Where is God in all this?

[patti4jesus]

When the ambulance takes our child or the disease takes our friend, when the economy takes our retirement or the two-timer takes our heart-can we find Christ in the crisis?

The presence of troubles doesn't surprise us. The absence of God, however, undoes us.

Recently, a young woman died in our city. She was recently married, the mother of an eighteen-month-old. Her life felt abbreviated. The shelves of help and hope go barren at such times. But at the funeral the officiating priest shared a memory in his eulogy that gave both.

For several years she had lived and worked in New York City. Due to their long friendship, he stayed in constant touch with her via e-mail. Late one night he received a message indicative of God's persistent presence.

She had missed her station on the subway. By the time she realized her mistake, she didn't know what to do. She prayed for safety and some sign of God's presence. This was no hour or place for a young, attractive woman to be passing through a rough neighborhood alone.

At that moment the doors opened, and a homeless, disheveled man came on board and plopped down next to her.

"God? Are you near?" she prayed.

The answer came in a song.

The man pulled out a harmonica and played, "Be Thou My Vision" - her mother's favorite hymn.

The song was enough to convince her. Christ was there, in the midst of it all.

And you? Look closer. He's there. Right in the middle of it all.


From The Next Door Savior
Copyright 2003, Max Lucado

 

[Coconut]

Underneath are the everlasting arms

"Look closer. He's there. Right in the middle of it all." Amen!


“Underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Deuteronomy 33:27
God—the eternal God—is himself our support at all times, and especially when we are sinking in deep trouble.

There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when thou art at thy worst and lowest, yet “underneath” thee “are everlasting arms.”

Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ’s great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as “the uttermost”; and to the uttermost he saves.

Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still underneath him are “the everlasting arms.” He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him.

The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict, but even then he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the “everlasting arms”—they are underneath him; and, while thus sustained, all Satan's efforts to harm him avail nothing.

This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty.

And, further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms”—arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for “the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary.”

-Spurgeons Devotions

Glory to God!

 

[Coconut]

What do you cling to through the storms of life?

There was a time in my life, several years ago, when we had a new family crisis or tragedy every couple of weeks. It was a very stressful time for me, a time when tears were never far from the surface, a time when it seemed that we would never survive it all. During this time, I made many trips up and down the main freeway in our state, responding to one family crisis or another.

One night I was on my way home from one such trip. It was dark and stormy. I had to concentrate to keep our truck on the road admist the heavy wind. The rain was coming down so hard that it was sometimes difficult to see more than the red glow of the taillights of the car in front of me. It had been a difficult day in a series of difficult days, and I was tired. It was then, that the song "The Anchor Holds" by Ray Boltz came on the radio. It was the lifeline I needed. The lyrics of the song reminded me that even in the midst of the storms of life, there is One who holds steady, unaffected by it all. With His help, I could make it through whatever came my way.

I still feel overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude and security when I hear the song, even though that time of crisis has passed.

Here are the lyrics that touched me so much that night.

The Anchor Holds

I have journeyed
Through the long dark night
Out on the open sea
By faith alone
Sight unknown
And yet His eyes were watching me

The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm

I’ve had visions
I’ve had dreams
I’ve even held them in my hand
But I never knew
They would slip right through
Like they were only grains of sand

The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm

I have been young
But I am older now
And there has been beauty these eyes have seen
But it was in the night
Through the storms of my life
Oh, that’s where God proved
His love to me

The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm



What do you cling to through the storms of life? Do you have an Anchor that will hold no matter what life may bring? If not, may I remind you that my Anchor, Jesus Christ is there, arms held open wide waiting to welcome you? He wants nothing from you except yourself, and yet He will give you everything. Talk to him right now. He is waiting.

-as written by JessiJoW

 

[AlabasterBox]

Patti & Coconut,

I pray that many who read your post will allow the Lord to be that anchor for them.

Great testimony, how the Lord even sends His love through a song in the middle of a storm or a subway.

Some times people are waiting for Him to send a person to fix it. That is not always the case.

He just wants us to trust Him and lean on Him. I pray that everyone will see God in all things and know that He is!

Love your sister in Christ,
AlabasterBox :girl:

:rainbow:

 

[shortlady]

God is always here and always present. We don't always understand but God knows best He is always in control.