MIGHTY WARRIOR Part three

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

 

Bolsterer

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life.  You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with Your right hand You save me.

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.  Your Love endures forever!” Psalm 138:7-8

“I have loved you with an everlasting love.  I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

When the massive, enemy army moved in and camped within Israel’s borders, Gideon was afraid; he was shaking like a bowl of jello. However, God’s Holy Spirit took possession of Gideon and instead of running, he got on his phone and sent a text to all the fighting men of Israel. Just kidding, of course. Not having cell phones he used a ram’s horn to announce the call to arms. I imagine they would sound the horns from village to village until the message to come to Israel’s defense spread across the country.

Even though the Spirit of the Lord was with him, and even though all the fighting men answered the call, after many years of not fighting the enemy, Gideon was still afraid. But instead of running or hiding, he turned to God. He asked for a sign.

“If this is really You, God, if You really want me to do this insane thing and rescue Israel like You said, then please show me by making the fleece I put on the ground wet and the ground dry.”

A reasonable thing, don’t you think. If I’m faced with a difficult thing, I want a sign, an affirmation that it’s from God. I will ask him to close the door if it’s not what He wants me to do, or put up a road block, or show me in some way the direction He wants me to go.

So the next morning the ground was dry and the piece of fleece (probably a covering that Gideon used to wrap up in at night) was wet. So wet, he wrung out a whole bowl full of water.

Ok then, that should have been enough of a sign, but it wasn’t for Gideon. He might have explained it away, like, well maybe the fleece which is super absorbent, soaked up all the water around it. Or the ground just dried out quicker. Maybe he just wanted to make sure it was God and not himself doing this thing. Although I’m sure going against a huge army was not the adventure he was dying to have. I’m sure he figured this adventure would be the death of him. Maybe he was looking for a way out.

“Please,” he said very respectfully, “don’t be angry with me but let me make one more request.” Just one more sign, God please. “I’ll put the fleece out one more night. This time let the fleece be dry and the ground be wet. Then I’ll know for sure it is You, Lord.”

The next morning the ground was all wet from the dew and the fleece was bone dry.

How much did God care about Gideon?

      Lover of My Soul

Why is it I forget how much I mean to my God? How special and unique I am to my Savior?

He says He knows and cares when even a sparrow falls. He knows how many hairs are on my head. Yet Jesus says I am more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows!

Yet I forget. And I am afraid I don’t forget how great He is, or how powerful, or how much He loves the world, but I do forget how much I am worth to Him. I forget how deep His love goes for me.

Even after all the dark valleys He and I have walked through hand in hand, after all the pits I have fallen in, after all the tough rocky uphill climbs, even after the sheer cliffs where He has taken my hands and put them in hand holds and taken my feet and put them in foot holds, I forget.

Even after standing on the mountains tops, after running on the heights, after soaring, even after all the dry deserts my Lord and I have walked through, I have forgotten. After all the times He has held me in His hands, when I have fallen on the slippery slopes and He has picked me up, after the times I couldn’t go on any more, or the times I fell to my belly unable to get up and with His arms around me, He gave me strength to walk again, yes even after all of that, I forget how much He loves me.

I have seen my Savior’s face, where I saw the love in His eyes. I felt His arms around me. I experienced His comfort. I have heard His voice. I know He chuckles and even out right laughs at me at times. I know He weeps for me. And oh yes, He bottles up my tears and saves them. He never forgets my pain. He is there always with me. I lean on Him, I walk with Him, I talk to Him. He is the refuge, the cave I run to in trouble. He is the Rock I stand on. He is my Deliverer.

He personally and intimately knows me and loves me. His love is as deep as the oceans, as wide as the universe, as high as Heaven, as abundant as God’s grace, as unending and unchanging as God is Himself. Yet I forget.

And, like Gideon I am afraid. When the very thing I fear most comes upon me in a really big army, my knees knock together and my legs shake. I asked for a signs, yes I did. For affirmation that He will be with me and take care of me and for direction for the path I should go. He has answered. Every one of my tests are normal. Friends have told me they struggle with the same thing I am and they find a way to fight. When I cried out to Him, He said, “Don’t be afraid! You are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”

But yet, I still forget. Then He reminds me again.

The other day sitting on a hill, I talked to my Jesus. I basked in His light for He is Light. I was drawn into His presence and His love surrounded me. I cried out to Him for deliverance from my adversary.
“Child,” came His whisper, “I hold you in My hands. You are very precious to Me.”

That was all, but that was enough. In my mind came a picture of His scarred hands surrounding me, holding me, protecting me. I felt peace flow into my soul.
With love like that on my side how can I be afraid? He has me! He has my back! The King of the universe, the Keeper of the stars, the Prince of Heaven’s armies, holds me securely in His mighty hands. And NOTHING can snatch me away!

Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
What is the price of two sparrows, one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.
So don’t be afraid! You are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows!” Math. 10:19-31

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MIGHTY WARRIOR part two

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

 

MIGHTY WARRIOR
part two
RELYING
“You, O God, are their glorious strength! It pleases You to make us strong! Yes our protection comes from the Lord!” Psalm 89:17-18a

Gideon was afraid. He was terrified. A mighty army had camped inside their borders. More camels than could be counted. A massive camp that stretched as far as the eye could see. And they were coming against Israel to wreck havoc, as they did every year at the time of harvest. The time when men, women and children fled to the mountains and took shelter in caves and crevices while the giant of an enemy plundered their crops and homes.

But Gideon wasn’t running this time. God had moved him and he had blown the ram’s horn calling together men for an army. This hadn’t happened in a long time. There had been no deliverer, no one to fight for many years. God had chosen Gideon to deliver Israel from this oppressive army. But Gideon was shaking in his sandals.

