Help me to wait, to not be hurried

What is, was
What will be, has
Round and round
The lives of all revolve
Struggle to maintain balance
sanity
clearness of mind and thought
Fearful of the unknown
So much there
God said He would be with us
All
Nothing
is so perfect we can move without thinking
We cannot be in a hurry
But hurried we are
Harried too
Must rest
Must pray
Must stay rooted
Must seek His guidance
Must
Must
Must
So hard
Help me Lord
Help us all
Keep us mindful of all You are
Help us to not be in a hurry over anything and everything
Nothing is trivial
Everything we go through You are aware of it
Help me, help us to wait
Help me to be confident
in You, to trust in You,
Your answers, Your timetable.
I pray in your name.

Cathy Orrick Luders
11.11.2011

Pain

"I will greatly multiply your sorrow (and your conception)," God says to Eve in Genesis 3:16, but is it just in childbirth that there will be pain? I think not. Our sorrow will increase AND....

"Pangs (sharp pains) and sorrows will take hold ... they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;" (Isaiah 13:8a)

The first mention of pain comes from God as a form of punishment, condemnation to Adam and Eve for their disobedience. This is what will happen. This is how it will be. In childbirth you will suffer. In anything and everything from here to our final going home, our pains will be great, our sorrows multiplied.

Pain comes in many forms. Not just childbirth. Not just surgery. Not just physical.

Each person is under their own personal load of pain and agony. What one suffers is not of less or more importance than another. We may say to ourself that another's pain is minuscule, but who are we to judge? God is well aware of all we undergo. We brought it on ourselves. Mankind's race screwed up at the running gate.

Does God determine pain can be inflicted to prove a point? Is that what happened with Job, who was "blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1)?

Job suffered physical torment (he had boils), loss of possessions (animals and land), loss of friendship and fellowship, loss of family. Yet he says "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10a)

God's will overrides everything. It is His will to permit, to allow, to prove, to stop, to heal, to release.

"Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed?" (Jeremiah 15:18)
"Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, 'Truly this is an infirmity, And I must bear it.' " (Jeremiah 10:19)
In these verses the prophet Jeremiah cries out to the Lord. But, I can hear the Apostle Paul say similar things. He too had pain, pain that wouldn't leave him, pain that no amount of requesting from God was going to heal. It was an infirmity and he had to bear it.

"Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow  is incurable. Because of the multitudes of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you." (Jeremiah 30:15)

We are destined to suffer pain - at all levels, all across the board. It is a fact of life. And although we cannot ever rid ourselves of it, we have a Savior and a lifelong friend who does not depart from us, in Jesus, who also suffered pain and agony, who obeyed the Father's call, until death.

He prayed.
"Pray that you may not enter into temptation." (Luke 22:40)
"And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44)

Our pain
my pain.
Should we stay silent? Should we not allow the tears to fall, to fill our hearts and souls?
How do we prevent that which seems to come naturally?

The pain of lost relationships
The immense sadness that overwhelms us
Was it wrong for Hannah (1 Samuel 1:1), who spoke fervently to the Lord from her heart? Her pain too was great - she wanted a child, a son. One she didn't have because the Lord had closed her womb. It was her pain and it made her life miserable. Her husband didn't understand and her peers mocked her.
Yet she remained steadfast in her prayers to the Lord - a plea that if only He would answer her specific request she would give her child back to Him.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 tells us we are to preach the word. At all times we are to be ready to share God's message, to convince, rebuke, exhort others with patience, and in the midst, to endure afflictions.

Perhaps we do endure.
We are not to allow our weariness to cause us to become discouraged. Don't become so weary that we lose sight of Jesus and stop praying, studying, being obedient, rejoicing, living.

"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1a-2)

So, dear Lord, I pray you will help me to put aside, to become less aware of the physical pain, to not allow it  to get the best of me and thus trap me and get me off course, to continue running, with you at the helm and beside me, surrounding me, teaching me about patience toward others who may not understand. You endured it all for us. Oh Lord, help me be more like you. Amen.

Anxious moments and our response

The other day a friend sent me an entry from the Our Daily Bread devotional. "Try to Relax" was the topic. How do you accomplish that? The act of trying requires effort and exertion whereas relaxation is an absence of both effort and exertion. So how to try to relax. You can't. You can't try. You have to do. You have to trust - not yourself, but God.

My anxiety seems to have moved God off His throne in my life and put all my anxious thoughts there instead. It has only been in the most recent days that I have found this true. Well, probably, actually, the past four weeks or so.

