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!

 

The Fellowship of His Sufferings

^'That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, . . . .' Phil. 3:10

          There IS a fellowship in going through sufferings and difficulties together. It brings you even closer together. Minnie—by the strength of God's grace—went through the physical sufferings of pancreatic cancer but I shared in the enormous inward spiritual pain—and so did our four children and those dear grandchildren and our larger family, as well.

       'Suffering has no meaning in itself. Left to its own, it is a frustrating and bewildering burden. But given the context of relationship, suffering suddenly has meaning.” [Joni, When God Weeps, p. 127]

       When your children suffer, you suffer. And we are God's children! 'How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!' 1 Jn.3.1 “It is the love that you have for your child that quickens your step and buoys up your heart. Your relationship gives your burden meaning.' p.126

      “Intimacy happens as two souls share together. It's what we long for more than anything else. To know and be known. . . . God answers that ancient longing. A yearning that echoes with the message that we were made for Him.' 128

        The word for fellowship is koinonia meaning sharing something in common. And the esprit de corps of fellow sufferers is deep, but suffering shared with God is deeper still. To know God through the difficulties of life is to know why we trust Him. 'To know God is to be free of the incessant need to understand exactly what He is doing before you place your confidence in Him.' 131

         God will always have enough grace for you, strength for the journey and the difficulties. We know His mercy is limitless and His protection and peace through it all. He is the 'God of all comfort' and his compassion never fails. He can be counted on through all the difficulties and sufferings of life and then? Then 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever' for He will 'bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.' Ps.23.6, 2 Tim.4.18