Laced With Grace

“They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord – the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. The will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.” Jeremiah 31:12

It has been a tough few weeks as some around me have dealt with the incredible sorrow of death.  It began with the passing of Amy Wilhoite.  She had suffered from Leukemia and chronicled her struggle on her blog.  Many times I would read her struggles and cry with her, even though I have never met her, as she prayed for God to deliver her from this sickness.  Many of us bloggers prayed for a miracle.  God delivered her to the ultimate healing on September 10^th.  Now my prayers have turned towards her grieving family and the young child left behind.

The following Sunday, our Pastor announced that a couple in our church had lost their 21 year old son to a car accident.  We are fairly new to the church so I honestly do not know the couple or their son.  However, they are my church family and I cannot imagine the pain they are feeling and have been praying for God’s comfort for them.

Several months ago, I wrote this “In Other Words” about a friend’s mother had received a kidney and liver transplant.  At the time I wrote that, we did not know if she would make it.  Things did improve for a time, although she has spent the last 5 months in the hospital.  Then last week, she took an unrecoverable turn for the worst and passed away Tuesday night.  I have watched my friend agonize over her mother’s health for the last 3 years.  I remember the prayers that her health would be improved enough to receive the transplants.  Illnesses kept occurring and the doctors would have to remove her from the transplant list.  I’ll never forget the joy in her email when she sent out an urgent request for prayer as the transplant was finally going to happen.  In the end, God delivered her mom in His way.

Sorrow and death is inevitable.  That is simply part of our fallen world.  It is in that sorrow that we have to trust and believe in God’s sovereignty.  He alone has the plan for us.  We may not always like it, we may have sorrows along the way but if we trust Him, He will never let us down.

Today, I dedicate this to Amy, Margie and the young man from our church.  I pray for comfort for those families and close with this verse in Isaiah.  One glorious day we will have sorrow no more and all of us will receive our ultimate deliverance through Christ!

“Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.” Isaiah 60:20 NIV

Dear Heavenly and Gracious Lord, I lift up these families to You that have lost loved ones in the past few days.  Their grief is fresh, real and I can imagine sorrowful beyond the expression of words.  But You are the ultimate comforter, healer and deliverer.  I pray for your comfort on them.  Give them strength when they are weak and confidence in You to go on – knowing one glorious day they will see their loved ones again.  I pray for comfort for those as well who have lost loved ones.  God, You are our comfort, our strength, our shield and I pray your love on all the hurting women out there today.  In your precious and holy name.  Amen.

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
~ Isaiah 53:4-6 (ESV)

We had a wonderful, lazy Sunday afternoon this past weekend, my Sweetheart and I. It was awesome to watch old movies with my love–without interruptions. We actually watch 3 movies. They were all from the 50′s–not too many good new movies are out there anyway. But I digress…

One of the movies was called “Ace in the Hole” with Kirk Douglas as the lead role. At first I didn’t like the movie too much. The main character was a journalist who was fired from several jobs at major newspapers. He had drinking issues, had affairs with married women…Not my kind of ‘good’ character. Since he was fired from newspapers in New York, Chicago and other big cities, he ended up at a very small newspaper in New Mexico. All he wanted this job to be a ‘spring-board’ to get back into the ‘big’ newspapers. So he was looking for a story…

A miner was trapped at a sacred Indian site digging for pots to be sold to tourists. Charles ‘Chuck’ Tatum (Kirk Douglas) ‘smelled’ a big story. This was the break he was waiting for…He wanted to ‘save’ the miner–the entire nation wanted to see if ‘Chuck’ would get the miner out in time…well, I am not going to tell you rest of the movie; you might want to watch it one day .

As I was thinking of a devotion to write, I though back to the movie. How many false saviors have people sought out. Many of us might have even tried a different religion. Some religion require works, others you just have to offer your money in order to get to heaven. Or you just have to ‘find’ inner peace in order to get to a place called Nirvana. We are all looking for something or for someone to save us from this life.

There is Someone who already took on the sins of this world to provide a way to heaven. He stretched out His arms to welcome us all home. He shed His very blood to pay the price for our redemption. We have to look no further, but to the cross. Oh, how I love Thee…

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
~ Isaiah 53:7-8 (ESV)

Lord of Heaven and Earth. Thank You for Your sacrifice for us all. Lord, You are the genuine Savior. Help us to keep our eyes focused on the cross. If we wander or waiver, guide us back with Your love. In the precious name of Jesus.

Blessings on your day and as always…

It was dusk and I was walking across the carpeted floor of our bedroom when I spotted it. Something looking uncomfortably like a huge scorpion right in my path. I jumped back startled .Very carefully I reached over to turn on the light and get my glasses. Sure enough – it was the dreaded…….retainer I have to wear at night to keep my teeth in alignment! It must have fallen off the vanity when I was washing my face. My pounding heart quieted, and I felt rather foolish.

I thought about the devotional I had just finished reading and how this was a perfect illustration. I am reading a Christian classic called “Hinds Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnard. Darien Cooper has written a devotional page to correspond to each page of the book. God has used this book to speak to my heart in a very profound way.

The heroine of this allegory is Much-Afraid. She is taking the journey from the Valley to the High Places. The Shepherd is her guide. Much-Afraid is crippled, and the Shepherd has given her two companions to help her on the journey. Their names are Sorrow and Suffering. On this particular day they are about to enter the Forests of Danger and Tribulation, and Much-Afraid is too terrified to go on. In her mind she imagines what frightening things await her there. She falls at the Shepherd’s feet trembling with fear.

In a gentle voice the Shepherd says, “Much-Afraid, don’t ever allow yourself to begin trying to picture what it will be like. Believe Me, when you get to the places which you dread you will find that they are as different as possible from what you have imagined… I see your enemies lurking among the trees ahead, and if you ever let Craven Fear begin painting a picture on the screen of your imagination, you will walk with fear and trembling and agony, where no fear is.”

I felt as though the Lord had spoken those words directly into my heart. I am so much like Much-Afraid. I look into tomorrow and worry. I look down the road into the future and, because of circumstances in our lives, see the Forests of Danger and Tribulation straight ahead. The fear can be so overpowering I feel buried under the weight of it. It is only when I look into the face of Jesus and remember Who He is that I can find some measure of peace.

My very vivid imagination flashes scenes of untold suffering and sorrow on the screen of my mind so often. It doesn’t have to be the large worry that I have; it can be something as simple as my husband being late getting home. As the minutes tick away, I pace back and forth to the window with visions of ambulances, and emergency rooms floating through my mind. I am thoroughly worn out by the time the car pulls safely into the driveway.

In Much-Afraid’s story I hear the Savior say to me – “Don’t let your imagination run away with you. My promises are true. I will always be there with you. I have a plan to prosper you, and your future is safely in My hands. I love you.” When I listen to that gentle voice; when I put my trust in Him, I am filled with the peace that He has promised.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
~ II Cor.10:5 (KJ)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” ~ Prov. 3:5 (NAS)