Do You Trust People?

 

Statue de Jésus assis au milieu de deux enfants, en Virginie

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“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”  John 2:23-25

Jesus knew better than to trust in man because he knew what their hearts were like. We don’t, and some or most of us tend towards trust. We go to friends and family members for comfort and understanding, and many times we are treated coldly, told of our faults and misunderstood. Sometimes our search for comfort cuts deeper than the scars we already have, leaving us devastated.

We must not let this treatment lead us into despair. We must realize how people are wired. They are not wired to be our therapist. They are not strong enough for us to lean on. They are not wise like Solomon. They are just human beings encumbered by their past, their hang-ups and prejudices.

Lately, I’ve felt really sad and discouraged, mainly because of my fibromyalgia. I’ve been quite sick and weak and I am tired of feeling sick and weak. I’ve been ill for almost 30 years. I’m tired of my mental illness, which I’ve had for the same amount of time. I’m tired of my loneliness, and feelings of inadequacy.

There are other problems I have and I sometimes feel a great need for comfort from someone. But the ones I love so much are going through hard times too, and as I have learned about marriage these years, I cannot expect from people what I feel I need so desperately. I told the Lord, “I know I can only receive true comfort and strength from you. You always come through for me, every time. Help me to stop trying to find this great comfort anywhere else but in your arms.”

Expectations of others is a poison. It can turn your heart from them and they wouldn’t even know why. They are not here to fulfill my needs. They are not here to read my mind and try to make me feel good. My family has had a lot of pain and it’s hard to help each other when we are all so damaged. We are also a happy family. We laugh all the time, but there is in all of us an undercurrent of darkness or a sort of flatness since we lost my two grandsons. It is described in the Bible as having lost the light in one’s eyes.

When Job lost all ten of his children, three of his friends came to console him, but they only made him feel worse. They told him God would not let something like this happen to a man who was a believer. They told him he must have sinned.

Job said, “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all.

Is there no end to your long-winded speeches?

What provokes you to continue testifying?

I could also speak like you

if you were in my place;

I could heap up words against you

and shake my head at you.

But I would encourage you with my mouth,

and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.”   Job 16:1-5

 

When David was in trouble with King Saul, and his friends turned against him, he wrote,

“For it is not an enemy who insults me;

that I could endure.

It is not a foe who rises against me;

from him I could hide.

But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion and close friend.

We shared sweet fellowship together;

we walked with the crowd into the house of God.”

Psalm 55:12-14

 

These things are very painful and as believers in God we have to deal with these experiences with the love of Jesus. He loved his disciples even when they continually misunderstood him and then deserted him. He didn’t give up on them. He did rebuke them but also forgave them and wanted them to keep following him. He is our perfect example. He will take us by our right hand and lead us forward on the everlasting path to himself.

 

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  Matthew 5:3,4

 

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, then we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”  2 Corinthians 1:4         

 

“But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.”  2 Corinthians 7:6,7

 

“Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes,

You will revive me once again.

Even from the depths of the earth

You will bring me back up.

You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again.”   Psalm 71:20,21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Crisis of Faith

 Tony5875

Crisis of Faith

What is a crisis of faith?

Answer: The term crisis of faith usually refers to the point at which a person feels that he or she can no longer serve God or follow Christ. A person going through a crisis of faith is tempted to turn away from all he or she had believed in.   gotquestions.org

 I listened to a podcast today: “Made For This with Jennie Allen.” post #18.  She interviewed a woman who had gone to Africa as a missionary and events occurred that caused her to lose her faith in God.

 Immediately after I heard this story, I listened to Timothy Keller give a sermon, called “Meeting the Real Jesus,” about John the Baptist and Jesus. He read the story of when John was in prison and he sent some of his friends to ask Jesus this question: “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”

 Even though God had showed John by a miracle that Jesus was the Messiah, he now questioned his belief. He had been thrown into prison and knew he could die. Jesus was doing nothing to fight against the Romans or get him out of jail. He even refused when people wanted to make him King of Israel. What kind of Messiah was he?

 Jesus told John’s disciples to go back to John and tell him what they had seen him do that day. He had healed the sick, “The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.  Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”   Matthew 11:5,6

 Jesus was referring to Isaiah 61:1, where it explains the work of the Messiah. And he finished by telling John those are blessed who are not offended by Jesus. John was having a crisis of faith, and that crisis has its root in being offended by God.