• Anxious about my husband Jim doing physical therapy exercises at home or not doing them - primarily the latter
• Anxi0us that he would end up with a frozen shoulder and require additional surgery to rework the shoulder
• Anxious about the disc protrusion in my lower back causing pain in my left hip and down both legs
  
• Anxious about less money coming in and the same or more going out

Prayers went out, prayers were answered ... for some of these anxious moments.

Yet I didn't fully let go of all the anxiety surrounding and just allow God to control the situation, to control my life.

January is such a pitifully long month - 31 days long.

I looked back at the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the month. They were not and are not still, selfish goals, but it appears I am off track. I have done something wrong have I not?

My first goal - I want to live these days with You Lord, only You.

My second goal - I want to follow you Lord, be obedient, wherever You take me, making no excuses.

I must not be obedient, I must be making excuses. I have failed.

Is the Lord thoroughly disappointed in me or will He give me ANOTHER chance to Follow Him and Obey Him and make No Excuses WHEREVER He takes me?

When I set that goal, I bet I didn't stop to consider all that it encompassed. I certainly have a better idea of what it means now.

I do want to follow You Lord. I do want to be obedient to You Lord ... Wherever it takes me, with No Excuses. Help me I pray to achieve that. Help me to see your hand in everything that comes along and show me how I am to respond.

I frequently do not respond well. All the anxiety of past weeks has caused a recurring bout with skin rash to rear its ugly head. Five days off work this past week and repeated visits to doctors with stronger and stronger meds prescribed. There is some relief. But is it from the medicine itself or is it the Holy Spirit reminding me of God's truths.

How far will I have to go before I give up, stop fighting, and give in to God?

It is hard. My skin tingles, my eyes twitch. It is not easy to concentrate on something other than the itching or anything else that distracts me from the Lord and His word.

Eating M&Ms is a stress reducer of choice. It doesn't really reduce any stress. It just makes me feel better for a moment. I can't say, "I can't help it," when I really can. That is an excuse, a poor one at that. M&Ms only add weight on to a body that needs to have a reduction in size. Another anxiety booster.

What I desire I don't do and what I don't desire that I do.

It applies to so many things.

Another anxiety booster I have is noise levels, such as when someone is trying to be quiet and is not succeeding, or where there are errors and no way to fix them.

Trust God for the outcome of all of life's trials. Give up the personal anxiety agenda disorder. Give in to the Lord who knows you in and out, today, tomorrow and forever after. Put your whole body, mind and soul into His care. Rely on Him for everything.

As Psalm 46 says:

(1) "God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
(2) Therefore we will not fear
(7) The Lord of hosts is with us;
(10) Be still and know that I am God;
(11) The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge."

"Be still and know"
God knows today and tomorrow and all future days and all former days. We are safe when we rely in Him and on Him.

It is hard to put into practice. It is hard to give up each anxious moment and be still in the Lord. It is so very hard.

God never said it would be easy. That doesn't make it less worthwhile.

Help me Lord to follow You.
Help me Lord to be obedient to You.
Help me Lord wherever You take me.
Help me Lord to not make excuses for all my shortcomings.
Help me Lord to become less anxious at each venture I face.
Help me Lord to see past the turmoils and seek You at every point.
Help me Lord.
I know I cannot do this alone.
Give me your peace.
In this your name I pray.
Amen.

Have you prayed today?

Thought for the Day:
Jesus says in John 10:10-11: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

Have you prayed today?

Are you searching
for answers
... perhaps in all the wrong places
or from people who really do not know
what you search for
let alone the answers.

Do you feel alone ...
lost and out of place

Does it seem no one understands
and no one helps

The darkness closes in**
you struggle to find release
from all your pain

Where to go
What step do I take
Where does my reaching hand extend?
Who is the one who grasps it
Who will answer

Have you prayed today?

Jesus hears your plea
sees your pain
grasps hold of you
answers your questions
heals you.

Have you prayed today?
Do you hear Him calling,
'Come, my Child.'

**The following poem was written in the early 1970s during my college years before I knew the Lord. It illustrates the darkness closing in.

I found them today
They weren't where I thought they would be
In the grass, behind a few shrubs
They glistened, wet with dew

It seemed I had looked forever for them.
And now at last, I had found them.
I knelt down, gently pushing the tiny branches aside
My eyes opened wide with surprise
A maze !! How lovely. And involving such intricate work too.
I picked up a stick and probed
A cry rang out
Ooh, I cringed, for I had hurt one of them.
And they were my friends.

I saw them coming
for me
My feet seemed rooted to the ground
I couldn't escape.
I saw them keep coming.
I saw them on me.
At first it tickled, then they began to bite.
I lost consciousness
And when I awoke, I was gone.
(c 1973)

Cathy Orrick Luders
7.24.2009

praying always

Thoughts for the Day: "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5: 17)

"praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints_" (Ephesians 6: 18)

"Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18: 1)

Jesus said in every circumstance we are to pray and not become discouraged because answers do not come immediately.

