Thoughts on Suffering

I Pet. 4:1..."Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm
yourselves likewise with the SAME MIND: for he that hath suffered in the flesh
hath CEASED FROM SIN."

Heb. 2:10..."For it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation
PERFECT through sufferings."

Heb. 5:8..."Though he were a Son, yet learned OBEDIENCE by the things which he suffered..."

I Peter. 2:21..."For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also SUFFERED
for us, leaving us an example, that ye should FOLLOW HIS STEPS."

1.What is the "same mind" that is talked about here? Is it the mind of being
willing to suffer for the good of others?

2.In what sense does suffering bring about a "ceasing of sin" in our lives?

Have you experienced this....that suffering physically or emotionally, etc. helps
to bring about a "surrenderedness" to the will of God"? Is this the sense in
which he that suffers "ceases from sin"???

Special Verses That Help Me in My Illness

Many scriptures which meant so much to me in the past have come back to me this morning. One such passage is Ps. 27. It is my prayer....

"One thing have I desired of the Lord....to behold the beauty of the Lord..."

"For in the time of trouble he shall HIDE me...in the secret of his tabernacle shall he HIDE me..."

Ps. 46:2 "Therefore will not we FEAR, though the earth be removed..

" Is. 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid."

Is. 60:20

"Thy sun shall no more go down: neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." Is. 60:20

Meditating a little on this verse today, but my brain is having trouble because of the flu, I guess. :)....

The "sun" shall no more go down.....

Yesterday was rainy and drear. Today the sun is out, and this makes me feel better, even though I'm ill....

There is just something about the SUN that makes for happiness and hope, huh?! :) Yes, someday all will be bright and beautiful....

FOR the LORD will be our light, and nothing dark or "ugly" will ever happen again. Yes, He is our SUN AND SHIELD, even now! :) He shall indeed be my EVERLASTING LIGHT....and nothing bad will ever happen again!

Yes...someday...the days of my many mournings shall be ended! Hallelujah!

Are You a PRISONER of illness?

"For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners." Ps. 69:33

"...The LORD looseth the prisoners..." Ps. 146:7

What WONDERFUL promises!

Are you a "prisoner"? I am right now in an "illness prison" and a "financial
prison".

I'm so glad has given these promises! Praise His Name!

II Cor. 5:2-4

This is something I wrote awhile back...when my grandmother was still alive..
----------------------
I was thinking about my 103 yr. old grandmother this morning.
I'm sure she relates to Paul.....Many times I have heard her cry out to God to let her die and go home to be with Him! She is indeed earnestly desiring it!

Obviously when Paul wrote II Cor., he was in "desperate straits" and despairing of life. It comes up over and over again....

Here in verses 2-4 he says,

"For in this we GROAN, EARNESTLY DESIRING to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:...For we that are in this tabernacle do GROAN, being BURDENED: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon...."

And I love his last phrase there....

"...That MORTALITY MIGHT BE SWALLOWED UP OF LIFE."
In verse 8 he says he was "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

This is where my grandmother is right now!

Groaning.....burdened.....earnestly desiring to see death that will instantly become LIFE, real life...and no more pain! With the Lord forever!

Just meditating on this today....

And remembering when I was sick EVERY DAY for days and days, week after week, month after month, year after year!

With pain like that, heaven is something that you begin to "earnestly desire"!

II Cor. 3:5

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." II Cor. 3:5


The verses before this talk about how we are "epistles" of Christ...written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.....known and read of all men. This goes along with what I was meditating on yesterday....

I want to be the "word of God" and be READ by my family....

Now this verse says I can't do this in my own power. My sufficiency is only of GOD.

Guess what else?

The word "sufficiency" has the idea of "being content, SECURITY".

In the midst of illness and what I'm going through, this verse has special meaning. If I have HIM, I have everything. He is all I NEED. He is my SECURITY. I am CONTENT in Him!

Did I share my favorite verse yesterday?

Ps. 73:25-26

"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Yesterday I laid in bed and this prayer flowed from my lips as I cried out to God. Indeed when I feel so ill, nothing is important at all except living in the arms of Jesus...and He is all I want or desire!

I've been feeling quite lonely lately...I love love people, and I thrive on fellowship, but sometimes, like yesterday, I was truly able to say, "There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee."

My sufficiency is of God!

II Cor. 4:7-12

"....that the excellency of the power may be of GOD and not of us."

I pray that in the midst of these trials...that my family will see "CHRIST IN ME".

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in depair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;"

This is my testimony today.

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

I pray that this shall be true for me today....that I shall suffer with silence here at home.... and patience, trusting in the Lord to deliver me from this "backslide physically".

So death worketh in us, but life in you."