 The woman missionary was offended by what God let happen to her. She had thought God would act differently than he did. She started thinking there was no God at all. He wasn’t the kind of God she thought she knew.

 That happened to one of my sisters when she lost her health, her job and had to sell her home and eventually live in a van. Then her dog ran off in the desert and never returned. She was very angry at God. He had given her a horrible life, she felt. She told me, “The only thing he hasn’t taken is my van.”

 We had long talks about this when she came and lived with my husband and I. I also had been through terrible times, but I had studied many books on the subject of God and suffering and why he allows it. Gradually, she came to see that she wanted to go back to God and she did. The day she left our home she said, “I’ve told God he can take my van too if he wants to.” This gave me great joy.

 My crisis of faith came when I was 42. I saw someone I love go through terrible suffering and that was very painful. But it was actually the thought of all the millions who had suffered just like her that made me turn from God. I could not understand and I was offended.

 After a few years of study, I did seem to understand and also, I missed God. At that time in my life it was impossible for me to believe God loved me, but it was a fact that there was nowhere else to go. He was the one with words of eternal life. He was the one who had a book that was awe-inspiring. He was the one who kept saying, “Help the poor and needy. Feed the hungry and love your enemy.”

 I’m now glad I had this crisis of faith because incredibly, my faith is stronger now than ever. I always knew my faith was tiny, but when my grandson died, I saw what God had done to me. I had peace and rested in his arms. When my husband had a stroke, I was filled with peace once again. Learning to trust God in the face of suffering is a fantastic thing, in spite of the confusion and mental pain.

 Many Christians have a crisis of faith during their walk with God. Many of us have the wrong idea of who God is, especially those who are raised in a religious home. We grow up believing what our parents believe, we grow up in a certain church which has its beliefs. And they are all so sure that what they believe is true.

 Sometimes, God will step into our lives to show us what is true or untrue about himself. He wants us to know him as he is. And sometimes he needs to take away all the things we rely on because we haven’t learned to rely on him. He does this because he loves us. Something I finally believe for myself in my old age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God's Relentless Love.

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I’ve written about how God sent Isaiah to warn the tribe of Judah, which included the city of Jerusalem, against forming alliances with Assyria. Later on, the King of Judah sent emissaries to Egypt for help.  

Isaiah told them they should trust God to save them because he said he would, but the people wouldn’t believe and said, “See no more visions! Give us no more visions of what is right! Leave here and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”

God said to them, “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and deceit, this sin will become like a high wall that is cracked and bulging. It collapses suddenly, in an instant.”

He said, “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ “Well then, flee! Your pursuers will be swift. A thousand of your men will flee at the threat of one…”

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you and he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of Justice. Blessed are those who wait for him.

I was moved at the words about God in the last paragraph. He tried to save them from war, he begged them to trust in him to save them, but look at what they said back to God’s prophet! They showed utter contempt for Isaiah and for God.

And yet… God longed to be good to them. He would still show them compassion.

I know a lot of people don’t like to read the Old Testament, but along with the killing and wars there are a multitude of verses that speak of why God is doing what he does and how much he wants us to belong to him. He wants to bless us in this awful world. That doesn’t mean he will always heal our illnesses or make sure we have lots of money. No, his blessings are higher and greater than that. 

His blessings are gifts from heaven, a heart that is changed to be like his heart, full of love and goodness. We can become a blessing to the world by helping others. We can have peace and joy, even in the midst of a Covid-19 crisis, even if we have lost everything this world has to give, and even if we die. What I find to be the greatest blessing is telling him all my problems and worries and then just leaving it up to him to take care of. It is wonderful to know he is walking beside us, behind us and before us all the years of our lives.

We Must Drink Our Cup.

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“The LORD is my inheritance and my cup; you support my lot.”   Psalm 16:5

When I read this, I wondered what inheritance and cup might mean in a spiritual sense. After looking up some Bible commentaries on Bible Hub, I could see how significant and wonderful these words are. 

An inheritance is of course, what you receive from your father or mother when they die. The Bible tells us God himself is our inheritance. Through the death of Jesus, we can become one with the trinity. As Jesus said, “I in you and you in me.” 
   

"The LORD is my portion (inheritance)," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him."   Lamentations 3:24

As for the cup, it is an important image strewn throughout the Bible. Jesus used it when talking about his coming death.

Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”   John 18:11

This expresses both the feelings which struggled in the Lord's breast during the Agony in the garden—aversion to the cup viewed in itself, but, in the light of the Father's will, perfect preparedness to drink it.   Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

A cup is also a symbol of the lives of the wicked.

