Can We Rejoice In a Fallen World?

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, rejoice!

     Have you been dealing with an illness?  Have you been dealing with a loss of a loved one?  A loss of a job or a home?  Has your spouse had an affair and there is an impending divorce?  What about all the violence in this world with shootings and bombings, terrorist attacks, racial tension?  How about our recent presidential campaign?  Is this all disturbing and discouraging to you?  I know it is to me at times, if I'm not focusing on the One that matters.  The question is, can we rejoice even in the midst of all this chaos?  The Apostle Paul says to rejoice when?  When all is good?  No.  Rejoice always!  But you ask, how?  Not in our own strength, but Jesus' strength (Philippians 4:13).  Focusing on Jesus, and knowing He is in control, and His plans for you life is good, is something to rejoice in.  Always!  In verse 6 of Philippians 4, it says to pray and bring our supplications to God.  If you are going through a trial, rejoice, pray, then rejoice again! 

     I have been struggling with an illness since 1998, and in the past 5 years, I have really had struggles with it.  Pain, trouble walking, numbness and tingling, among other things have given me limits on what I can do.  I have cried and been discouraged, but when I wake up, almost every morning, I rejoice and thank Him for another day.  There are times when I don't feel up to rejoicing, but I do thank Him.  I'm only human.  James 1:2-4 says to count it all joy when you go through trials, because it produces patience.  We grow in Christ as we go through trials and we continue to rejoice anyways.  I have gone through other trials in my life where I thought I was in hell.  I rejoice now, because I came through it.  I didn't have Jesus in my life then, but now that I do, I rejoice because if I hadn't gone through it, I wouldn't know Jesus.  Jesus set in motion, before we were born, what we go through, in order to draw us to Him.  Where are you in your life?  Can, or will you rejoice, in spite of the circumstances in the life around you?  Can you give up yourself, and give in to Christ?

     In conclusion, rejoicing always is praise to God for all He has done in your life.  In Philippians, Paul was in prison and was being persecuted for his faith, but he still rejoiced.  He knew his reward and that was enough for him to rejoice.  Life's circumstances don't matter in the grand scheme of things.  It takes faith to rejoice when we cannot see the outcome.  This is what Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".  We hope, then we rejoice.  We can worry about ISIS, we can worry about who will be the next president, or shootings and terrorism.  We can worry about our health or our losses, as painful as they are, or we can have faith, trust, and rejoice in the midst of life's chaos.  What is your choice today?

Like I have said previously, I hope to blog more consistently, and I hope you will follow my blog.  May you rejoice always!

In His Joy,

Sabrina  

     

Just Wait

Psalm 27

Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord.

     This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.  I may have told this story before, but here I go again.

     I was in a hospital in 1987.  I had some neurological symptoms and they did an MRI on me and several other tests.  They came to the conclusion that I had a mass in my head that was inoperable and they gave me days to live.  My life just then turned upside down.  My family's lives turned upside down.  I was 25 years old, married, with a baby.  What would happen next?

     After the crying, and going on, a nurse, who happened to be a Christian, came in and recited this verse to me and prayed for me.  I felt uneasy and afraid, but yet I felt peace coming from this precious nurse.  The next day came with results again from the MRI.  It might have been a miracle, who knows?  It might have been a doctor's mistake, who knows?  Only God knows.  The mass in my head was scar tissue.  I was going to live!  What we have to know is we have to wait on God, with courage.  He will give us the strength we need.  A miracle did happen by the way.  God showed me that waiting on Him, in His timing meant I would see blessings.  And I did!

     Fast forward 28 years later...

     Worried God wasn't listening.  Worried God wasn't answering.  Wondering where He was when I messed up.  With tears in my eyes, He held me close, and said, "Wait".  So the next day comes around, very early, and I'm thinking of the verse, "...Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning".  And I thought again, still struggling, "Where is my joy"?  All of a sudden I felt peace and joy with the arms of Jesus holding me.

     The next thing I know, I get a text from a family member with some good news we were praying about, and I cried for joy this time.  I failed the day before to trust and have faith...and to wait.  The next day, God showed up.  Another verse that comes to mind as I conclude this is, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding".  Proverbs 3:5.

     God always shows up when you least expect it.  Are you waiting on Him?

Waiting on Him

Sabrina

What Do You Expect From 2015?

Isaiah 42:8-10

I am the Lord, that is My Name; and My Glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and things new I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of the.  Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them!

     There are no flying cars.  There are no time traveling vehicles, there are no flux capacitors (that I know of).  We don't use trash for fuel, and skateboard still travel on wheels too, yet, here is the year 2015.  We have however, did travel through time, whether it was from 1955, 1985 or other previous dates.  We had a birth, a childhood and adolescence, and quite possibly now in young adulthood, middle aged, or as we fondly, but mistakenly call, "The Golden Years".  I know it's a bit corny to reference Back to the Future in this blog, but that's been my joke for 2015.  We have no flying cars!  Technology has stopped in it's tracks on that point.  

     What we do have is a new beginning.  A New day, a New week, a New month and of course, a New Year to start afresh.  What do you expect from 2015?  What do you expect from yourself or from God?  Or should the question be, what does God expect from you?  If I were to make a New Year's resolution (which I find mostly useless), it would be to be more compassionate, loving, kind and to help those in need and share the Gospel with many people.  Most resolutions are pointless and unattainable, but if we attain to be more Christ-like, the Holy Spirit will guide us.  There may be trials and tribulations this year, but only so that we can grow in Christ and walk His path.

     2015 will be a very good year.  God makes each day, so it's all good.  What we do when trouble strikes depends on how good we make our days.  I once heard a man say that every day is good, no matter what happens.  This is true in every sense.  This year we all need to make a difference in our behavior, our attitude, our lifestyle, and our walk with God.  God expects from us our devotion, our faithfulness, our trust and our willingness to "go out and make disciples".  This year draw closer to Jesus and do what He commands you to do.

Happy New Year and welcome to 2015 (without flying cars)!

Sabrina