Yes, he’d just had a victory. After he had gotten things right with the Lord and turned back to worshipping the one true God, his new Lord had given him a job. A difficult job of destroying his father’s alter of baal. Oh my, he not only was going against the god of his people but he was defying his father.

Nonetheless he did it! That in itself amazes me. He took ten of his servants and he smashed the alter to baal and all the idols. Then he offered his dad’s bull on the new alter he built. Isn’t that ironic? The baal keeper’s bull being offered in sacrifice to the one true God of the universe.

Not only that but God worked a miracle in that when a hostile crowd came after Gideon, his father stood up to them on Gideon’s behalf. Saying, “Let Baal take care of himself. Isn’t he powerful enough to defend himself? If he is not, then he is not worth worshiping.” So that being true, and seeing as baal did not defend himself, the men gave Gideon a new name, Jerub-Baal or Baal-contender and decided that maybe they should alien themselves with this powerful man.

Powerful man my eye! Gideon didn’t feel like a powerful man, he didn’t’ feel like a baal-contender. He didn’t feel like a contender at all. After all he was just a farm boy. All he wanted was to stay home in his quiet farm and do what he loved best. Being on the land, planting, nurturing and harvesting his crops. He wanted to be left alone in peace and quiet. Maybe a little trouble from the Midianites was not so bad. I mean they only came now and then and the people had a backup plan to hide in the hills. So what if the crops were ruined, so what if the animals were killed, so what if they didn’t have a lot to eat, they always survived. Now this great army was camped within their borders and Gideon was wanting to run and hide again.

However God was saying “Go out and fight. Go in the strength you have.”
But Gideon was afraid

.

Go In The Strength You HAVE

I don’t blame Gideon one bit. I know exactly how he feels. I feel the same way. I want to run and hide. I would rather stay in the wine press, doing what I have to do to survive than face my enemy. Even running to the hills every now and then and hiding out in a crevice wouldn’t be too bad. I can live with that.

So it seemed I had won a battle. I and the Lord that is. We had victory! My scan was normal so that means no surgery. Praise the Lord! Yes I still have symptoms I must deal with, but I can do that. I can do without a lot of food and give up some things, like coffee, I can do that! I can put up with occasional, albeit almost every night, uncomfortableness and pain. I’m used to it, I can do that!

Then the enemy moved in to camp within my borders. Another issue, more serious it seems, came up. “So why is this happening Lord? I smashed my alter, I gave my health to You. I placed it in Your hands and said, You take care of it. I trust You, I know You have my back. Now I have more problems?”

I imagine tests and doctor visits and possibly trips to the ER. Maybe even hospital stays, procedures and maybe surgery. Yes I’m shaking in my boots. I’m afraid. Yes I know how Gideon felt when he imagined taking his thirty two thousand men against thousands and thousands.

So what did Gideon do? He turned to God for reassurance. He asked for one more sign. Then again he asked, “just one more sign, God please give me one more”.

God tells me, “Go in the strength you have.”

What strength do I have Lord? I am nothing? I am weak. I hate doctors and hospitals and tests! I just want to stay home in my peaceful ranch house out here on the prairie, and enjoy a quiet winter. Bring on the blizzards, bring on the cold, bring on the wind. Tests and doctor visits stress me out. Stress is not good for me, I’ll just stay here in the wine press and hide. Lord, I’ll even run to the hills and hide in a cave, just don’t make me face my enemy.”

This is what He said to me through an old blog that I ran across by accident.
“Don’t be afraid!” the angel said, “For you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be STRONG!” Dan. 10:19

Now these words were said to Daniel, but right now, Jesus is whispering them to me.

 

“Peace be still. I hold you in my hands. My protecting arms are around you. Through your weakness, my strength will make you strong. You have MY strength. Go in the strength you have.”

The strength that I have is His strength, but it is strength I gained through tough climbs and long rocky trails and dark valleys.

“God says, you can do this in the strength you already have built up, but if you can’t I will give you more strength. I will give you all you need.”

I already have the strength, its inside me, I can do this!

I am precious in His sight, but does that mean I won’t have to fight? No. I may have to march against the enemy and that makes my legs like wet noodles. However my Lord will be with me. He will fight the battle, I just need to go out. I need to stand up to the enemy and march.

He tells me to rejoice in all circumstances, to thank Him, to praise Him in all things. He calls me to be a person who is rejoicing and praising God instead of grumbling and complaining, or stomping and yelling. Does that mean I will always be happy and bubbly? No, but it means I can give thanksgiving and praise who my God is at all times. I can see His blessings and keep my focus on Him. Does that mean I won’t be afraid? No, but when I am afraid I can turn to Him, ask Him for reassurance, lean on Him, seek His comfort, soak up His love. And trust His word. Trust Him.

He tells me, “If I bring you to this, I will carry you through it.” This isn’t something that is just randomly happening to me. God has allowed it, He will use it for His glory, He will teach me, train me, grow me in it and through it. This is His battle, His enemy that has come against me, He will fight it and He will win.

My Jesus says, “Walk in this and I will be with you all the way.”

“He will be gracious to you if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will be with you to teach you.
You will see your Teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go.’ Whether to the right or to the left.”

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Mighty Warrior, Part one

Posted on November 20, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

OUT OF THE DARK
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to My commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:17-18 NIV

Ok, ok, I’ll admit it, I’m hiding in a wine press! In the darkness, I am thrashing, and stomping and frantically beating my head against a wall. And oh boy can I whine, in the wine press, no less.

But Lord, I hate doctors! I hate tests! I hate being sick! Put anything upon me, but this! Why, oh why are You doing this?
For you see losing my physical health and strength is one thing I fear and struggle with most.