For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.   Psalm 75:8

The reader will observe, that this expression, the portion of their cup, is a proverbial phrase in Scripture: God’s gifts and dispensations, whether pleasing or painful, consolatory or afflictive, especially the latter, being ordinarily expressed by a cup, poured out and given men to drink.   Benson 
Commentary

Jesus used the cup to represent the lives of the cruel priests of his time.

"Now then," said the Lord, "you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.   Matthew 23:26

The cup is, “…a synonym for “condition in life.”   Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

“The condition in life.” In other words, what happens when we are alive on earth; what illnesses we will contract, what family we are born in, how we look, our genetics, our strengths and weaknesses. Our “lot in life” so to speak. 

How many of us hate our “cup?” How many hate what happened to us in our childhood when we were weak and vulnerable? How many hate their jobs, their spouses or their struggles? How many resent the “cup?”

I started hating my life when I was in my mid-forties. I felt cursed, foolish, a joke, embarrassed by my mental illness and unloved by everyone. I was angry at God for my life; angry he let terrible things happen to me and others; angry at what I saw as his injustice. I was terrified what the future held for me.

I have written before how God, “drew me out of the mire and muck;” how he has filled my life with happiness, so I won’t repeat that here. What I want to tell you is how fast I can descend back into my old way of thinking and not trusting God about my “cup.”

I got up one morning this week, and as I stood in front of the microwave to heat my coffee, I couldn’t remember how to work it. I stared at the buttons and drew a blank. It finally came back to me and I heated the coffee, but now I was frightened. I’m 69, so I know it is possible for me to have dementia or alzhiemer’s disease. 

To me, I would rather die than have those two things happen to me. My sister and I have talked about this subject and we agreed how horrible it would be and how we don’t want people taking care of us, even family members. My sister said she would kill herself. Stupidly, I said the same thing, knowing God wouldn’t like it.

I talked with God that morning, pleading with him not to let me get that way. (My old style of praying.) Instead of leaving it with him, I began to think of ways to handle this, none of them good. I knew what I should do. Accept whatever came into my life. It took awhile. Then I told God I would accept anything that happened in the future. If it happened, then fine. Maybe he could use me even in that mental condition. Trust is the real issue. Do I trust God? I want to, and I pray I will for the rest of my life on this crazy planet. There is a good reason Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow.

Here are some more verses on the “cup” we are to drink. We have Jesus as our example on accepting the cup of our life.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.   Psalm 23:5

I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.  Psalm 116:13

God Surrounds Us.

Photo by: Antonysamy Xavier

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I haven't published for awhile. My mother had a few minor heart attacks and was in the hospital overnight. They gave us some medicine and she is fine now. I'm so glad she is still here at 92 years old.

In the third chapter of Joshua, the people of Israel are prepared to go into the promised land and take it. The Jordan River flows between them and Jericho. God tells Joshua to have the priests take the Ark of the Covenant to the river. They were to go ahead of the people with the ark and stop in the middle. Then the people could pass over. The river stopped flowing the moment the priest’s feet hit the water.

I thought about how God promises to go before us.  “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  Deuteronomy 31:8

My granddaughter just finished taking a college course on office work. She has been doing very well and is now in her practicum at the college itself. She loves the people there along with her desk space which has a lovely view out the windows. She would like to get a job there but there are no openings right now. She is concerned about getting a job.

One reason I love God is that he says, “Don’t worry about anything.” I’m not worried for her because I know God has gone before her and she will get a job. A job is a need, and he promises to supply all our needs. Many times he doesn’t do this swiftly. Many times he does. However long he takes, we can ask him to make us patient and to learn how to trust him in the waiting.

In Isaiah chapter 58, God tells us that if we are good to our neighbors and help the poor he will be our rearguard. The rearguard is a detachment of soldiers protecting the army as it marches ahead into battle. Yes, that is God.

Isaiah 58:8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

God also promises to be beside us.

“For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”   Isaiah 41:18 

Finally, God promises to surround us.

Psalm 3:3   But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.

Treasury of David: Bible Hub.

“Here David avows his confidence in God. "Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me." The word in the original signifies more than a shield; it means a buckler round about, a protection which shall surround a man entirely, a shield above, beneath, around, without and within. Oh, what a shield is God for his people! He wards off the fiery darts of Satan from beneath, and the storms of trials from above, while, at the same instant, he speaks peace to the tempest within the breast.”

