He Will Silently Plan For You

Surely I am with you always. Matthew 28:20

He will silently plan for you,
   His object of omniscient care;
God Himself undertakes to be
   Your Pilot through each subtle snare.

He WILL silently plan for you,
   So certainly, He cannot fail!
Rest on the faithfulness of God,
   In Him you surely will prevail.

He will SILENTLY plan for you
   Some wonderful surprise of love.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
   But it is kept for you above.

He will silently PLAN for you,
   His purposes will all unfold;
Your tangled life will shine at last,
   A masterpiece of skill untold.

He will silently plan FOR YOU,
   Happy child of a Father's care,
As if no other claimed His love,
   But you alone to Him were dear.

E. Mary Grimes.

PRAYER TO THE PILGRIM GOD

            Pilgrim God, you journey with us,

coming alongside,
walking our path.

            Thank you for loving us
and not leaving us alone.

            Thank you for caring about our paths
and not leaving us helpless.

            We confess

            sometimes we wish you would just get us to the destination.

            Sometimes we wish you would at least fix the path.
Sometimes we yearn to not see through a glass darkly.

            This journey is hard.
So much is broken.

            We’re not sure of how our story unfolds into Yours.

            Sometimes we wish you would do the walking for us.
Sometimes we wish you were not a Pilgrim God.
Sometimes we’re not sure we want to be a pilgrim people.

            Yet you faithfully journey with us,
coming alongside, walking our path

            You invite us to faithfully journey with others when it is hard.

            You show us how to come alongside
those who suffer brokenness,

            walking with those who feel sidelined.

            Pilgrim God,

            we welcome you and join you as pilgrim people.

             We commit to being like you,
walking the path of love and justice for all.

            Amen.

PERSONAL PRAYER FOR THE DAY AHEAD

  You have invited Christ-followers to actively partner with you

and with others who share your values. I accept that invitation.

  I pray that as I journey with you throughout this day,

your Spirit will enable me to be more like you.

  I pray that I will be gracious as you are gracious,

forgiving as you are forgiving, and

  generous as you are generous.

  Help me be continually aware of your

presence and activity in the world,

  and embolden me to witness to your faithfulness and love.

May I be an authentic ambassador of you and your kingdom.

  May all that I say and do reflect your character and

be appropriate activities of your kingdom.

  I ask all this in the authority of Jesus, the Christ.

  Amen.

Many Hardships

We must go through many hardships to enter the
kingdom of God. Acts 14:22

The best things in life are the result of being wounded.
Wheat must be crushed before becoming bread, and
incense must be burned by fire before its fragrance is
set free. The earth must be broken with a sharp plow
before being ready to receive life. And it is a broken
heart that pleases God.

Yes, the sweetest joys of life are the fruits of sorrow. Hu-
man nature seems to need suffering to make it fit to be
a blessing to the world.

If you aspirate be a person of consolation, if you want to
share the priestly gift of sympathy, if you desire to go be-
yond giving commonplace comfort to a heart that is temp-
ted, and if you long to go through the daily exchanges of
life with the kind of tact that never inflicts pain, then you
must be prepared to pay the price for a costly education--
for like Christ, you must suffer.

Frederick William Robertson

Abounding In Grace

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

- Annie Johnson Flint

Reason For Pain

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever.--Isaiah 26:3, 4

One predominant reason for pain is to bring us to the end of trusting ourselves, the source of much misery. Many call this brokenness, a state not necessarily achieved through becoming a drug addict, clinically depressed, or a gutter resident. It can arrive very quietly, in the deepest recesses of the heart, as a result of trials nowhere close to the magnitude of the aforementioned. It is “simply” giving up on our independence from God. 

Once while staying in a mountain cabin I noticed a moth beating its wings against the window in a vain attempt to enjoy the freedom offered by the outdoors. I decided I would capture and release it, but the more I tried to help, the harder the moth tried to escape! Not until it became totally exhausted and unavoidably relaxed was I able to pick it up and let it go outside. Many believers are wound so tightly that they beat their inner man's wings against the invisible forces of life that bind and enslave them; the only solution they know to be possible is trying harder, but they must "let go and let God" in order to become relaxed souls the Father will take into His hands and give freedom.

Yes, believers suffer, and we can thank God for being in the midst of unpleasant occurrences, because these very things bring those He loves to perfection.

