All the Day Long

Psalm 52:1 (Rotherham) - "The lovingkindness of God lasteth all the day long."

"All the day long there is the pressure of life and perhaps some inner strain to the spirit known only to God. But all the day long, too, there is the lovingkindness of God...the peace that passes all understanding...May [this word] strengthen us all the moments of this day." - Amy Carmichael

Need for Patience

After a rather difficult weekend for my daughter physically, the Lord has brightened our day with this reading from Daily Light.

Let patience have her perfect work, that

ye may be perfect and entire,

wanting nothing.

OW for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.--We glory in tribulations: . . . knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.--Ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.--Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts.

JAMES 1. 4. 1 Pe. 1. 6, 7.--Ro. 5. 3, 4.
La. 3. 26.--He. 10. 34-36.--2 Th. 2. 16, 17.

Thy way, O Lord

When we can trust all things to the Lord we will be able to sing:

"Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be;
O lead me by Thine own right hand,
Choose out the path for me.

"Smooth let it be or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it matters not,
It leads me to Thy rest.

"I dare not choose my lot,
I would not if I might;
But choose Thou for me, O my God,
So shall I walk aright.

"Take Thou my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill;
As ever best to Thee may seem,
Choose Thou my good and ill."

Finding Wisdom

Here is this morning's reading from Daily Light.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,

and the man that getteth under-

standing.

HOSO findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, . . . but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD.--The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.--In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.--Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

Christ Jesus, . . . is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

He that winneth souls is wise.

PROV. 3. 13. Pr. 8. 35. Je. 9. 23, 24.--
Pr. 9. 10. Phi. 3. 7, 8.--Col. 2. 3.--
Pr. 8. 14. 1 Co. 1. 30. Pr. 11. 3

Fretting and Trusting

I have recently found myself fretting more and trusting less. I went back to one of my favorite Psalms (37), and looked up what Spurgeon had to say from his Treasury of David, as well as digging a bit deeper into word meanings. Here's some of what I found.

Trust - to attach oneself, to confide in, feel safe, by confident, secure, rely on. The basic idea is associated with firmness or solidity. This type of hope is a confident expectation, not a constant anxiety. We can truly relax when we know God is in control.

Commit - to whirl, roll, turn, to roll oneself upon. The picture is rolling oneself upon the Lord, trusting (Ps. 22:8), commiting one's life to the Lord (Ps. 37:5; Prov. 16:3).

From Treasury of David:

"To fret is to worry, to have the heartburn, to fume, to become vexed...Faith cures fretting...True faith is actively obedient. Doing good is a fine remedy for fretting. ...Make Jehovah the joy and rejoicing of thy spirit...There is no room for fretting if we remember that God is ours...Every name, attribute, word, or deed of Jehovah, should be delightful to us, and in meditating thereon, our soul should be as glad as is the epicure who feeds delicately with a profound relish for his dainties...Roll the whole burden of life upon the Lord. Leave with Jehovah not thy present fretfulness merely, but all thy cares; in fact, submit the whole tenor of thy way to Him. Cast away anxiety, resign thy will, submit thy judgment, leave all with the God of all...Our destiny shall be joyfully accomplished if we confidently entrust all to our Lord.

"'Rest in the Lord'...To hush the spirit, to be silent before the Lord, to wait in holy patience the time for clearing up the difficulties of Providence - that is what every gracious heart should aim at...'and wait patiently for Him'. Time is nothing to Him; let it be nothing to thee. God is worth waiting for...we ought not to prejudge the great drama of life, but stay till the closing scene, and see to what a finis the whole arrives...be not enticed into premature judgments - they dishonor God, they weary yourself."

Prov. 3:5, 6 - "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him (know him), and he shall direct thy paths."

As I spend my time learning to know Him better and meditating on His beauty, there is no way I can fret at the same time! I am reading 2 or 3 pages a day from Stephan Charnock's book The Existence and Attributes of God. I highly recommend this great book to you. Don't be put off by its size or older English. Just read a bit at a time and you will find yourself on your knees in worship of this awesome God Who has loved us with an everlasting love! I can't take it in!!!

In the Sweet Fear of Jesus

As we begin a new day and new week, our theme song for this quarter in Sunday School seems to be most appropriate.

