Who Can You Count On???

to be there and to do what he/she says

 

         'It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,' Psalm 92:1-2

                A day or two ago we were talking about 'resting in the Lord' and what that means. We know that concept in different terminology when we apply that quality to people. We say they are 'reliable' or 'dependable,' or we can 'count on' them to be there and to do what they said they would do. They answer the phone and they follow through and follow up their work. It is so comforting and reassuring to depend on and have confidence in trustworthy people.

             Of course I immediately think of Minnie when I think of a dependable person. For 54 years my 'heart did safely trust in her.' 'She did me good and not harm all the days of her life.' Proverbs 31:11-12   I always knew I could count on her and she depended on me to do what I said I would. She was always 'there' when the children needed her.

            I was able to 'rest' and leave the matter with her, knowing it would get done to the best of her ability. In our 30^th Anniversary card she wrote, 'Dearest Bill, This peaceful scene makes me think of the deep secure life that we share together. God has been good to us. . . . Do you think we will have 30 more years together (in this life)? Love, Minnie'

            That 'deep secure life that we share together' is what we have in the Lord. That's what resting in Him means. You have complete confidence in His dependability. Even the most trustworthy of people can fail you for one reason or another, perhaps through no fault of their own, but God never will. 'His faithfulness reaches to the sky' and is seen 'every night.' In fact He has placed the moon as His 'faithful witness in the sky.'

 

         The moon may be obscured or only partially visible, but it is always 'there' reminding us of the continual presence of God. Our world is spinning in space but its location in space is kept perfectly in orbit and tilted at just the right angle to the sun to bring about day and night and the seasons of the year. Its 'foundations' are God's power and dependability, 'upholding all things by the Word of His power.' 'By Him all things hold together.' Col.1.17 You can count on it and rest in Him, content and secure and at peace. Shalom!

 

Power of His Promises

Power of His Promises

“By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of His promise in their hearts.”

         Aye! Verily those promises are powerful with the wisdom, kindness, and Presence of God Himself standing behind them. In Minnie's last talk to the ladies at the Bible church in Washington State on “Jehovah Shalom” she explained how God sustained her through her ordeal: “The Word, the Word, the Promises!”

          And what are some of those thousand or more promises that are so powerful and sustaining in our hearts and in the external world of God's providence? For Minnie God flooded her heart with the reality of this promise:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 She was so aware of His Presence with her—through it all. “All is well!” she knew.

         And that the completion of the journey would “lead to a joyful end” with Jesus' promise to come for her Himself personally when the time came “. . .I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3 esv “Absent from the body . . . present with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:8

        And what are the promises in my life that sustained me as I “roamed the earth”? Here are a few of the many:

Romans 10:9-13 (ESV) “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. . . . For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

          1 Cor. 10:13 (ESV) ^“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

        Psalm 27:14 (KJV) ^“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

2 Cor. 4:16 NIV “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

       How about you? What are some of your favorite promises that God has used in your life? Click on Reply and share them with us. They will encourage others.

Renewed every morning

           One of our daily privileges is to look to the Lord for respite, rest, renewal and rejuvenation each day. And the result is rejoicing in Him because “although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” 2 Cor. 4:16 ESV It is fascinating how so often in the midst of a dilemma, a problem, or a trial, God gives us rest and renewal. We can take a deep breath before going on.

Sometimes A Light surprises the Christian while he sings;

It is the Lord who rises with healing in His wings:

When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again

A season of clear shining, To cheer it after rain.

         God does this daily. I notice it often and remember so well how Minnie and I were refreshed on those last steep hills on her journey home. We often had to “come apart and rest awhile,” but God renewed us daily—and He still does. Where does that “Light” that “surprises” you come from? God meets with us in His Word! How often we read our Bible and see how glorious the old truths are and how they grip our hearts. It’s the Light of the illumination of the Holy Spirit exalting Jesus the Light of the world.

        But this wonderful hymn says the “surprise” reminder comes “while he sings.” Aye, and that’s so true as we sing to one another and to the Lord in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” That’s because we are singing scriptural truths and God has put a new song in our hearts, even praise unto the Lord our God. Why is it “new”? It’s always new because it’s fresh and illumined by the Presence of God Himself who is always “there” (or shall we say “here.”)

Think of the rain and how the “season of clear shining” follows that long rain. Or how the spring follows the winter. Or how the morning light follows the dark midnight. Or how joy comes in the morning after a long night.

In holy contemplation we sweetly then pursue The theme of God's salvation, And find it ever new;

Set free from present sorrow, We cheerfully can say, Let the unknown tomorrow Bring with it what it may.

It can bring with it nothing But He will bear us through: Who gives the lilies clothing Will clothe His people too:

Beneath the spreading heavens No creature but is fed; And He who feeds the ravens Will give His children bread.

Though vine nor fig tree neither Their wanted fruit should bear, Though all the fields should wither, Nor flocks nor herds be there:

Yet, God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice: For, while in Him confiding, I cannot but rejoice.

                                          --William Cowper, alt. From “A Quiet Heart,” Soundforth Singers

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7