- Mike Wells

I Am Afraid to Die. Death is not Natural Despite what Experience Tells Us

When people tell me they aren’t afraid to die it makes me think they’re not really telling the truth. It makes me think that they are trying to convince themselves, or at least others, that it’s just a part of life and when their time comes it just comes. As Christians we genuinely can have confidence when we die that at that moment we will be translated into the presence of the living God in Christ. But when pagans tell me they aren’t afraid to die I don’t believe them; and I’m skeptical when Christians tell me the same. I know what it feels like to face my mortality because of the type of cancer I was diagnosed with back in 2009; DSRCT (‘desmoplastic small round cell tumor sarcoma’). I love Jesus Christ, and have been his since he called me to himself when I was 3.5 years old. I walk with him, and have been for years; I read through the Bible over and again; I have fellowship with other Christians around the reality of Christ (communion). But the day I found out I had the type of cancer I had I entered another realm and level of fear that I had never experienced prior (and I’ve been through a lot prior); and that fear never really went away during that time. It is scary to know you’re dying; we weren’t created to die, contrary to what people say about the natural ‘life cycle’. I remember just after I was diagnosed, Michael Spencer, also known as the iMonk, a theological blogger I knew, a little, was diagnosed I believe with stage four colon cancer. He shared my sentiment; he was afraid, and did not want to die. He walked with Christ, had fellowship with others around Christ, and had a deep abiding relationship with the Triune God. But he felt the same as me; he believed the same as me: that death is not a natural thing; that it is a scary thing. He was scared, and so was I. I don’t think Michael and I are unique. Michael died, and it was a rough death. I didn’t die, but it was a rough road to tow nonetheless.

I’m not sure why I felt like writing this tonight, really. I think I am just being reimpressed again with the reality that every single soul on this earth is facing their own mortality. I believe when people tell me—particularly those who don’t know Christ—that they aren’t afraid to die that they aren’t really telling the truth. I think deep down when they are all by themselves, and if they had the cancer diagnosis I had, or what Michael died from, they would be terrified. There’s nothing noble about death, or in pretending that we aren’t afraid; we are. The Apostle Paul doesn’t call death the ‘last enemy’ for nothing (cf. I Cor. 15); Hebrews doesn’t say that people live ‘in fear of death’ for nothing. It is okay to admit that death is a scary thing. I think the only time I won’t be afraid of death is when I actually die (or Jesus comes back prior). I know what is going to happen to me when I die, but that doesn’t change the fact that death itself is not a scary thing; it is.

Now, as Christians, don’t get me wrong, the LORD isn’t absent in the dying process; in fact he is ever present. My experience with dying was that the LORD showed up in some powerful and unbelievable ways; he did indeed provide me with an inexpressible peace. But at the same time I was still really scared. I was so scared that my fear went beyond anxiety; it was deeper than anxiety (and I’d suffered from anxiety for years, years prior). Yes, I also had the peace of Christ abiding deeply in my soul; the LORD spoke to my heart constantly assuring me that I was going to be okay (and I am!). But the reality of being disembodied, that for me wasn’t something I could get my head around at that time (still can’t). I had an impossible time imagining myself without my body. This brings us full circle. This is where the fear of death, I believe, comes from; for all of us, if we are being honest and reflective enough. It isn’t natural to try to think life, as human beings without a physical body (see II Cor. 5). And when faced with that prospect, with a disease like cancer wherein you have the time to think about such things, fear is ever present; the enemy status of death becomes real.

I know this post might seem morbid, but I’m simply trying to reflect, in a streamy way, on all of this. God’s grace is sufficient, and his presence is hyper-real when facing a terminal illness; his assurances are ever present and always abiding. But even with all that I was still scared to die. And not just the process, but the second I took my last breath; that scared me. Indeed, at that second I would have ceased immediately to be afraid; I would have been in the presence of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, at the right hand of the Father where his pleasures are forevermore. To be clear, I actually don’t live in constant fear of death. In fact, in a sense, I stand defiantly against it in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; I stand against it as I participate in the indestructible life of the risen Savior Jesus Christ. But it’s easier for me to have such boldness as I write this in my cancer free state. I will never welcome death; indeed I will fight it till the day I die, or Christ returns, through proclaiming Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection till he comes again.

- Bobby Grow

Weakness

I have been pondering what it means to live a vibrant
Christian life. Many people my age are looking at old
age, sickness now, and other various weaknesses. So,
what has God been emphasizing to me in this new year?

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:2

Really, Lord? Are you speaking to me?
How does Paul respond to the words of Jesus because
he was at a place of great weakness.

"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ might rest
upon me...For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9,10

I want to stay on this for a few blogs as I have
continued to think about what Jesus said to Paul and
even how he responded. Is it not backward to all you
have been taught about how we should be strong and
do great things for God? Paul certainly lived a very
productive life.