"In the sweet fear of Jesus
Let me begin each day,
Fearful lest I should grieve Him,
Fearful lest I should stray,
Fearful lest earthly longings
Ever my heart should share,
Taking the throne of Jesus
Placing an idol there.

"In the sweet fear of Jesus
Let me begin each day,
Serving or resting, always
Under His gentle sway;
All that I say, directed,
All that I plan conceived,
With the remembrance present
Jesus must not be grieved."

Jesus Only

"Mark 9:6-8 - '...they saw no man anymore, save Jesus only with themselves...' Are you in trouble about something? Take this word as you would a flower in your hand. You cannot see the fragrance of a flower, and you cannot see the presence of your Lord, but you can let its sweetness refresh you. Look up to Him and say 'Thank You' to your Lord Jesus Who is always with you." - Amy Carmichael

Doing vs. Being

I have always been a very performance-driven, people-pleasing sort of person. Being able to "do" offers great security - it's tangible, seeable, laudable. It also leads to the besetting sin that dogs my walk the most - pride! I found a quote from Oswald Chambers that challenged me in this area and helped refocus my thinking on Christ (and who I am in Him) rather than what I can do for Him.

"Jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him...Our Lord's first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of men; the saving of men was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father...The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of the life is its unobtrusiveness. It is like a corn of wheat, which falls into the ground and dies, but presently it will spring up and alter the whole landscape (John 12:24)."

Wait in prayer

"Wait in prayer. Call on God and spread the case before Him. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him. Wait in faith, for unfaithful, untrusting waiting is but an insult to the Lord. Wait in a quiet patience, not murmuring because you are under affliction, but blessing God for it." - Spurgeon

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple" (Ps. 27:4).

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless" (Ps. 84:10, 11).

Prayer

I've been thinking a lot about prayer lately. The following are some quotes that I wrote down last year just before we learned of Kalen's brain stem compression. Little did I know then how the Lord was preparing my heart for the days ahead.

"Think about the last thing you prayed about - were you devoted to your desire or to God? The point of asking is that you may get to know God better...Keep praying in order to get a perfect understanding of God Himself." - Oswald Chambers

"When we pray we must urge God with His promises." - E. Calumy

"Be content to leave your prayer in His hands, Who knows when to give and how to give and what to give and what to withhold." - Spurgeon

"No direct action on your part will change another person. You can pray that God will change him, and you can let God change you (you may be the one who needs it more!)" - Elisabeth Elliot

"He [God] reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them, and so we intercede on His line...to get His view about the people for whom we pray." - Oswald Chambers

It changes everything for me when I come to the Father to know Him better and get His perspective on things. His Word becomes my prayer book, especially the Psalms. They cover every facet of life so eloquently. And the ultimate comfort is knowing that both Christ and the Holy Spirit are making intercession for me in perfect accordance with the Father's will. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"

"If you dwell on your feelings about things rather than on the faithfulness, love, and mercy of God, then you're likely to have a bad day. Dwelling on the faithfulness and love of God is always safe, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." - Elisabeth Elliot

Have a great day dwelling on "the faithfulness and love of God."

Abandoned to Him

Here's a quote from Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest.

"Our Lord's...purpose is not the development of a man; His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that counts...we cannot measure our life by success, but only by what God pours through us, and we cannot measure that at all...Our Lord is carried beyond Himself with joy when He sees any of us...being abandoned to Him...It is time now to break the life, to cease craving for satisfaction, and to spill the thing out."

We spent the weekend over at the coast and it was so relaxing and beautiful. The Lord continues to faithfully (patiently!) impress upon me the need to "be still" and let Him do the fixin' in other people's lives (and mine, as well). That point was punctuated for me in the yesterday's morning reading from my Daily Light.

Sit still, my daughter.

AKE heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted.--Be still, and know that I am God.--Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?--The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

Mary, . . . sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.--Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.--In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.--Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established.

He that believeth shall not make haste.

RUTH 3. 18. Is. 7. 4.--Ps. 46. 10.--
John 11. 40.--Is. 2. 17. Lu. 10. 39, 42.--
Is. 30. 15.--Ps. 4. 4. Ps. 37. 7. Ps. 112. 7, 8.
Is. 28. 16.

"Lord, help me to live this day quietly, easily;
To lean upon Thy great strength trustfully, restfully;
To meet others peacefully, joyously;
To face tomorrow confidently, courageously."

- Elisabeth Elliot's Aunt Anne