But let’s go back to the beginning. Actually let’s go back farther than my beginning. Let’s go all the way back through the ages to Israel in the time of the Judges, when God’s people were making a habit of rebelling against Him.

Oh, while Joshua was alive, Israel followed and obeyed God. But once “that generation had been gathered to their fathers a new generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord or what He had done for Israel. Then Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the baals. They forsook the Lord the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them.” Judges 2:10-12

God’s people forsook their God and provoked the Lord to anger, so He handed them over to raiders and plunderers who Israel could not stand against. Whenever they went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against His very own people so they would be defeated by the enemy. Then, the people of Israel, being in great distress, would cry out to the God they had forsaken.

So God, upon hearing their cries, raised up judges, men and women, who He enabled to deliver Israel out of the hands of their oppressors. As soon as the judge died, the people would once again turn to evil ways, even more corrupt than the generation before them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn sins.

Then God would bring upon them an enemy to raid, plunder and oppress them, until the people, in great distress, would cry out to Him, once again. Then He would raise up a judge, a deliverer, to rescue them from great oppression. This happened over and over for hundreds of years.

Our story opens after the fourth judge, where it says, “And again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Judges 6:1 These words are repeated many times in this book.
For seven years the Lord had given His people over to the hands of the Midianites.

Actually the Midianites, the Amalekites and all those other Ites would ban together and came swooping down upon the land like locust, destroying crops, killing animals and ravaging the land. There were so many of these Ites, they were impossible to count.   The former mighty people of the Almighty, ran, they didn’t even try to fight since their enemies were so powerful. They ran and hid in caves, they had prepared, shelters in the clefts of the rocks and crevices, even strongholds as a last ditch protection if needed.

I can imagine how I would find hidey-holes in my Red Hills, crawling way back in crevices in the scoria, braving the rattlers and badgers to avoid some fearsome enemy coming against us. I would stash blankets and food in metal cases and water in these caves. When the enemy swarmed down, like locust on a green field, I would run, with my dog, and husband, to my place of safety and hope against hope they wouldn’t find my caches of food stored for the winter.

The Israelites became so desperate, after many years, they cried out to the Lord for help.
So God sent a prophet with this message, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave their land to you. I said to you, I am the Lord your God. Do NOT worship the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. BUT you have NOT listened to Me.” Judges 6:9-10

It is harvest, the time when the Midianites always swoop down to annihilate the crops and steal harvested grain. Gideon is hiding, not in a cave in the hills, but in a wine press. Gideon, a strong young man of lowly descent, whose father actually owns a Baal alter, seems the less likely person for God to choose as His deliverer.

The wine press was often a hole in the ground, lined with bricks or carved from solid rock. Sometimes a structure was built from bricks, with high walls, but Gideon is hiding so it makes sense it was in the ground out of sight. Usually people would stomp the grapes with their bare feet. (wouldn’t that be fun?) Gideon, however is not stomping grapes, he is threshing wheat.

Normally the wheat would have been threshed on a threshing floor, usually located on the top of a hill, where oxen or donkeys stomped on the wheat, as they were driven around the circle. Sometimes if animals were not available, a flailing board, that had rocks imbedded in it, would be used to beat the wheat by hand. (Some farmers were just not innovative.) After it was stomped on or beat, people with winnowing forks would throw it up in the air so the wind could carry the chaff away and the grain kernels fell to the floor.

I know around here I can tell when the neighbors up wind, even many miles away, are combining wheat. There is a certain smell from the fine chaff that is blowing on the wind and usually my sinuses and eyes attest to the fact that even though I can’t see it there is chaff flying my way.

So Gideon was winnowing wheat the hard way, by hand with a board and with no wind in the wine press to help. Flailing and stomping, thrashing and sifting, he frantically struggled to garner enough grain to last the winter. His head was down as he focused totally on his frantic work. Down in a hole, in the dark, he doesn’t see a man walk over and sit under a nearby oak tree.

This man is not just any man, He is the Angel of the Lord. In the old testament this term is used for none other than the reincarnate Jesus Christ. Yahweh, or the Lord Himself. However, our hero didn’t notice the man until He spoke.

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Meaning, I, the Lord, am with you.

The mighty warrior part is laughable. Gideon is hiding in a wine press, for a good reason sure, but he is not even brave enough to stand on a hill and thresh his wheat. He’s timid, he’s admitably weak. He is shaking in his boots, er sandals. He whimpers and he whines. I wonder does everyone who is hiding in a wine press whine?

I can see him peek out of the hole and upon seeing the ordinary-looking, Israelite stranger, let out a big sigh of frustration. You know the feeling, “Who is this? Don’t people know I have work to do!” Out of good manners he does climb reluctantly, out of the wine press to talk to this visitor.

He says, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” (from Judges 6)

Evidently Gideon did not read the prophet’s memo.

Give Thanks

For quite awhile now, an enemy has been coming against me. A powerful enemy that has me shaking in my boots. Digestive problems have plagued me off and on for years, rapidly gaining momentum until lately they are not only camped outside my borders but they are infiltrating and attacking my good health. So, like Israel, I run and hide. Like Gideon, I hid in a dark wine press, concentrating on my tasks at hand, hoping it would go away. I pleaded with God to vanquish the enemy and wipe out my discomfort and pain.

And like Gideon I am a bit cranky. I question God. Why are You allowing this? Where are You in this? I have to say, I grumble and complain. A LOT. Like I said, bad health is something I do NOT deal with well.

So I hid in the dim wine press and I saw only darkness. The grumbling spread to all parts of my life. I could only see the negative. The light did not seem to be shinning any where in my life.

God’s joy was trampled like the wheat Gideon stomped on. Is God shaking me? Is He beating me, like Gideon was doing to the wheat? Is He trying to separate me from sin and bad attitudes? Maybe He’s shaking some sense into me.

