CONSIDER GIVING THANKS EVEN IN HARD PLACES

This morning as I was praying for friends who suffer from chronic pain, this toe tapping song came up on my playlist.

So, my prayer for them was that hearing it would "move" them to tap their toes.
If it moves you to "tap" your toes, give thanks that you are able to do that. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Beyond that, I pray that it moves you to consider praying for other suffering souls, especially those with chronic pain.

Chair of Discomfort at the Table of Life

It is the holiday season---a joyous celebration for Christians throughout the world.

However, Christmas does not exempt believers from hard places----deep hurts----struggles and longings as they face Christmas without their loved ones. The best reminder is that Emmanuel is "God with us!" (Matthew 1:23)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God......(1 Corinthians 1:3-4)

That's what friends of the faith do----reach out to others to comfort them, even when they are suffering themselves.

That's what Jerrie did----she invited me to lunch. She shared her bounty and served me in a glass that reminded me, "Don't get tangled in the tinsel."

Such an act helped me refocus----enabling me to cut through the Gordian knots of life. Fear, sadness and disappointments being chief among them. Kindness can aid in disentangling those "impossible" knots that too easily surface this time of year.

Intuitively, my hostess listened to me "unload" from my chair of discomfort and made the table of life seem a lot more palatable. Just sitting at her table made me smile!

Saturday Summary

12/15/12 “Misery loves company” NOT! This misery wants comfort.

On TV all mysterious afflictions are diagnosed and cured within a 60-minute time span after a BIG dose of antibiotics. Though I’m in the 6th day of my flu-type malady, with lots of drugs, I keep thinking it can’t get much worse,….but it does.

Sleep is incremental, at best. It hurts to inhale. It “stinks” to exhale with a tongue coated with “Halls” blue. Cough pills take 2 hours to kick in, and energy is non-existent.

I want “southern” comfort, not the booze kind---the “bless your little heart” kind that comes with steaming chicken and noodles and iced sweet tea to balance the pain of a burning throat. I want assurance that I’ll be “all better” SOON!

But God….has life lessons for me. He wants to be my comfort. He wants me to learn through this experience that I might offer comfort to others in such affliction so that they might be encouraged and not lose heart. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7) 

He wants me to focus on “nursing care” given by hubby and the sustenance provided by others. He wants me to focus on Him as my Jehovah Jireh, the one who provides.

He wants me to quit complaining----did I hear an “A-men” to that!*

*Hm-m-m-m, I did not increase the size of the font on that last sentence. Think maybe I really need to heed that!

THIS BLOG’S FOR YOU!

6/5/12 Yes, blogs are a cheap form of self-publishing. Yes, most blogs are read by the bloggers themselves. Yes, most of my blogs are God’s way of teaching me as I separate and simplify His truths. But, today this blog’s for you----a blog that might turn you on your ear. Just hope you can still “hear”. Actually this blog has been  “just for me” these last few days so I can now share the  Lord's truths which I gleaned.

Psalm 5 is David’s individual lament; 

• Asking God to hear his prayer, 
• Acknowledging God’s hatred of sin and evil people, 
• Requesting guidance, 
• Securing God’s protection and blessing. 

Not exactly a “sweet” read with my morning cuppa. But God….used it to show me an appropriate response to suffering.

Suffering is everywhere. It’s easy to spot. Globally, it makes the evening news as it beams across one's flat screens. Individually, it takes the sparkling beam out of one’s eyes. In this psalm, the arrogant ones, the ones who are living a life of lies and deceit appear to cause David’s suffering. Suffering can come when one trusts in mankind. Yet, all too often a man’s words cannot be trusted because words are an overflow of the heart and a man’s heart is filled with destruction. (v.9) David further describes the wicked ones who are causing the suffering as dangerous, with deceit and flattery on their tongues, saying what they think one wants to hear to attain their own goals ----all signs of rebelliousness against God. David even prays that the intrigues of the wicked will be their downfall and they will be caught in their own traps. How intense must have been David’s suffering to bring such petitions before the Lord.

Now that I’ve “rained on your life’s parade”, don’t stop reading here & don’t do as I did and eat 3 large slices of fresh baked pull-apart cheese bread slathered in real butter (is there any other kind) We all assuage pain and suffering in different ways. Some medicate or take to “drink”, I take to “butter” even if my suffering is mainly over someone else’s pain. As warm and comforting and distracting as “butter” (or your choice of poison) appears to be, that’s NOT the answer. Rather reread verses 1-3.

These first three verses include David’s response to suffering. Even in the midst of suffering, He still seeks to be led by the Lord’s righteousness. He approaches the Lord in a worshipful way, with mind and heart engaged, asking Him to pay attention/ to consider his (David’s) sighing/lament/groaning/meditation. (all words offered in parallel versions of verse 1)

Resolve to spend time in the word with the Lord as David did. That’s a needed discipline, which David alluded to twice, (“in the morning”, v.3) as the time when he articulates His condition. My words, v 1. Voice of my cry, v 2. My voice, v 3.  Then, David waited expectantly. Eagerly watching and waiting to see what the Lord would do on His behalf.

Ah, that one would follow David’s method: 

• Disciplined time in the Lord’s Presence,
• Willingness to articulate again and again his needs as he/she suffers, 
• Expectancy of the Lord’s answer whether it’s relief or assurance of God’s Presence, 
• Acceptance of God as the only Refuge who will be both a protector and a defense

David sums up well for us as he finds rejoicing and singing of joy for those who love the name of the Lord---for the LORD will bless the godly and surround them with His love even in the midst of suffering.

If this blog is for you…..blessed are you when you take refuge in the Lord and allow Him to surround you with His love. (v.12)

Obligations

7/5/10 Have you been there, done that and survived? In the area of suffering have you not only survived but thrived? Then, you need to pass it on!

Last year, Michèle did just that for me, first in an e-mail and then more fully in a blog with great pictures that enhanced the analogy.

But the gist is this---“the responsibility we have, as survivors, ….stand at the top and call down to those still struggling to the summit. Whether they’re emotional, physical, or spiritual, the mountains we’ve conquered are not ours to own, but ours to share. We might not always want to revisit the pain we’ve suffered or the crippling we’ve endured, but if we don’t offer them to others as a testimony of God’s sustenance and love, our fellow travelers may not have the courage to find their way to the top.”

Plus, it’s scriptural---so pass “it” on to others as Michèle has passed “it” on to me----what ever your “it” of comfort has been from the Lord as well as from those in the “land of the living.”

II Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who (comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.