Songs in the Night

YOU ARE MY HIDING PLACE

 I am glad God watches over me. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I miss the mark. Sometimes I come across different than I mean. Sometimes I fail those I love. I am a peacemaker at heart. I don't want to disappoint or cause pain. Yet it happens. Then I can't sleep. Like right now. (4:00 a.m.)

Long ago I learned to take it to the Lord in prayer. He is where I receive comfort. When I hurt, when I am fearful, when worries crowd in, I can't handle them well on my own. I struggle. I need God. I need His wisdom. I cherish His grace. He gives me hope in the hard times. And then He gives me songs in the night.

"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah." Psalm 32:7 NASV

You Are My Hiding Place https://youtu.be/uUx2WcC9JKoaa

Don't Fret or be Afraid, God is Always with You

A Hope and a Promise after Divorce

He will be with you, he will not leave you or forsake you.... Deuteronomy 31:8

Divorce devastates. Rejection injures. God helps. God heals. He is our security.

REJECTION has the power to spew injurious messages in the wounded person. When a marriage is ripped apart, negative emotions ravage the mind’s sensitivities. It can leave a person gasping, struggling to make sense of what happened. Divorce smashes the dream that once shone so brightly and leaves destruction in its wake.

There are many ways to absorb these internal hurts. Some bury their feelings. Others unleash volleys of red-hot attacks. Some become overwhelmed by loss and grief. A few walk away in denial, never looking back.

Unwelcome intruders jump on the emotional bandwagon. Resentment and bitterness visit in the quiet hours. Anger and spite seek payback with a vindictiveness that sabotages efforts at joy and happiness.

Sorrow and sadness become a cloak of gloom that is difficult to lift. Depression and discouragement may rob children of the home they once had that is now just a wistful dream. It is hard. The devastation of divorce will have repercussions and outfall. What to do?

If this is you, you are stronger than you think. All is not hopeless even when it may seem so. For you see, it is not the end of the story. Life goes on. The person must go on with it. Once the shock wears off and pain is managed, then it becomes possible to learn, change, and grow. It takes time, patience, and hard work to recover from injured self-perceptions and personal loss before one is able to live again.

We are not alone. God strengthens us when we feel weak. He holds us when we are weary. He guides us when we are confused, struggling with our present and fearful of our future. Our heavenly Father promises to never leave us, though the aloneness seems almost unbearable. He is true and steady. Gentle is his healing balm and loving grace. God is here.

Dear Father God, you are my comfort and peace, an ever present help in times of trouble. I’m so glad.

When Christianity Leaves a Void -- Intervention no. 7

 Why the Religious Thing Unravels

Finding God in the Daily

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, 

so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, 

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 

for it is God who works in you, 

both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

Philippians 2:12,13  ESV

God is in the life-changing business. What He does when we let Him minister to us is absolutely wonderful.

  
A SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP that is health-giving and health-receiving provides the impetus to live a genuine Christian life that has victory and power in its inner workings, its out workings, and in a satisfying, refreshing, and real way. However, this is not the case for many in the church.

The reasons for this phenomenon has to do with their spiritual life itself. If it isn't changing the person and isn't ministering to them in a life-giving way, then it is self-limiting and spiritual-limiting. This has consequences. Dullness, despair, and areas of unmet needs and unresolved issues begin to bog down weary Christians.

Those who do not function well within the church’s parameters may eventually abandon their faith or head in another direction. The church fails at times to address those troublesome gray areas. In particular, sometimes it fails to help those wounded by life or struggling with areas of bondage. They need something more than the church is offering. But sadly, the church is not equipped to help them. 

This is one of the flaws that trips up many a person and keeps them from returning to the "fold." The unfortunate side to this is when hurting people are convinced they may never measure up or be good enough to enter fully in the Christian community unless they attempt to pretend the part.

The equation of "being spiritual" with a list of specific spiritual behaviors is an end in itself--a performance-based Christian lifestyle. This can fall flat. As I have mentioned before, Christianity is not limited to salvation, obedience, service, prayer, bible reading and bible study, though, they are important spiritual disciplines and a Christian needs them and won't grow without them.

But there's more, and this is where all these other things sweeten the deal into a beautiful work of God. The Christian who desires to be alive and tender to the things of God seeks to grow and develop their relationship with Christ. This is where it's at and where the healing and promise of inner freeing begins.

This makes all the difference in
    how they live it,
           how they manage it, and
                how they are empowered to heal, grow, and thrive in it.

God is in the life changing business. He takes us, problems and all, and ministers to us. He holds up a mirror, with His illumination, He lets us see into our soul. We see the big picture--our scars, self-centeredness, lacks, strengths, and talents--and He helps us deal with them. God asks us to seek Him. When we do, it opens wide out. We begin to get real with God. We stop hiding and pretending. We take our salvation and spiritual life to a new level. It is wonderful! So very wonderful. I can't state how wonderful it becomes when our life with God becomes a warm and loving experience full of trust and joy.

Dear Father God, I want this sort of relationship for all my readers. May they know You, trust You, and abide in You. They will be blessed and enriched by Your loving Presence. Amen

To God be the Glory

A Message of Life.

Inspiration 45