May my "dying" be a witness that will bring forth LIFE for my family and others! :)

I Pet. 4:19

"Wherefore, let them that SUFFER according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful creator." I Pet. 4:19

This is my verse this morning....Suffering emotionally...suffering physically....

I must trust my all into God's hands.

Financial struggle often causes suffering.....I am willing and able to endure the heat and the cold, (bundle up if need be), wash my dishes with ivory soap instead of dishwashing liquid, do without treats (already do that....but it's a little harder for the rest here :)), do with shorter showers, etc, etc., but suffering physically and declining permantly or for a long while in my health because of no supplements is a little harder to consider......not only because of the personal pain but because it would further hurt the relationships between me and my DH and children. Must I suffer in this way, too?

Lord, give me grace, if need be....

II Tim. 2:3

Reading in II Tim. this morning I came across the verse the Lord wanted for me today....

"Thou therefore endure HARDNESS, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." II Tim. 2:3

....Not what I wanted to hear.....but what I NEEDED to hear. :)

For the last week I have felt my health sliding...

And I'm reminded of former days...and it makes me cry to God again with more fervency...

"Hardness" means "to undergo hardship:-be afflicted, endure afflictions (hardness), suffer trouble."

I pray that I shall soon "snap-back", but I need to be willing to endure this HARDNESS again....if the Lord so wills....even if it's just a short while...

One thing it does....Pain and fatigue lifts my soul closer to God, and for that I'm thankful!

Today when everything seems to be falling apart....my health, my finances, my family.....

I need to ENDURE HARDNESS...as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Pray I shall. :)

II Cor. 1:8

Paul said...

"...we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:"

I know some of you have been there....maybe not in the way the Paul was....but yes, despairing of life. I'm sure I have also come close to this point. Once when I had not slept for days (not even one tiny bit) and I was so exhausted, I decided to take a sleeping pill although I was afraid to because I didn't know how I might react to it. I remember basically praying, "Lord, if I don't wake up, that's o.k. I'm ready to die and be with you." Yet.....for the most part I probably haven't been quite where Paul was with his many trials and persecutions piled on top of one another as well as his great "burden" for his "children". His tears were for the disciples under him...mine for my children, my disciples under me.

I looked up some of these words....and was impressed with the weight of the phrases "out of measure" and "above strength".

"A throwing beyond....far more exceeding".....

"force...(miraculous power)"...

So in other words, Paul was at a place in his life where only a miracle could change things!

I'm so so happy for Joel 3:16..."but the LORD will be the HOPE of his people..." and Ps. 147:11..."The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that HOPE IN HIS MERCY." Sometimes that's all that we can do....HOPE in His MERCY!!! :)

Psalm 23

Psalm 23

1a The LORD is my shepherd.

WHO is our shepherd? The LORD! The One who made heaven and earth and all that is therein...the One who loves us more than anyone does…the One who loves us perfectly and before whose sovereign WILL we bow, saying, "Not my will, but thine be done…You are LORD! I am Yours, and You are mine!"

The Lord IS my shepherd!

Yes, He IS our shepherd IF indeed He is our LORD…And if is He is our LORD, we will follow him like a little sheep.It is not a MAYBE, but in truth and reality He IS my shepherd!

The Lord is MY shepherd!

For each one of us, if we are His little sheep, He is our PERSONAL shepherd. He speaks to us all, and yet He gives to each of us His personal, undivided and full attention! Praise be to His name that we can each say, You are MY shepherd!

The Lord is my SHEPHERD!

In Strong's Concordance the words for "shepherd" are "to tend a flock…to rule…to associate with (as a FRIEND,…companion, keep company with…feed…"

Because He is our shepherd, He "keeps company" with us! He is our BEST FRIEND at all times…He rules us and feeds us from His Word.

I find extreme comfort in Is. 40:11, especially when I am feeling really ill:

"He shall FEED his flock like a shepherd (Feeding from His Word! ) : he shall GATHER the LAMBS with his arm, (That's me and you! ) , and CARRY them in HIS BOSOM."(A perfect place of safety! ) What PEACE and comfort!

I am thinking here this morning not only about the LORD being MY shepherd…but also how I am the shepherd of MY "little flock" (my babies). As my LORD physically, emotionally, and spiritually feeds me, so I am to feed my babies in all these ways as well. As my LORD rules me in love, so I am called to rule by love. As my LORD is my best companion and friend, so I am to be my child's best earthly companion and friend. As my LORD, the good shepherd GIVETH his life for the sheep, so I am called to do the same…somehow, even in my illness, by His grace. As my LORD lovingly protects me, so I am to protect my little ones, but sometimes He lets me go astray for awhile and learn the hard way….and I must do the same with my little lambs even though "letting go" is SO hard to do and hurts so much.

There is so much in the word "shepherd"! The Lord brings to mind the words from the song:

"Saviour, like a shepherd, LEAD us, Much we need thy tender care."

