Every time I go through trials of my own, I always meditate on my favorite verse from Philippians 4:6,7 -"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
How great is that, that I can just give all my worries to God and in return, He gives me His peace that no human minds can understand. But what I love about that verse aside from us needing to PRAY, is to THANK Him for all He has done.
Utilizing that wonderful knowledge from the Lord's Word, years ago, I had shared with my son during our morning devotions together, that instead of whining about things, we should start thanking the Lord and lifting up others who are in need, always in prayers. And we had kept that to this day [glory to our good Lord!]. For example, if the weather is hot or too cold, I didn't want us complaining "Man! it's too hot! or it's too cold!". Instead, in prayers, we say, "Lord, thank You that we have airconditioner that keeps us comfortable in this very hot weather or Lord, thank You, we have this heater that warms us up in this very cold weather. Please protect those homeless people and other hurting ones who don't have the means to either keep themselves cool or warm..." Of course, our prayers are always powerful when uttered in "Jesus' Name".
When my father was diagnosed with colon cancer back in 2005 and during one of his hospitalization, where he was connected to a breathing machine and name all the tubes that could enter our bodies' orifices, [I couldn't imagine what pain my father had gone through physically], it was that verse that I had meditated on which gave me peace despite that trial I had to face. There were many oceans that separated my father and my siblings and I apart, but it was the Lord's love that connected us all and bridged that gap in between us. Through prayers and with thankful hearts, the Lord made my father recovered and lived for a few more days and prior to him leaving us, we had spent some time together, though short was equivalent to a lifetime of sharing love and being one as family. I thank the Lord for that time we had with our father and giving us that opportunity of being together. Despite the odds, we were able to visit him and the Lord did provide for the things we needed!
Sometimes, when I want to praise the Lord, He Himself gives me the words to my head. And in a matter of few minutes, I have this song I can play with my guitar to worship Him. How awesome is that? Just like on July 11, 2005, in a dreamy-like state, I had the chorus part of a song already playing in my head. I wrote this song to praise the Lord and thank Him "for all He has done". Thank You Lord, most of all, for sending Your only Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for all of our sins so that in return, we can have a relationship again with You. Thank You for loving us unconditionally.
I Want to be Where You Are
I know that You give me the strength
You're the One Who put this hope into my heart
Day to day I must learn to completely trust
And obey Your Word and believe what You had done
Chorus:
I want to be where You are
And worship You forever
I want to see the face of my God
To hold and kiss...Your pierced hands
Draw me close to You and hold my hand
As I travel in this foreign land
Someday I will go home where You are
I will sing this song to You with all of my heart
Blogging friends, thank you all for your encouragements and I pray, for us all to not be weary in writing what the Lord puts into our hearts so that through these blogs of ours, many more people will come to know the Lord. Pray! Thank Him! Pray! Thank Him again and again! God bless you all. I enjoy your visits...
What a very inspirational post...although your postings always are. You have a gift, the gift of yourself that you give to others in your work, your encouragement, your love for the Lord and I'm sure there are endless others to go along with my list. You're doing exactly what He wants you to do.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you friend,
Alleluiabelle
This, too is one of my favorite verses. Thank you for todays reminder of GOD's sustaining grace in times of difficulty.
ReplyDeleteGOD BLESS, andrea
What wonderful encouragement. I also love those verses and rely upon them often:-)
ReplyDelete