Monday, February 4, 2008

The sounds of military aircraft barely scraping the trees in one’s backyard are not overly comforting at 10 o’clock at night. On the heels of a bout of loneliness because everyone else had homework or other catch-up work claiming their attention, I found myself sitting down to write.

I will find the good in today, because it belonged to the Lord. Why should I be so discouraged these days? Why should I feel forgotten and alone? Why am I allowing the enemy to pursue and overtake me and beat me down? The Lord is my strength and song and He has become my victory!

In search of a much-needed break from Leviticus, that book of Law and Order, I spent several hours creating a “prayer chain”—scraps of colored cardstock clipped to a keychain and containing the folks I need to be praying faithfully for, as well as a ring of amazing verses about prayer, praise, promised blessings, holy living and the gospel, to keep with me and work on hiding in my heart for future reference. Already my "prayer chain" has several important, specific prayer requests. I need to e-mail Hannah, but I don't know what to say. And I need to call Amber, but I didn’t feel like talking. I heard Mom’s slippers pad-padding into my room and looked up to see a strange look on her face. “Aunt Helen and Paul were in a bad car wreck,” she said. They weren’t hurt, but it sure could have been nasty. Someone is looking out for them. Someone is giving me another chance to obey and share the gospel again. I need to e-mail Aunt Helen. It never slows down. It never stops. It’s a battle to the death—my death.

There is no more strength in my body, soul or spirit.

Lord, Thou must hear and heed
It is Thy power, Thy strength I need!
To do Thy work, to do Thy willing
I need Thy Holy Spirit’s filling

And convicting and His leading,
Hear my weakened spirit’s pleading
Be Thou mine as I am Thine
And turn my water into wine.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1

when I read that today I saw pleasant instead of present, I thought it was a good mistake. :)
That word for trouble can also be "tight places"; sometimes our schedules can be tight and overwhelming, but I find the more I give up (to God) and give in, the more room I make for Him to do a great work.

Do not be overcome by the powers you lack, overcome knowing that even the "man after Gods own heart" had moments of restlessness too - God will grant you all that you need. (Matthew 6) *here is a secret* He wants to give you the desires of your heart... Shhhhh

ScribblinScribe said...

Thank you, mm! The encouragement is much appreciated. It's good to be reminded that His help is always near.