I continually "bump up" against big questions and need GUIDANCE, and I run to my shepherd! I know you do, too!

1) Lord, WHAT is causing me to feel ill so that I can stay away from it?
2) Which treatment/supplements should I pursue?
3) How should I deal with this child today?
4) Which materials, approaches should I use t o teach each of these precious children TODAY? (For yesterday's plan is no longer "working"!)

The SHEPHERD sometimes changes the course for us from month to month, week to week…even sometimes day to day. We must keep our eyes on the shepherd so that we can go over the hill with Him and not be left behind!

I love these words from W.M.Thornson, P.D. in "The Land and the Book"! I want to be like the sheep he talks about at first, don't you? He writes,

"Some sheep always keep near the shepherd and are his special favorites. Each of them has a name, to which it answers joyfully, and the kind shepherd is ever distributing to such, choice portions which he gathers for that purpose. These are the contented and happy ones. They are in no danger of getting lost or into mischief, nor do wild beasts or thieves come near them. The great body, however, are mere worldlings, intent upon their mere pleasures or selfish interests. They run from bush to bush, searching for variety or delicacies, and only now and then lift their heads to see where the shepherd is…"

Let's stay CLOSE to the SHEPHERD!

Thoughts from Psalm 57

[57] Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Yes, Lord…..a calamity has come. Nobody feels it but me, but it is here…chemicals which have "set me back" again. But I sing this song this morning and feel Your presence…holding me…holding me. Until this calamity is gone….until I feel "normal" again…..please hold me tight!

I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

What a wonderful promise!

He shall send from heaven, and save from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

It is true….the devil is trying to destroy me…soul and body, but You are bigger….and You are sending Your forth Your MERCY…and the truth is that I am free. I am YOURS. He cannot destroy me….even if I die.

My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Men are like lions, ripping me apart with their chemicals. But they are just the devil's tool. They are clueless and don't even realize the damage they cause.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

But thou art great! I lift Your name high this morning! Save me and heal me that YOU MAY BE GLORIFIED….that those around me will know that You are a great God!

They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

Amen.

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

My heart if FIXED. FIXED.FIXED! I must go on singing! I must go on sharing! I must go on with my "witnessing projects" and ministry. I must go on with my singing projects! And I must SING and record! I must do my best to love my husband and children even if I can't be with them much. I must SHOW my love in the little ways I can when I can be with them.

For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

I'm so glad You are MERCIFUL, Lord! That gives me HOPE that I will feel normal again……I just don't know how long I must suffer. Oh,please be MERCIFUL!

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Most of all, God, may YOU be exalted! I know I need to meditate on this much. I must not complain….that YOU may be glorified…that my family might see CHRIST in me, the hope of glory.

Yesterday I read this quote, and….wow…

"Hudson Taylor was so feeble in the closing months of his life that he wrote a dear friend: 'I am so weak I cannot write; I cannot read my Bible; I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child, and trust.'"

I want my heart to be FIXED like that, Lord! To love You to the end…if all I can do is rest in Your Almighty arms.

[57] Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Meditation on the Sabbath

Exodus 31:13

Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying...

Yes, Lord...I am part of spiritual Israel...I am Your child by grace. What do You want to speak to me?

VERILY MY SABBATHS YE SHALL KEEP: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations;

Yes, Lord, I will DELIGHT in obeying You. I love to keep the Sabbath - for it is a special, sanctified day of rest in which I can really take time to DELIGHT in You and to allow You to "sanctify and cleanse (me) with the washing of water by the Word...." (Eph. 5:26)

That ye may KNOW that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

O Lord, is Your Sabbath, the special day that you sanctified and set apart in Genesis FOR ME? - Is it a sign to me, too - illustrative of Your sanctifying work in my heart? Could it be?

Exodus 31:17

It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he RESTED, and was refreshed.

O Lord, You rested from Your works as an example to me that I must rest from MY works (physically and spiritually) and put my complete faith and trust in YOU. "For he that is entered into Your rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as (You) did from (Yours). (Heb. 4:10) Enabling me to rest in You and in Your WORK on the cross for me - this is how You have sanctified me and set me apart for Yourself - by giving me the REST OF FAITH.

Many "have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." (Rom 10:2-3) "....the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with FAITH in them that heard it." (Heb. 4:2a) But...Lord, You have given me REST. You have begun my sanctification, and I am growing more and more in Your way as You enable me to walk in the power of Your Spirit and to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in my life. Hallelujah! Thank-You, Lord!

I am reminded that each of the 10 commandments also has a deeper spiritual and "heart" significance:

"Thou shalt not kill also means not to hate or to be selfishly angry with my brother. It also implies a positive command - to "overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) and to "love (my) enemies." (Mt. 5:44)

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" also means not to lust in my heart.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" not only means not to use God's name irreverently, but it also means not to call myself a christian if I am not living like one - for this dishonors You.

