Tag: feelings

Fact, not feelings: "As thy day, thy strength shall be"

Feelings aren’t facts. But they are very real.
Feelings can whirl with tornado-type style. They make havoc of the present moments and solid things even fly wild.
Based on facts of circumstances and realities in this life, our hearts become ripped up in the midst of overwhelming feelings.
But all the while, one thing remains, though we can’t feel Him,
Jesus Christ stays.
We leave.
We mis-perceive.
But He’s present. God doesn’t change.
“Afflicted soul, to Jesus dear, Thy Savior’s gracious promise hear; His faithful word declares to thee That, “as thy day, thy strength shall be.” 
“Let not thy heart despond, and say, How shall I stand the trying day? He has engaged, by firm decree, That, “as thy day; thy strength shall be.”  (Poem found in CH Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible, p.142, based on Deuteronomy 22:35).
“Why should I continue to read,”some will say in the midst of the storm, “Why do you state that Jesus is God? Why does Jesus have to be in the mix? I can do fine with just God in all this.”
Others will say, “I need a lot more than Jesus right now. Get out! I really don’t want to hear you right now!”
The fact remains, God stays the same. Whether we believe or not – Jesus loves, period. You are precious, period. Yesterday this was true. Today this fact stands. Forever, He is God.
God is love.
Can we come close to understand?
“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. Words breathed from God in the Old Testament persuading, but not only that, these living words provide peace that’s alive. Living bread for a hungry soul.
Comfort true. Comfort whole.
“Let not thy heart despond, and say, How shall I stand the trying day? He has engaged, by firm decree, That, “as thy day; thy strength shall be.”  
“Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.” These are verses from the Living Word. When the Book is open to Deuteronomy. Chapter 33:25, and by chance one will open the dull looking Book, only to discover precious breath within each word.
“For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.“Deuteronomy 32:47.
“As thy day, thy strength shall be . . .”  Will you believe?
Abide in Me.
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,

 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6.

Who was it that came down and rebuked the winds and the sea became sound?

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27).
“Afflicted soul, to Jesus dear, Thy Savior’s gracious promise hear; His faithful word declares to thee That, “as thy day, thy strength shall be.” 
“Let not thy heart despond, and say, How shall I stand the trying day? He has engaged, by firm decree, That, “as thy day; thy strength shall be.”  
 

Who knows agony of spirit?

Who knows agony of spirit?
For some it comes in an instant. Sudden loss and trauma roll in like thick clouds. They don’t move, the thick darkness. It simply stays around.
For some there is heaviness of feeling, being abandoned and alone. Being rejected and forsaken, and Confusion makes a home.
“My God, My God. Why have You forsaken Me.” (1) These are the words of Jesus, the Lord.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (2)
This is the word of God. Oh, how it reads like a poem.
The enemy of God wants to destroy faith in His name. The enemy, and our flesh destroy, But God remains the same. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever . . . (3)
Who is like God? He was. He is. He is to come.
“In the beginning God,  . . . and darkness was on the face of the deep . . . and the Spirit of God was hovering over the  . . . waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” (4)
Who knows agony of spirit? We all do.
But Jesus does most.
Beyond the depth of our darkness, He has walked. We cry out, “Jesus.”
He understands.
This is the will of God. That we turn to seek Him.
Hear Him.
Follow Him. Know Him.
There is no One like God.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (5)
“Let there be light.”
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear …” these are the words that we must hold on to, as Jesus endured hours on the cross. “But of power and of love …” there is hope. God will restore – His word is alive even now, in each of us, ever more.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (6)
God restores and gives us, “sound mind.”
 Right now.
Step by step, and hour after hour.
Does He know we are in agony of Spirit? Oh, yes. He knows.
He is with us.
“Jesus.” we call.
A new creation, a resurrection from the dead, this is what He gives. We wait. We trust.
His name is Faithful.
His name is True.
His eyes remained on the Father, and that is what we  . . . will choose to do.
“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
Could it be? Could it actually be? That this present darkness we are in, will be a comfort for someone else, some day, some when? When we can hold their hand and listen, and cry with them too, and say, “Oh yes. Jesus knows exactly what you are feeling. He knows, through and through.”
And somehow, in a way mysterious, where pain and beauty meet, we are drawn to the Savior, like never before, again and again, we worship Him, complete.
 
(1) Mark 15:34
(2) Isaiah 40:28-31.
(3) Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
(4) Gen. 1:1-3.
(5)  John 3:16,17
(6) 2 Tim. 1:7.
(7) Psalm 46:1