Can you and I praise the Lord after a series of tragedies? This is what Horatio Spafford did. His four year old son died of Scarlet Fever. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 caused him financial ruin. The ship that his wife, Anna, and their four daughters took to go to England sank and all…
Category: ABC’s Towards Healing
Praise for When You Don’t Understand
Ike Rikert, a pastor, lost his wife when she gave birth to their first child. His child died as well. He had two friends, Babbie Mason and Eddie Carswell who wanted to encourage him. Babbie said of Ike, “Though he was a “strong brother in the Lord”, he went “into the depths of depression, holding…
Get Up, Pick Up Your Mat, and Walk
Dear Self, Pain is real. No minimizing, trivializing, nor denying it. There is a time to weep. Tears need to be shed, feelings released, reality faced square. But it is not healthy to make an altar of pain. Ask God. Nag God. Talk to God. He can take the gut authenticity of your feelings. No…
God Will Use the Past You Hate
How satisfying it would be to just bulldoze the ruins that life sometimes feels like. Sitting in front of a lovingly prepared precious banquet that has been defecated on, I just want it all to disappear on command. I want a fresh, clean slate with no trace of the pain, anguish, despair at betrayal and…
You Are Created by God. He Has Redeemed You
Isa 43:1 “But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you” How awesome it is to be created and formed by the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present holy God of heaven. Every detail thoughtfully planned by Him. No mistakes on…
Do Not Be Weary
Gal 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart According to David Guzik in his blueletterbible.com commentary of the above verse, the phrase “lose heart” in the ancient world was used for the kind of fear and weariness a woman…
Do Not Be Anxious
Phil 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. This verse is a command not to be anxious about anything. Everything is to be turned into a prayer with thanksgiving. Nothing too trivial. Nothing too impossible. God commands us to lift…
He Will Pay Back Trouble To Those Who Trouble You
2 Thess: 1:4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is…
Suffering Lasts Only A Little While
When we undergo suffering, we ought to be encouraged that it will pass. Through the phase of suffering, God will provide the all-sufficient grace we need to stand firm. And He will restore us! 1 Pet 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have…
Nothing to Separate Us From Christ’s Love
Rom 8:35 NIV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j] 37 No, in all these things we…
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 