Now, Lord, could it be that the deeper significance of the 4th commandment - keeping the Sabbath - is to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit - since it was a sign of Your sanctifying work in the lives of Your dear children?

Isaiah 58:13-14

If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,

In this "day' of rest in Christ, You are saying to me, "Turn away THY FOOT. Don't walk in the way that you would naturally walk - down a worldly path of loving "the lust of the flesh" (passions), and the lust of the eyes (possessions), and the pride of life (position)." (I Jn. 2:16) "Love not the world; neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (I Jn. 2:15) Don't walk in THY footsteps, but walk in MY footsteps."

Yes, Lord! "Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight"! (Ps. 119:35)

from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;

Lord, Your word to me here is that I should turn away from mine OWN PLEASURES. I surely don't want to be counted in the company of those who are "serving divers lusts and pleasures" (Titus 3:3) and who are "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." (II Tim. 3:4)

and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable;

O yes, Lord! The Sabbath IS a DELIGHT, and walking in YOUR WAY IS a DELIGHT, and WALKING in the POWER of YOUR SPIRIT IS a DELIGHT!!!

and shalt honour him,

Lord, it is true!...When I am filled with Your Spirit and am enabled by Your grace to turn from sin and to resist the temptation of wrong attitudes - When the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance) are being manifested in my life - When I have Your strength to be disciplined and to do what I ought to do - When I am enabled by Your grace to be:

1) "poor in spirit" - "shattered" and humbled because of my sin,

2) "mourn" - ing for sin - having true repentance,

3) "meek" - submissive and quiet and free from "self-interest",

4) "hunger" ing and "thirst" - ing "after righteousness",

5) "merciful" - compassionate and non-judgmental - making judgments, but never judging others' hearts - considering how others feel and why -...also giving my expectations of others to You, Lord - not oppressing others by expecting more of them than I should,

6) "pure in heart" - with a single focus and a heart for doing all things only for the glory of God,

7) a "peacemaker" - by being quiet and NEVER ARGUING

8) "rejoicing" when I am persecuted for Your sake, Lord -

Yes, WHEN YOUR POWER is manifest in my life, it will HONOUR YOU!

not doing THINE OWN WAYS, nor finding THINE OWN PLEASURE, not speaking THINE OWN WORDS:

Yes, Lord, "All we - like sheep - have gone astray; we have turned every one to HIS OWN WAY..." (Is. 53:6a) I HAVE gone my own way, Lord. I have "enjoy(ed) the pleasures of sin for a season," (Heb. 11:25b) and I have been "wise in (my) own eyes" Prov. 3:7) and have not been "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath". (James 1:19) I have spoken my OWN WORDS instead of waiting on You to speak through me. Lord, may I be filled with thy Spirit that I might speak Your words "in due season" (Prov. 15:23b) that they might be "pleasant words...as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones." (Prov. 16;24) For "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." (Prov. 25:11) Lord, may I not speak my OWN WORDS anymore, but may I speak Your words in Your timing, and may it be "in mine heart as a BURNING FIRE..." (Jer. 20:19)

Lord, this section of the passage reminds me of Luke 9:23 - "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me" and Rom. 8:13 - "For if ye live after the FLESH, ye shall die: but if ye through the SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live."

THEN shalt thou DELIGHT thyself in the LORD;

Yes, Lord, as I begin to obey You through SELF-DENIAL, I am finding DELIGHT in You. By Your grace, I am becoming "soft and pliable" as the word means. The place of obedience and surrender is hard, but it truly IS a place of JOY. "Listening" to Your voice through Your Word and acting upon it, by Your grace, strengthens my faith. I KNOW You are REAL! And as I DELIGHT myself in You, You are bringing me into a DEEPER relationship with You. And You say to me,.....

and I will cause thee to ride upon the HIGH places of the earth,

Yes, Lord, daughters of the KING shall ride in high places. You have "raised (me) up...and made (me) sit..in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:6)

and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

You have given me a spiritual inheritance - a home with You in heaven and a promise that I shall someday be perfectly holy! Hallelujah!

O Lord, thank-You for showing me this deeper significance of the Sabbath! I long to LISTEN and to OBEY Your voice moment by moment; I long to be filled with Thy Holy Spirit continually as I walk in Your power; I long to "mortify the deeds of the body" and live after the Spirit rather than the flesh!...And I also long to keep a LITERAL SABBATH DAY HOLY, too - for therein I have the TIME to really "bathe" myself in Your Word and to have spiritual communion with YOU and with others - which is the MEANS You have ordained for my sanctification!

In Jesus' name. Amen!