To tell you the truth, I was tired of the enemy stealing my joy, robbing my peace and completely annihilating any contentment in my life. And so was my husband! With my head down I was frantically striving to resolve my problem. With my eyes on my task, I beat my head against the wall. I didn’t even realize my Lord was nearby.

Until I heard the voice of my Savior calling, “Wendy! Get out of the dark wine press! Come to Me!
Why are you doubting Me? You trust Me. I am still faithful, am I not? Open your eyes, see My blessings. They are there even in your troubles. They are there especially in your trials. Lift your head. Look at the sunshine. Feel the warmth on your back. You see only the darkness. You forget to thank Me.”

Suddenly I knew He was right. Of course He is always right! I had been grumbling a lot, grumbling about my husband’s irritating habits. Yet what if my husband was no longer here with me? What if I was alone? How can I grumble about my wonderful husband? After all he is the greatest blessing God could give me, is he not?

I had been complaining about my health issues, complaining about the heat, complaining about my work in the garden or house. But yet what if I didn’t have a house to care for? The heat means the corn will grow, and doesn’t lots of work in the garden mean an abundant crop, in a drought year no less, which boils down to provision for the winter? Shelves of canned veggies is definitely a blessing!

I have been focusing on the negative, with my church, with my traveling, with the weather and of course with health issues. Am I missing the blessings?

Like right now I am blissfully (choke, choke) sipping my breakfast of chicken broth since I am on a 2 day clear liquid diet for some tests. Chicken broth! Man what I wouldn’t give to sink my teeth into some ham and eggs or even a chicken leg!
But alas here I am closing my eyes in anticipation of the delectable taste sensation about to hit my taste buds.

Ok, then! I sit up in surprise! It actually tastes good. It’s hot and soothing. “Thank You Jesus for this nourishing broth that I can eat, er drink, that gives me protein and strength.” I could be on a water only diet. Or eating and drinking nothing. Been there too.
You see I have forgotten that little command, that huge lesson learned, not once but many times, to give thanks IN all things.

In fact I forgot the whole passage in 1Thessalonians 4:16-18. This is how it goes:
“Be joyful always.” Not feel joyful but BE joyful. Being joyful is a choice.
“Pray continually.” Always, ALL the time, be connected to God, ready to thank Him praise Him and hand Him my troubles.
“Give thanks IN ALL circumstances.” Not necessarily FOR all things, not just in the pleasant things, but IN all things.
“For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This isn’t just a suggestion, but the direct will and command of our Savior and Lord.
So I climbed out of the wine press. I met my Jesus under the tree. With His finger under my chin, He tipped my face up and said, “Look at ME.”
I saw Him. His beautiful face shining with love filled my chilled heart with warmth. The glorious light of His presence flooded my troubled soul with peace. Sing, He said, and sing I did. With songs of praise to the King of the whole earth, joy flowed into every crevice of my being straight from His heart to mine.

My prescription:
Instead of complaining, be thankful.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Instead of fretting, give it to Me.
Instead of losing your temper, be patient.
Instead of crankiness, be kind.
Instead of grumbling, praise Me.
Instead of being negative, be joyful.
Signed, The Great Physician

“I will go before you and will level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord.” Isaiah 45:2-3

 

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CLOUDS

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

ABOVE THE CLOUDS

“Don’t be afraid!” the angel said, “For you are very precious to God.  Peace!  Be encouraged!  Be Strong!”

When He spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to Him, “Please speak to me, my Lord, for you have strengthened me.” Daniel 10:19

 Last night clouds darkened the western horizon as thunder rolled and lightning jagged to the earth.  The thunder rumbled and grumbled and lightening flashed while clouds moved across the sky.  Pretty soon the rain began, easy at first then a downpour watering the dry earth, renewing all living things. 

What a great idea God had when He created clouds!  Have you ever thought of what the Earth would be like without them?  Like the article below says, our beautiful Earth would be a barren, lifeless desert without the life-giving water and shade of the clouds.

 Oh sometimes I don’t welcome the clouds and storms.  Like when it snows for the hundredth time in the middle of winter.  Or when I want to have a picnic and a huge thunder storm rolls in. Or what about in spring when the clouds bring snow? 

 Or when I sat on the airstrip at the Dickinson airport in a plane for three hours and clouds dumping wet snow kept us from leaving the ground.  The plane was small and stuffy and I wanted nothing but out!  Forget about going to Washington to see my sisters, just let me go home.  Only prayer and reading scripture kept me from pounding my fists on the door and screaming to get out. 

 I wasn’t too fond of those clouds then. Or when we finally did take to the air and it was nothing but white clouds outside the window as the plane climbed steeply into the sky. Clouds laden with wet freezing snow whipping by the small window.  Clouds that hid all things from sight, engulfing the speeding plane.  Oppressive, suffocating clouds that seemed to suck the life out of the screaming engines would certainly be the end of my life on earth.  Surely I would soon be winging my way to Glory!

 Then we burst from the clouds into the sun.  The plane leveled out and the roar of the engines subsided to a quiet hum.  Blue sky met my eyes.  Brilliant sun shone off the glorious white clouds below, the very clouds that were oppressive and terrifying just a few minutes before.

 What a fantastic sight!  White shinning clouds with whipped peaks, like meringue on a lemon pie.  Tendrils of lacy clouds blowing in the wind, like dancing angels on top of a white frosted cake.  Like the author below says, it was breathtakingly beautiful above the clouds.  And peaceful, tranquil, amazingly let-out-your-breath quiet.

 Ok so this is like our lives, right?  Troubles come like storms rolling in on the wind or setting down and dumping snow or rain.  Without the clouds our lives would be barren and dry. Our faith would dry up and blow away in the wind.