It is good to meditate on these words. We can picture Jesus in front of us, beside us, behind us and then realize he is all around us. When I think hard about the fact the God of the universe, a being that powerful and amazing, walks with me through life, I stand in awe of him.

Fear and Faith.

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"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." 

"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;  though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." 
Psalm 46:1-3

 Psalm 46 brings comfort to me. There are beautiful, as well as fearful thoughts here. Verses 1-3 remind me of what Jesus said to the disciples in the midst of a terrible storm, when they were in danger of capsizing and drowning. He asks them, “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?”

Jesus was explaining to them that no matter how frightening a situation is, we must have faith (trust) in God. If God allows us to drown, that is fine. If God decides to save us from drowning, that is fine. This is total trust in God’s wisdom and power. The disciples had not learned this kind of trust yet.

In these three verses, the Psalm describes the world in convulsions. Some commentators say these represent the anger of the nations. Some say they represent actual physical events. Some say they represent the storms of life. Some say they represent all three.

Because of the later verses in this chapter, I believe they represent the physical condition of the earth right before Jesus returns. Verses 6-9 say this:

"Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
"Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire."

About the last plague to come upon mankind, the Book of Revelation says this:

"Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed." And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
  
"And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake."

"The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.   And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found."
Revelation 16:15-20

What is so beautiful in this Psalm are the verses that give us hope, peace and courage:

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day."

"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

"The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
As these days draw near, let us pray for God's courage, faith and peace.

What Can We Do About Worry and Sadness About Our Families?

I know I have written on this subject before. The reason is that worry and sadness are the biggest obstacles in my life. But I notice other people also struggle with this so I guess I'll keep writing about it.

One of my granddaughters has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She has had this since she was four years old. Her life has been full of fears and sadness because of this disease. She started to get better when she turned 13. Her fears were slowly ebbing away and we were all rejoicing.

She is now 20 years old and has done very well. She finished her grade 12 from an online school. She had a job in the last city the family lived in and did very well. Now they have moved to a new city. She got a job at The Body Shop. After she was hired and had worked a few days, they told her there was a quota on how much she must sell each day - $650. Well, she had already been selling that much, but the pressure of the quota and the 3 times monthly that they reviewed her work was too much for her so she quit. Apparently, her boss said no one is ever told they are meeting expectations. Everyone is told they are working below expectations so they will work harder, but it was too much for my granddaughter. She needed encouragement – not discouragement.

The Body Shop may be nice to animals, but humans are a different story.

So, she is having a set-back in her illness. She doesn’t know if she wants to try to work again. We are all feeling worried and sad for her.

This morning, as I talked with God, I said to him, “I know we are not supposed to worry or feel discouraged. But it is so hard not to feel that way.”

Then Mom and I turned on Joyce Meyer, who was speaking on trusting in God.  She used the Scripture, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  2 Chronicles 20:12

“We don’t know what to do.” Yes, that is when fear, worry and sadness come upon us.

What can I do for my granddaughter? Nothing but be her friend.

What can God do for my granddaughter? Anything and everything.

That’s why our eyes should look towards God. He gives us hope. The hope is in how strong and wise he is. The hope is in how the Bible shows God brings good out of evil. The hope is in believing he hears our prayers and is working for us and for those we love.

“…hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and steadfast.  Hebrews 6: 18,19

Psalms 42 and 43 are great songs of hope. “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior and my God!”  Psalm 43:5 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:6

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5

Believe God Can Save You.

Many Christians, myself included, worry about their sins. We worry we are hopeless; we worry God is mad at us; we worry we will be lost.

I was raised in a strict religion. Sin was treated as something horrifying. We were taught if we became Christians, we wouldn't sin. If we loved God, we wouldn't sin. There was no excuse in heaven above or earth beneath for committing a sin. Of course I grew up thinking it was hopeless for me to even try to be a Christian. I longed to be a Christian as a teen, but I didn't make the step until I was nineteen because I had a baby. I always tell my daughter that she brought me to Jesus.

Well, I still thought I was probably not going to be saved because I wasn't perfect, which is what I thought I had to be. Eventually, I heard and understood God's grace. That he doesn't leave us when we sin; that is is patient and kind and loves us like crazy. That was wonderful.

