Wordy Wednesday

Since FAITH is my focus word for 2013, it would seem that the Lord is continually reminding me of this through scripture. The following scripture was one I leaned on a lot last year. This year has been no exception. It always seems that when I'm feeling discouraged, the Lord gives me "courage" verses. Verse 9 seems to pop up quite often in things I'm reading or listening to. So I will share it with you in this week's Wordy Wednesday (which I almost forgot because I've lost track of what day it is!!)




“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.  

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:6-9

Burdens: How Much is Too Much?

Burdens. Heartbreak. Affliction.

All of these words bring about a heaviness on my soul when I hear them. Perhaps it's because I can clearly identify the emotional struggles that go along with those words. I've witnessed it firsthand in friends struggling to care for disabled family members or severe health issues and people with extreme financial problems. In my own life, I've experienced these burdens when a succession of problems and tough times were dogging my every waking moment. It's that point when I started to cry "Uncle." The weight of the burdens were too much to bear on my own.

I've been thinking on this issue for many months now. After a friend confessed that she felt as if the Lord will sometimes give us more than we can handle, I really wrestled with this issue. After all, I don't like to see people struggling under the weight of those burdens.

There's a prevailing thought in the Christian community that God wants us to always be happy and free from difficulties, living an abundantly blessed life. Sounds very appealing, but I don't buy into that sort of theology. After all, the scripture clearly says we will have trouble. I've written about that in a previous post.

I do agree that God does want the best for his children, but the word best is key to this issue. For one person, best may mean all those great things for a season. For his next door neighbor, best may mean struggling to make ends meet.

There are a variety of reasons why we end up in these situations. We might be thrown into the situation by someone else's choices, our own actions may bring about consequences, or we may not know why this side of heaven. It's really a soveriegnty issue because God wants to accomplish something different in everyone. Who am I to say that I know better than God what's best for me?

The good news is that we don't have to bear these burdens on our own. See Galatians 6:2 and Matthew 11:28-30.

I recently read a very good article by Dr. Charles Stanley on this topic. I think he does a very good job of explaining what burdens are and how believers are to respond to them. Please take a few minutes to read this short article called Taking Care of Burdens.

The Power of God

I mentioned last month that I felt as if God wanted to teach me about His power this year. Since that time, I've been actively watching for these moments in scripture as well as day-to-day events. I thought I'd share three scriptures that I've run across that clearly demonstrate God's mighty power.

“Then the earth shook and quaked,  

The foundations of heaven were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.  

From 2 Sam. 22:8. This was David speaking of the Lord's deliverance from his enemies. David speaks of God's deliverance many, many times. He witnessed God's powerful hand at work in his life and against his enemies. The entire earth was shaking to it's core. That's power! David goes on to describe even more powerful attributes of God. And it's all because God loved David and wanted to protect him.

~~~~~

 

When God spoke from Mount Sinai 

his voice shook the earth,

but now he makes another promise: 

“Once again I will shake not only the earth 

but the heavens also.” 

This means that all of creation 

will be shaken and removed, 

so that only unshakable things will remain. 

Since we are receiving a Kingdom 

that is unshakable, let us be thankful 

and please God by worshiping him 

with holy fear and awe.  

For our God is a devouring fire. 

From Hebrews 12:26-29. At the beginning of this chapter, the writer of Hebrews talks about this great cloud of witnesses--the faithful examples who followed God. By the end of this chapter, the writer warns believers to be very careful to listen to God. A reminder God's voice now must be listened to now with even closer attention and faith than even the Israelites heard through the law at Mount Sinai. It's easy to treat God's Word lightly, but this is a reminder that we should remember God's awesome power and holiness.

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 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, 

there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 

From Revelation 8:1. The scene: Thousands upon thousands are standing before God in heaven crying out "with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Rev. 7:10).” Angels and elders are on their faces before God saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen (Rev. 7:12)." This is a huge worship service! When the seal is broken on the scroll which contains the judgment to come, the gravity of the situation and the evidence of God's sovereignty and power is so magnificent that all of heaven is hushed for 30 minutes. Complete silence. That's such an amazing picture to me of power. When was the last time something happened in your life that caused you to be completely quiet and still for that long? Incredible.

Wordy Wednesday

 Amen.