 What would we know if everything was good and easy?  Would we know that God is our strength?  Would we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that in ALL things we can trust Him?  Would we know He walks by our sides in the storms?

            Like Maci, my granddaughter said one time, “Without troubles it would be too easy.  We would be weak.”

 Clouds keep moving, as the article below says, so true, storms pass.  Even the long blizzards that sit in for several days.  They too move on.  The sun shines again and it’s glorious!  The earth is renewed and cleansed. All living things are refreshed by the life-sustaining water and coolness.  All things grow and flourish.  So it is for us, the storm rolls away, but because of the life-giving water, we grow and bear fruit.

 However, the key is to find peace in the roiling clouds.  In the midst of the storm, when the thunder is rattling the windows, when the wind is blowing snow against all sides of the house, when the dark night is turned bright as day by continual lightning, when wind blows the trees sideways and screams above the earth, that’s when we need to dig in and hold on to our Lord. 

 Trust that He has this.  All the time.  He controls the wind.  He tips the jars of rain to water the earth.  He has the key to the store houses of snow, and He knows when to open them.  He is not surprised by the storms that come into our lives and He knows what each one of us needs.  The right portion, the right time.

 Find shelter under His wings.  That’s what we need to do.  Hide, hunker down and cry out to Him!  Hold on for dear life and never let go!

 When He says “it’s time to take your sword and march, you have a battle to fight.” Then march we should, into the wind and through the rain, fighting the fight that needs to be fought.  But never fear He is always there.  He is near, He is our bulwark. He has our backs.  He holds us up with His righteous right hand. 

 For even though He may ask us to fight the battle, He marches with us.  He fights the fight.  He has the Victory.  Always.!

 So don’t fear the clouds, but wait for the glory.  It is coming.

 

“He will be gracious to you if you ask for help.  He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. 

Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you.

You will see your Teacher with your own eyes.  Your own ears will hear Him.  Right behind you a voice will say “This is the way you should go.” whether to the right or to the left.”  Isaiah 30:19-21

“I WAIT QUIETLY  BEFORE GOD, FOR MY VICTORY COMES FROM HIM.

He ALONE is my Rock and my Salvation, my Fortress where I will NEVER be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

Here is the article from Streams In The Desert, by L.B. Cowman that got my thoughts going for this.

 But now, the sun cannot be looked at – it is bright in the skies – after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.—Job 37:21

The world owes much of its beauty to cloudland. The unchanging blue of the Italian sky hardly compensates for the changefulness and glory of the clouds. Earth would become a wilderness apart from their ministry. There are clouds in human life, shadowing, refreshing, and sometimes draping it in blackness of night; but there is never a cloud without its bright light. “I do set my bow in the cloud!”

If we could see the clouds from the other side where they lie in billowy glory, bathed in the light they intercept, like heaped ranges of Alps, we should be amazed at their splendid magnificence.

We look at their under side; but who shall describe the bright light that bathes their summits and searches their valleys and is reflected from every pinnacle of their expanse? Is not every drop drinking in health-giving qualities, which it will carry to the earth?

O child of God! If you could see your sorrows and troubles from the other side; if instead of looking up at them from earth, you would look down on them from the heavenly places where you sit with Christ; if you knew how they are reflecting in prismatic beauty before the gaze of Heaven, the bright light of Christ’s face, you would be content that they should cast their deep shadows over the mountain slopes of existence. Only remember that clouds are always moving and passing before God’s cleansing wind.
–Selected

“I cannot know why suddenly the storm 
Should rage so fiercely round me in its wrath; 
But this I know–God watches all my path, 
And I can trust.

“I may not draw aside the mystic veil 
That hides the unknown future from my sight, 
Nor know if for me waits the dark or light; 
But I can trust.

“I have no power to look across the tide, 
To see while here the land beyond the river; 
But this I , know–I shall be Gods forever; 
So I can trust

 

 

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IN THE FIRE

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

WALKING IN THE FLAMES

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, securely tied fell into the roaring flames.” Dan 3:22 NLT

            The three men, who refused to worship anything but the Living God, were thrown into fierce flames bound by cords.  Yet in the midst of the burning blaze they walked, free.  Yes they were liberated with Jesus walking with them.

            Am I often thrown into a fiery trial bound?  Bound by burdens? Bound by worries?  Bound by fear?

            Yet when Jesus meets me in the fire, I am set free.  When I seek Him, when I lean on Him, when I praise Him, I am delivered.  Not FROM the fiery blaze, but IN the midst of the flames, I am liberated.  I am set free from those things that kept me from rejoicing and depending ONLY on Him. And I find peace that surpasses all understanding.

“Look I see four men unbound and walking in the fire unharmed!” Dan. 3:25 NLT

            Not burning, not dying, not hiding, but WALKING in the midst of a fire so hot the men who threw them in were killed. 

            When a terrible burning blaze falls on me, I want nothing more then to hide in a hole, cover up my head and never come out.  I want to run from the pain. 

“And the fourth is like a god!” Dan. 3:25b

            The Son of God meets me in the fiery furnace.  Jesus walks with me. When I want only to run or hide, He holds my hand and keeps me upright.  I can stand tall.  I can walk into the fire.  I can stride through the blaze unbound by any tethers.  I can rejoice, I can praise, I can thank my Glorious Lord, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies walks by my side!

 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

For I hold you by your right hand–I the Lord your God.  And I say to you “Don’t be afraid.  I am here to help you.”  Isaiah 41:10, 13 NLT

shadrach-meshach-and-abednego

‘The road is too rough,’ I said; ‘It is uphill all the way; 
No flowers, but thorns instead;
And the skies over head are grey.’
But One took my hand at the entrance dim,
And sweet is the road that I walk with Him.