But I still get those feelings once in awhile. I'm still smoking; I sometimes lose my cool with my husband; I feel hateful towards some politicians etc. I ask for forgiveness and move on. I still want to be perfect, but I know it isn't possible. Christ was perfect and his righteousness covers me.  That is grace, and I only need believe that and accept his sacrifice for me.

My husband always says, "Which way are you heading? Are you heading towards God? Are you trying to get to know him and love him? Or are you running from him?

Well, I am running towards God through prayer and Bible study. "Then you are saved." my husband says, and he is right.

There are some verses in Zechariah that show the attitude of those who are running away from God. These verses always strike me because of the truly horrible sins these people were doing, and also because of their attitude towards God.

“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.     Zechariah 7:9-12 

Do you think the Lord had a right to be angry? 

These people perverted justice, did not show mercy or compassion to people. They oppressed the widows, orphans, foreigners and the poor. They plotted evil against others.

Yes, He had a right to be angry on behalf of those who suffered at the hands of these people. Wouldn't we be angry at someone who treated an orphan cruelly? Wouldn't we be angry at someone who stole from a widow?

Even if we have done these things, we can be forgiven. God forgives all sins and nothing is too awful to keep us apart from him. But the people Zechariah was talking to plugged their ears from hearing what was right. They weren't praying for God to help them do what was right. They turned their backs to God. They cannot be forgiven as long as they do this, for asking for forgiveness means turning our faces to God and talking with him. It means asking for his mighty help in our lives.

 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.    Acts 16:29-34

Believe. Believe God can save you. Believe he loves you. Believe he can change you. He is the only one who can.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."   Ephesians 2:8,9

Update on My Family.

My granddaughters left to right: Hope, Faith and Cherish.

In my previous post, "The Meltdown of a Christian", I wrote about some trials my family is going through. I want to thank you for your prayers and tell you what is going on now.

My sister-in-law, Heather, is trusting in the Lord about her cancer. She knows he could heal her or allow her to die and has accepted that. She loves God and is close to him. She is living her life in faith, and for that we all rejoice.

My niece, who hurt herself at work, has received Worker's Compensation, and is slowly healing. She won't be able to work for at least three weeks, but hopefully she will be able to use her arm again.

My granddaughter, Hope, recovered from her dislocated kneecap. She didn't have much pain at all after the incident, for which I was extremely thankful. She stayed at my apartment all week and we had a lovely time together. She is a lot of fun. She has to strengthen her muscles or her knee will just come out again. She asked if they could operate, but they told her they only do that after multiple dislocations. She is pretty scared of doing it again. I told her to keep it wrapped or wear her knee brace all the time. That is hard news for a 21-year-old to hear. I'm sure she will start exercising when they tell her to start.

My grandson could not quit drugs cold-turkey, so he is going back to the Methadone Clinic. He was on that for two years and could work and function. This is better than the alternative, so we accept this and pray he will one day be off all drugs.

My husband saw his neurologist and will have back surgery and be off work for 6 months. But he is covered by insurance at work and will receive the same paycheck and we live in Canada so everything is paid for. I'm so thankful for all that. The surgery is not dangerous.

I wrote that one of my daughters needed money. Well, my mother, who has a bit of money, gave her $1,500. My daughter was so happy she was crying and then my mom started crying. My daughter doesn't like to take help from her, but like my mom said, "What am I going to do with my money? Take a trip? I can barely walk from my bedroom to the living room."

So, as usual, God has been with us all and helped us all through our problems and sorrows. He is an amazing God and powerful one who can come into our hearts and minds and give us peace and comfort.

"...I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:23-26

Shall I Wring My Hands, Cry with Fear, or Trust God?

Photograph: Luis García (Zaqarbal), 

In ancient Judah there was a king named Jehoshaphat. Unlike some kings before him, he believed in God. One day 3 kings from 3 other countries decided to join together to war against Jehoshaophat, take his city and country and share the riches.

Jehoshaphat called all the people together to the city and the temple of God. He prayed about their situation and ended his prayer with, "Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

After the prayer, a prophet named Jahaziel told everyone God had heard their prayers, he said:

“Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s."

"Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.

"You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”

The ending to this story will be the ending of our life stories if we praise God and wait for him to fight our battles and to defend us from our enemies.

As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,

for his love endures forever.”

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side."

The key lesson is trust God and praise him as you are trusting. This is all God asked of the king and his people. Don't wring your hands and wonder why God is letting this thing happen to you. I used to do that and there is no good in it. Trusting and praising God brings power, peace and happiness.