It's all small stuff!
Go from Strength to Strength today.
In Chirst...Sherry

The Refreshing

Friday morning I attended a Catholic Mass funeral with one of of my new friends and his dear son. This precious man lost his wife of 58 years. We had planned the mass with one of the Bereavement counselors from the Church.  I was so impressed with her loving spirit. She told me that her sister
(Earthy one) was a Baptist like me. Well I like this woman~ she was so honest with me! She let me know very quickly that the traditional Hymns like " Amazing Grace and What a friend we have in Jesus" were not suitable for a Mass.  I was disappointed, but understood. So the songs that were planned were Catholic songs.
Note... The Husband is no longer Catholic, but completely honored his wife's beliefs.
Here we are at the Mass and here comes my new friend, The Bereavement lady. She runs over to me and whispers in my ear.... "You can't receive communion because you are Baptist, but if you will just go the alter, the Father will bless you".  Oh... I need a blessing I said. I really meant that and she knew it. She smiled and the Love of God was all over her, I gave her a Baptist hug.

The mass was Perfect. The songs were Perfect... I sang with all my heart. I didn't know the prayers, but I raised my heart in agreement like we do in our church.

I was sitting with the Husband and Son of the Deceased . The Son went to the alter first...Then the Father who is frail got up from his Wheelchair and went to the Alter and his Son helped him up and I walked to the alter with him. This man can barely stand, kneeling would be next to impossible. He knelt. He cried and cried ... so did his Son... I cried and cried because I needed forgiveness and needed to do business with God at the alter.

We stayed there and felt the presence of God. I don't know how much time went by... my eyes were closed. When I looked up the alter boy was tugging on the robe of the priest. The priest whispered something to him. The alter boy came to us and said... You can stay here ... I will come back and help you get up.

What a refreshing this alter time was. The service was PERFECT.
So... my baptist friends... don't shun the Catholics! Embrace Jesus.
The bumper sticker on the Bereavement lady's car has it right.
Jesus Possess me.