“The cross is too great,’ I cried–
‘More than the back can bear,
So rough and heavy and wide,
And nobody by to care.’
And One stooped softly and touched my hand:
‘I know. I care. And I understand.’

“Then why do we fret and sigh;
Cross-bearers all we go:
But the road ends by-and-by
In the dearest place we know,
And every step in the journey we
May take in the Lord’s own company.

from Streams in the Dessert by L.B. Cowman

Posted in Fiery Furnace, He walks with us through the fire, I will rejoice, Jesus walks in the fiery furnace with me, Jesus walks with us, Stand firm for God, Walk in the fire with Jesus | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Suffering of Job part 3

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

ENDURING HOPE

Job part 3

            “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long.  Yet they produce for us glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

            So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. 

            For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever!”  2 Cor. 4:17-18

         You want to talk about enduring?  Well Job endured much.  Wouldn’t you say?  There he is sitting on a pile of burned garbage, amongst the ashes and dust of a garbage pit scraping his irritating sores.  His heart is so broken and his spirit is in such despair that he really doesn’t care that he is pitiful and alone. He only knows of the great pain in his heart.

            Three friends sit around him.  Later a fourth friend, who wisely kept his mouth shut until the older men had spoken their piece, joined them.  These friends seem very supportive as they sit with Job for 7 days.  Just sit on the rubbish heap with him and say not a word. 

Wow! That is far beyond what I would be willing to do.  However, I wonder did they really do the helpful thing? Did they pray with him? Did they encourage him?  Did they bring him food? Did they wash his sores and put ointment or oil on them?  Or did they just sit there staring at him, thinking condemning thoughts?

Because when they did open their mouths, the support flew out the window.  They said things like “But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart.  You are terrified when it touches you.”  Job 4:5

Well Eliphaz, wouldn’t you lose heart if you lost everything?  Wouldn’t you be afraid if all your kids died in one smashing blow?  Obviously he had never experienced such tragedies in his life.

Also Bildad had the gall to say, “Your children must have sinned against Him, so their punishment was well deserved.” Job 8:4 NLT

OH MY GOODNESS!  What a thing to say to someone who had just lost ALL his kids! And all his everything!  If I had been Job I would have smacked Bildad, hard, and knocked HIM into the ashes and dust. 

            But Bildad is not finished; in fact this tirade of all the friends goes on for days. Bildad says, “Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh?  Can marsh grass flourish without water?  While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.

            The same thing happens to all who forget God.  The hopes of the godless evaporate.  Their confidence hangs by a thread.  They are leaning on a spider’s web.  They cling to their home for security but it won’t last.  They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.” Job 8:11-15 NLT

            I must admit there is some truth there.  Job had depended on his wealth and home for security. His life was wrapped up in his family, his prestige, his wealth and his material belongings. He had a certain pride in his standing in the community.  He does equate good times and abundance with God’s blessings and presence with him.  He says, “I long for days gone by when God took care of me.  When He lit up the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness.”  Job 29:1-6

            But had Job forgotten God?  Was he, as his friends kept insisting all through the chapters of Job, sinning and wicked? NO!

            Remember what God, Himself, said about Job?  “He is the finest man in all the earth.  He is blameless, a man of complete integrity.  He fears God and stays away from evil.”  God told Satan this not just once, but twice! 

            Read it again, “He is the FINEST man in all the earth!  He is BLAMELESS!  A man of COMPLETE INTEGRITY!  He FEARS God.  He STAYS away from evil!”

            So you see Job’s friends don’t have a leg to stand on! Not even one. I really wish they could have heard God saying this.  They were all wet.  Especially when the storm hits. 

            Oh yes a storm came.  You see there were days and days that they sat there on the rubbish heap and accused Job of sinning. 

Oh yes Job defended himself. “One should be kind to a fainting friend,” he says after being stomped on many times, “but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty! Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong!  Do you think I am lying?  Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?”  Job 6:29-30

Oh Job went through the stages of grieving, as they say.  He was angry at God.  He questioned God. He wished he had not been born. He hoped he would die.  He despaired.  He was deeply depressed.  Of course who wouldn’t be with friends like that! He says, “Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on and on and I toss till dawn.” Job 7:4   Of course he was referring to the night of his trial.  He was waiting for the joy that comes in the morning.

Job seeks God, “If only I knew where to find God, I would go to His court.  I would lay out my case and present my arguments.  Then I would listen to His reply and understand what He says to me.  I go east, but He is not there.  I go west, but I cannot find Him.  I do not see Him in the north for He is hidden.  I look to the south, but He is concealed.” Job 23:3-5, 8-9

I know the feeling.  When trouble hit, when life dumped me upside down, I felt as if God was far away.  My cries for help in the dark night seemed to evaporate into nothingness.  Job had been striped of all he held dear.  He lost everything that was everything to him.  His wealth, his health, his children, his prestige.  He thought God had forsaken him and wished to destroy him.   

Yet, Job holds on to his hope in God.  He says, even if I don’t know where God is, “He knows where I am going!  When He tests me I will come out as pure as gold!” Job 23:10

So out there in the open far from the city walls where they were exposed to all elements of weather, sat Job and his four friends. The friends continued their tromping and stomping. And Job held on to his hope, yet sought understanding. Then a storm blew in.  Black clouds rolled across the sky and the wind roared.  It pounded against them pulling at their robes and head scarves. 

A whirlwind struck.  It swirled dust and ashes into the air, filling their nostrils and eyes with soot.  And out of the storm, out of the whirlwind, God finally spoke.  In the trial, in the terrible trouble, God revealed Himself.

You see what Job didn’t understand is:

            In the tearing away, God is piecing back together.

            In the breaking, God is repairing.

            In the sickness, and shattered heart, God is healing.

            In the barren desert, God is nurturing and growing.