"And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you." (Luke 11: 9)

"rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly (persevere) in prayer." (Romans 12: 12)

"continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant (make it a priority) in it, with thanksgiving;" (Colossians 4: 2)

Prayer: Dear Lord, I pray you will abide with all who earnestly seek your healing touch. May your guiding hand be upon the doctors and surgeons as they engage in procedures that just thinking about makes us cringe. Keep us mindful of your presence at all times. Keep us focused on you and not on what may or may not happen. You are all knowing, all wisdom is yours alone. We will know only when you determine the right time is for us to know. In the interim, I pray you will envelop us with your love, protect us from the harm that comes when we settle on thinking "what if" thoughts. Keep us ever in your word, reminding us that "with God all things are possible." In your precious name I pray. Amen.

Where is your faith?

If your mind is open to God and what His word has to say to you, you will find that "with God all things are possible." Just like it says in Matthew 19:26. We have these words framed on our dining room wall. I see it everyday. I read it everyday. Yet as I mentioned yesterday, brain connection is not always present. It is good that God does not give up on me. For if He did ... I am definitely very glad for Jesus' presence in my life.

I wish I could just let go and let God at every stage. I wish my faith in Him was stronger, bigger, ALWAYS present, never questioning. But alas, we are human. And as such, we think and consider and reconsider and wonder, when perhaps what we should do is ask God to show us the way He would have us go.

Rely on Him, seek guidance for everything from Him through prayer. Prayer is the answer. But in prayer, we must listen for His response and obey.

We can't just assume because we have prayed for a disease or illness to be healed, God will instantaneously remove it. No. He may and He may not. We can pray for healing, but I think too we need to pray for guidance in its midst. What am I to learn, do I go to another doctor, do I stop with the round of doctor visits, am I to wait, when is waiting too long. So many questions.

And when we pray, we need to believe God hears us. "And Jesus said, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.' " (Mark 9:23)

When we doubt - whether it be doubting the power of prayer or doubting He hears, perhaps we should question just where we are in our walk -- are we truly one of His?

Prayer is the voice of faith.

A moment of prayer ....
Lord, show me how to make the money we have available last us till payday. Lord, enable the money needed for our medical bills to be paid. Lord, show me how to utilize faith in the workplace. Lord, enable me to teach another in the workplace and bring me patience while I am about it. Lord, guard my mouth - what I put in and what comes out. Lord, show me how to be pleasing to you. In your name I pray.

Faith looks across the storm -- it does not doubt
or stop to look at clouds and things without.
Faith does not question why
when all His ways are hard to understand,
but trusts and prays.

Whatever circumstances, God is with us

To fellow believers in Christ:
Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, remember God has allowed you to be there.

Every now and then a song by the Moody Blues from the 1970s comes to mind. The song is "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band)" and the lyrics I especially connect with say "I'm just a wandering on the face of this earth."

Wandering, wanderers, travelers, sojourners in a distant land ... that is what we fellow believers in Christ are. Wherever we are it is all temporary. Our eternal home is heaven and God alone determines when we will arrive there.

Throughout time I can imagine many have thought, "It can't get much worse than this." But it can, it has, it will. No matter what part of the country, the continent you live, events transpire that result, reap negative and positive.

We must pray. Prayer can never be fully taken away from us. We must seek His guidance, His will for us in the circumstances surrounding us. We will experience God's peace as we pray and acknowledge He is in control, not us ourselves nor any other.

In Jeremiah 29, verses 7-9, 11-13, the Lord says: (7)"And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. (8) For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you ... (9) For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord. (11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (12) Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. (13) And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

In Romans 8, verses 28, 31-35 God promises: (28) "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (31) What then shall we say ...? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (33) Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ ... who also makes intercession for us. (35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"

Nothing, no one. As long as we continue to abide with the Lord, walking with Him in obedience, nothing will ever separate us from His love, His power, His will, Him.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 38-39)

Help me Lord

Help me Lord to be joyful in all circumstances. Help me Lord to trust you will provide for my every need. Show me those things I do not need. Help me Lord to abide in you and with you in all things at all times. Help me Lord to keep my mind from thinking things that can only cause hardship. Help me Lord to stay focused on you. Help me Lord to remember you alone have all the power I will ever need. Help me Lord to remember your promises. Help me Lord to rest in your promises and not dwell on what I think I must do to make everything work and come together. It must be your will for things to come together. Help me Lord I pray. Amen.