In the Right Direction

These past few days have been fast and at times what some might call intense. I praise the Lord that He has been willing to allow me in more than one relationship to share that He is a God that does wonders. Yesterday I received a call from a dear one who was distraught over a certain situation. I don't know a lot about it but I was so thankful that they felt willing to call me to share with them God's kind of encouragement. I don't have a large resevoir but I know that God is in the business of lifting up the broken hearted and setting captives free. As we talked I opened my Bible and began to weave God's words into our conversation. A lot of folks like the King James Version but others were not comfortable with 'thee' and 'thou' and such forms of English. This being the case I often will 'read' the text while using more current 'wording'. One of my favorite sources of 'It is written' is the Psalms. As I was sharing promises from a number of portions of the Psalms I came to chapter 86. I have learned a number of Psalms by heart and to sing them to music, but this was not one of them so I wasn't as acquainted with its contents.

As I began to share this Psalm it seemed that almost every sentence was specific for the situation we were claiming God's power for at that time. The last verse of Psalm 86 begins with a request from us to God. "Shew me a token (sign) for good. . . " As I read that I prayed in my mind that God would do that very thing. About that time I heard a second phone line ring at the place of the person I was talking with. When they answered it a friend had just called to give them a 'phone hug' because they felt impressed they needed it just then. I was very impressed, and said that the call was one sign from God that He was still very much in control but even more importantly that His good will was for them.

Rather than continuing on to other scriptures, we reviewed Psalm 86 again for the next few minutes. When we returned to verse 17 - "Shew me a token for good: . . . " I inwardly asked the Lord if there might be a possibility of Him sending at least one more 'sign'. Again the second phone rang on the other 'end'. This time the call came from a very important source so I hung up. A few minutes later I got a call back telling me how God had indeed sent another sign of His love.

I can't raise people out of discouragement, but God can use me to be a channel through which His love can flow to others. That is JOY producing - it gives me joy as I see God lifting others up and as they receive the good news that God loves to be with them wherever they are, that they are the apple of His eye and that they are special to Him, they too experience the Joy of the Lord, which is real strength. That kind of an joy experience, combined with accepting that the God who loves to be with you is also the same God who is working for your best good and that you can 'rest', have 'confidence' and trust that He will never leave you nor forsake you is what builds capacity to cope with all the stresses of life. (What I call the Joy/Peace cycle.)

The above experience took a part of my time yesterday. In between phone calls I have been trying to work on my home. I am almost finished painting the kitchen and almost finished painting the trim in our son's bedroom. I had so much wanted to finish his room before he comes home - either this weekend or next - but at the speed I am moving I am not sure of anything. I will keep trying though. Some time back I made some pockets where I can put posters to encourage me in my spiritual life. This is a picture of a couple of the cupboards with their new coat of paint also.


Add to above another series of phone calls from another person in need of help and life gets even more interesting. I had promised to help my friend so after my hubby got off work we went by Walmart to get some groceries for ourselves and our friend. God has supplied the rent for her - this is the one we helped move a while ago - in some pretty interesting ways. She got word of where this month's rent was coming from yesterday and told me about it. That was a big thing to thank the Lord for. But because of a current lack of 'useable' funds her current finances not much has been left much for dietary needs or other day to day items. While we were getting some groceries for ourselves we added some items that I thought she might have need of before going on over to her place. She has been working on some sources of income and has asked me to help her with some 'technical' aspects so when I got there I 'jumped' in to doing what I could to help. But when my hubby brought in the bags of groceries I wish you could have seen the look on her face and heard the expressions of gratitude to us for letting us be the Lord's channels to help her. She might not have been 'starving' but she was pretty low on day to day commodities.

There is a special very positive effect on me when I can be a channel through which God's love can flow to others. I can't help everyone but it sure is nice to be included in the loop when the Lord sees He can trust me to act like Him toward others.

Some time back my brother came over to our place and finished remodeling a bathroom for us. The bathroom wall between the bathroom and the living room had had to be completely rebuilt. The 'sit down' shower had been installed on that wall but we had not yet put sheetrock back on the living room side of the wall. A friend carpenter offered to do that for us. He got the sheetrock up alright but then I asked about a corner that looked very strange. To make a long story short that corner was totally rotten beside where he had put the new 'wall cover'. We have ended up tearing out what was left of the wall between the bathroom and a family room (the rest of that wall had been replaced when my brother finished the bathroom). My friend found a door that can be hung as a 'pocket door' - sliding into a pocket formed in the wall - which will open up the area very nicely. (The former 'door' between the living room and family room was very narrow so a wider passage will be very welcome.) Those of you who have been here will probably appreciate my description of this progress more, but I am thankful that one more part of the dwelling, when completed, will be sound again. The house is old but I believe there is still a lot of good left in it. To me it is sometimes an illustration of how God is working in my life. Section by section he is revealing to me areas inside that need to be 'replaced' with 'new'. He has promised that He will give me a new heart and a new spirit so that when He is completed, I can truly look like Him, not with only a new coat of paint but from the inside out. Praise the Lord.

Being made 'new' in Jesus' is what brings true peace and joy. There is another aspect that I have learning about also. This has to do with the part that 'hope' has to play in my life.

A quote that has been changing the way I think I made into a 'poster' to help me remember it better.

"Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three:" -- faith which takes hold of Omnipotence and refuses to be baffled; Hope, which turns the future triumphs of the good and the true into present encouragement and joy; and love which consecrates all to God and for God.

I have really appreciated all three definitions but the one for Hope has been really burning its way into my heart and mind. There are some physical aspects of God's kingdom that are future but Hope brings the encouragement and JOY into the here and now. WOW!

May you experience God's kind of hope in your life today.

Bringer of Peace