            In the weakness, God is strengthening.

            In the battle God is training.

            In the striping, God is renewing.

            In the darkness, God enlightens.

            In the destruction, God enables.

            In the emptiness, God alone is sufficient.

            In despair, God comforts.

            In the whirlwind, God teaches us to cling to Him.

            In the torrent, God gives His wings for shelter.

            In the storm, He is there.

God spoke to Job out of the storm and His words were powerful.

“Where does the light come from and where does the darkness go?  Can you take each to its             home?  Do you know how to get there?  But of course you know all this! You were born before        it was all created, and you are so experienced.
Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? I have reserved           them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.

Where is the path to the source of light?

Where is the source of the east wind?

Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the                       lightning?

Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?  Can you make lightning appear and cause it to          strike as you direct?

 Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?

Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wonder about in hunger?

Do you know when the wild goats give birth?  Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?

Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar and spread its wings towards the south?

Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?

Are you as strong as God?  Can you thunder with a voice like His?

            All right then put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty.

            Give vent to your anger.  Let it over flow against the proud. 

            Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand.

            Bury them in the dust.  Imprison them in the world of the dead.

            Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you.”  Do you still want to argue               with the Almighty?  You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” And it goes on in Job 38-40

God didn’t answer Job’s questions.  Nothing, at this point, had been resolved. Job still sat on the dusty rubbish heap with his four friends, who, after hearing God’s mighty voice in the storm, must have been wide-eyed and open mouthed. And maybe just a little bit fearful.  This is what Job said to his Creator.

            “I had only heard about You before, I thought I knew who You are, but now, now in the middle of this storm, I see You with my eyes.  I see Your might and Your power and I know You can do what you desire.  I also see Your love that endures forever, I know You care about my life. I know You control the storm and in the midst of the whirlwind, You have my back.  So I sit here in the ashes and I repent and humble myself to my Mighty God who I will trust for ever and ever.” From Job 42:5-6

            So will He bring bad things to good people?  People who have integrity?  Those who are upright and blameless in His sight?  Absolutely!

            Why?  So we learn to hope in Him alone.  So we have enduring hope even in the midst of the storm. So when the storm rages we have peace.  So when the whirlwind strikes, we have joy.  So when all is lost and all is gone, our hope endures.  We hope in an everlasting God who controls all things, not in this changing, shifting life on earth. 

            HOPE as in knowing, believing with all our minds and hearts, being certain of.  Not hoping that maybe it will happen, but knowing for sure.  Trusting in Him no matter how big the storm or how dark the night. Trusting that He is in control, nothing comes to us that does not go through His hands.  Trusting that if He brings it, He will work through it for our good.   Trusting in a mighty, all powerful God who keeps the stars in place and holds me in His hands.  Enduring Hope.

            So I sit on the ash heap and I say, “Whatever you have for me, Lord, whatever you bring my way, it is ok.  I will trust You, I will love You, I will praise Your name all days of my life and for eternity.”

 

 

“In Christ alone my hope is found.  He is my light, my strength, my song.

This cornerstone, this solid Rock, firm through fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace.  When fears are stilled, when striving cease.

My comforter, my all in all.  Here in the love of Christ I stand.”

In Christ Alone, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

 “God’s way is perfect. 

All the Lord’s promises prove true. 

He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.

For who is God except the Lord? Who is a solid Rock?

God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect.

He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

He trains my hands for battle, He strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.

You have given me Your shield of victory!

Your right hand supports me.  Your help has made me great! 

You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.”

Psalm 18:30-36

 

           

           

           

           

 

 

 

           

             

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Let Go and Let God

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

FAITH THAT LETS GO

*Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see (Heb 11:1).

            The disciples, who were struggling on the sea of Galilee and rowing against the wind and waves, had to give up the fight and turn to Jesus who was sound asleep in the boat.  One word from the Messiah and the sea was suddenly calm. 

            “Oh you of little faith.”  He told them. 

            Peter had to let go of the boat that dark stormy night when Jesus walked over the water to the disciples once again on rough waters.  When Jesus called to Peter, he climbed over the side of the boat and let go of the gunwales.  On top of the rough roiling water, he walked.  Until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked instead to his troubles.  He then sank.  Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed Peter just before he went completely under the water and pulled him out. 

            Jesus said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Math. 14:31

*“True faith drops the letter in the Post Office and let’s go.  Distrust holds on to the corner”.

            That’s me, holding on, keeping it near my side or mailing it and worrying if it got there.   Picking up the burden after placing it at the feet of Jesus and strapping it once again to my back.   

            Like with Doti, who is sick now.  I pray but I worry.  I give it to Him but I fret.  I put her in His hands but I strive over what I should do.  My peace is shattered and my joy disappears.

            Why do I do this?  Because I think I can handle the thing better than God?  Or because I am afraid of the outcome He may bring?

            The answer may not be something I want. It may bring pain and grief.  I may lose Doti.  I shrink, I run from the possibility.  From pain. 

That’s my nature. To hang on to, cling to, struggle under the burdens.  And yet don’t I know He holds me in His powerful, righteous right hand? 

Do I forget He love me with an everlasting love and works all things for good in my life?

Do I doubt that He is in control of all situations and that His way is best for me?

“Commit everything you do to the Lord and He will help you. Ps 37:5 NLT

            I like the Amplified, “Commit our way to the Lord (roll, and repose each care of your load on Him) Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.”

            When I roll or lay each care, not just each load but EVERY care in His hands, He works.  He brings it to pass.  He will help me.  When I commit my cares to Him He acts. Not before.

            Do I give myself too much trouble with Doti?  Or other things?

 If I commit her to God, I should not feel anxious or afraid.  If I trust, rely on, lean on, be confident in God, I should not then worry.  If I roll my every care on the Lord, I should not continue to carry them.  Right?  How can we both carry one burden? 

