Tag: Strength

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I Shall Yet Praise Him…

My Dearest Sister,

You know those days where you wish you could just start over? Well, it’s been one of those days. I’ll spare you the gritty details, but let’s just say it involved a stressed husband, a screaming baby, and a long list of errands to run with said screaming baby. The headache I woke up with got worse as the day wore on and our apartment seemed to get messier before my eyes. The last thing I felt like doing in the midst of my frustration and tiredness was praising the Lord. Yet as I reflect back on my day, the words of Psalm 43:5 come to mind: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”

As my life seems to get busier and full of more responsibilities, I am learning that just because I am stressed or burdened, praising the Lord should still be a priority. In fact, it happens to be the very purpose for which we were intended. Psalm 148 tells us that all creation from the heights of the heavens to the depths of the sea are designed to praise God. Remember the story where Jesus was entering Jerusalem riding on the donkey? He told the disgruntled Pharisees that if His disciples were to stop proclaiming Him as Lord and King, the rocks would immediately cry out His praises. If the stones of the earth are intended to worship God, then how much more the man who was made in His own image?

It is important to remember sister, that not only were we created to proclaim God’s praises, but we do so because He is worthy of them. As Psalm 145:3 says “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.” It goes on to list all the many reasons why He deserves our praise, from the wonderful works He has done among us (vs. 4-6), to His unfailing goodness, grace, and compassion (vs. 7-9). The Lord is mighty (v. 11), He keeps his promises (v. 13), and He lifts up those who fall (v. 14). Our magnificent Father provides for us (v. 15), is righteous and loving in all His ways (v. 17), and watches over and protects us (v. 20).

Of all these reasons to proclaim God’s greatness, let’s not forget the one that allows us to know Him in the first place: “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). When sin entered the world through the fall of man, it became a barrier between us and our most perfect Creator. However, in His infinite wisdom, God provided a way for us to be united with Him once again. By sending His precious, sinless Son to take the consequences of our iniquity, He provided a way of salvation from spiritual death and an eternity separated from Him. What could be more deserving of our endless praise than that?

If my attitude had been one of praise today, even though my soul felt cast down, my day would have turned out very differently. Times of frustration would have been opportunities to grow. My son’s inconsolable crying would have been a time to show compassion and love, just like the compassion and love God has shown me. The long list of things to do would have been a chance to thank Him for the family He has given me to clean up after and care for. Praising God through each and every hiccup of my day would have turned my focus from myself and my problems to Him and His glory. And that’s the whole point of praise, really. It’s turning our attention to the One who has created us in His wisdom, redeemed us in His love, and sustains us in His strength. For that, He is most worthy of our praise each and every day, from now until eternity.

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” – Psalm 145:1-3

In His love, ~ Lauren

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Not-So-Elusive Joy

Dear Sisters,

Joy, for me, is one of the more elusive passions of life.  I struggled with finding much to write about joy (a good indication I needed to wrestle and write about this).  My favorite place to start is the dictionary.  I love to get to the true root of a word or thought.  One of Webster’s 1828 definitions for joy is;  “n. A glorious and triumphant state–, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.  Hebrews 12:2″

I often march through the house, grim and determined to get the cleaning finished and kids through their schoolwork.  I will the laundry to be done and dinner to be delicious (that’s after I figure out what it is going to be).  All while giving a passing thought to perhaps not being quite so tight-lipped and quick to order the kids about.  They probably think I hate my job at times, while I most definitely do not.  I have had other careers and I love my stay-at-home, run-my-own-shop job!  I cannot even imagine another job I would rather have.  That being said, I thrive on challenges and perfection.  I will gladly deny myself relaxation and other treats until after all the work is done.  I look askew at my husband when he sits down with a movie and a treat while dishes are piled in the sink.  HOW can he enjoy himself when the dishes need-to-be-done?!

I like the above definition of joy.  Muscles clenched, sweat dripping, suffering, accomplishing much.  Yes!  Digging deeper, ironically, this definition is a noun.  As Christ hung on the cross, he didn’t have this joy; He saw it in the distance and accepted He would endure to receive it.

Another definition: “v. to rejoice; to be glad; to exult –I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk  3:18 ” A verb this time, an action!!  Getting excited about God and His salvation—I can do that!  Yet, take a look at the tiny book of Habakkuk, this definition’s reference.  The prophet saw destruction and distress coming, famine and want.  This book certainly does not have a party theme to it, yet even in his tears, Habakkuk found himself rejoicing in God’s salvation.  “The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.”  Hab. 3:19

Perhaps joy is not as elusive as I previously thought.  It is not circumstantial.  It is, however, reliant on our immutable, unchangeable, wholly good God.  How glad I am that He is the root of my joy—my circumstances may change, my life may utterly disintegrate, but He has, is, and always will be the end;  The most perfect, glorious end.  As C.S. Lewis put it at the end of The Last Battle, “And as He [Aslan] spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after those were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.  And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.  But for them it was only the beginning of the real story.  All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page:  now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read:  which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

Running with You,

Rebecca

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Smell the Roses

I wasn’t looking forward to writing this letter to you, dear sister.  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to write but that I feel like the last thing I have wisdom in is seeking and having joy. I don’t feel joyful. Instead, I feel weak, angry, jaded, and even apathetic toward God and my faith. I find that I even brush away encouragement, preferring to selfishly insist on my own way and deal with certain situations on my own terms.

My dear sister, it is certainly easy to become discouraged in our walk with the Lord. We start to look at other people’s lives and say, “Why hasn’t that happened for me? Why is it that I’m not as strong as her? If I just had this one thing I would be happy, right?”

I’ve had to make a life-changing decision recently. I don’t particularly care for the permanence such decisions deliver. Having to choose between two distinct paths, knowing that to choose one is to forsake the other is slightly terrifying. So I’ve put off making a “real” decision. But now, certain events have demanded a legitimate answer to my painstaking question. What am I going to do?

As I began thinking through my decision, I realized that the decision I wanted to make and the decision I needed to make were not the same. I wanted to quit, to give up, and to run away. I kept telling myself it was too late for me to ever be “good enough.”

The decision I needed to make involves a lot of hard work, time, and discipline. My past never fails to remind me that I don’t have a good track record when it comes to discipline and perseverance. Why should this time be any different?

This dilemma has revealed one truth: I am weak. I am weak and I cannot be strong in my own power. But Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us, saying, “the joy of the Lord is our strength.”  While it is a comforting statement, it begs the question: how can I have strength, when I don’t have joy?

Joy comes from contemplating the beauty, glory, and love of God. How can we be sorrowful when pondering the majesty of a sunrise, or the might of the great oak trees? How can we be sad when we remember Christ’s sacrifice and His victory over sin and death? But I have neglected these wonders of late; my thoughts have fallen onto myself. Is it any wonder then that I have fallen into discontent and apathy?

To choose what I need over what I want may be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. But I know that what I need is what is ultimately going to bring glory to God. And contemplating that reality is what brings me joy, and in turn my strength.

I don’t know what you’re struggling with today, my dear sister, but in all things make sure you take the time to watch the sunset, revel in a thunderstorm, and well, smell the roses!

Pursuing a higher joy,

Kayla