When I am worrying, fretting or striving I am not trusting. 

“Do not fret or have ANY anxiety about ANYTHING, but in EVERY circumstance and in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition (definite requests) with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.” Phil. 4:5 AMP

Read that again.  Pretty all conclusive, I would say. No circumstance is too big for God. There is not a storm big enough that He can not calm.  He may not always work in the way we want, but that’s where the trust comes in.  Knowing, believing, being confident that He ALWAYS works for our good.

Verse 4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice.”

Praising Him and making our request always with thanksgiving, that’s the key.  With thanksgiving comes surrender and acceptance. With surrender comes peace.

“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard our hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

The peace comes after the storm in my heart is stilled.  The storm is calmed when I lean on Jesus, who is asleep in the boat.  He has not left.  He is here.  He waits for me to surrender to His way, to His will no matter what the outcome. 

I must let go of what I perceive to be the safe way and walk over the stormy sea to Him. I need to walk into my trials and face them head on, keeping my eyes on Him, not on my trials and troubles. I must focus on Him at ALL times.

I do not see the outcome.  I do not know how He will bring it about.  But I do know His love for me is never-ending.  I am certain that how He works is best.  So I will rely on Him.  I will lean on Him.  I will have faith that let’s go.

 

“The Lord directs the stops of the godly.  He delights I EVERY detail of their lives.

Though they stumble they will NEVER fall for the Lord holds them by their hands.”

Ps. 37:23-24 NLT

 *From “Days of Heaven upon Earth” in Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

           

 

 

Posted in Faith, Faith that lets go, God is in control, God's peace, He holds me, He is in the Storm, He is with us in trouble, hope | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Crucifixion

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

I wrote this last year but it is well to remember and contemplate His suffering.

Wendy Kleker's avatarPrairie Wind

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THE LAMB

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Rev. 5:12

The day the Lamb of the world died, the noon sun became as dark as night. God’s Son cried out “My God, My God why have you abandoned me?”

It was a long road up to the hill called Place of the Skull. Jesus already had suffered much physical abuse. No longer able to go on, He fell with the heavy cross beam on His back and lay still.

A bystander, Simon from Cyrene, who had just entered the city from the country and had no idea what was going on, was forced to carry the condemned Man’s cross. What a welcome to the city! Crowds of people; some weeping, some running and some yelling insults to this man who looked nearly dead. Simon…

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Suffering of Job part 2

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

WHIPSERING HOPE

*“Soft as the voice of an angel, breathing a lesson unheard

Hope with a gentle persuasion, whispers a comforting word.

Wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempests is done

Hope for the sunshine tomorrow after the darkness is gone.

Whispering Hope oh how welcome Thy voice

Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.”

            Like a tornado rampaging through the land, troubles whirled into Job’s life tearing everything he held dear to smithereens.  His wealth, his livestock, his servants and, even worse, all of his children gone in the blink of an eye.  It was enough to knock even a strong man of faith to the ground.

Then one day in the glorious throne room of God the heavenly court of angels presented themselves before the Lord.  Once again Satan, the Accuser went with them.

“Where have you been?”  God asked Satan.

“I have been patrolling the earth, just watching everything that is going on there.”  Yeah right the Destroyer is only watching what is going on and not instigating a thing.  Innocence and sarcasm drip from his words.

God isn’t buying it, He cuts right to the chase, “Have you noticed my servant Job?  He is the finest man in all the earth.  He is blameless, a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”  You will remember this is the second time God says such a thing about the man He allowed Satan to plunge into terrible trouble.  “And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged Me to harm him without cause.”

Without cause! Just because Satan urged Him!  Does that seem quite fair?  Is God caving to peer pressure?  Of course not!  On the contrary, I think Satan is falling into God’s hands.

Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for Skin!  A man will give up everything he has to save his life.”  I don’t think Satan quite understands every person’s heart, do you?  “But if you were to take his health away he would surely curse You to Your face!”  Satan’s sneer is evil and his eyes flash the fire of challenge.

“All right,” God says, “do with him as you please.”

At this Satan must have smirked in glee as he rubbed his hands together. “He he, finally I can do what I wish with one of His precious kids!”

But then God puts a cap on it.  “But spare his life.”

Satan’s smirk fades a bit, but not to worry, there are lots of things to be done to a human body.  IN fact maybe this if better.  He thinks as he leaves the Lord’s presence.

Satan strikes Job with terrible boils all over his body, from head to foot.  Can you imagine?  Have you ever had a boil?  I have not, but Jim, my late husband, had a boil one time and he was in complete misery, from just one.  It was like a big pimple, only much larger and much more painful, lasting many days. I can’t imagine having them all over my body!

Job’s disease was unknown and often associated in the past with a curse for the disobedient and rebellious person.  People had no idea if it was contagious or a terrible plaque that would spread amongst them, so Job removed himself from his neighborhood and sat outside the city on the ash heap, which I understand was where garbage was burned. He scraped his painful and irritating sores with a dirty, broken piece of pottery.

One day his wife stomped her way out to the dump.  Now we must understand that she had just gone through a terrible ordeal also and was grieving the loss of their wealth and children.  Then her husband is afflicted with a possibly incurable and most likely degrading disease. Certainly a situation which can make a person a mite touchy and discouraged.

I can see her marching up to a pitiful looking Job and stand before him with her hands on her hips.

“So,” she demands, “are you STILL trying to maintain your integrity?”  She kicks at a pile of ashes and flaps her hands at the black dust.  “Are you still trusting this God of yours?  I mean, really, how could your God whom you always claim is so loving, do such a thing to you?  Obviously, He doesn’t care about you. Or me either.”  She wipes tears from her eyes, leaving a black streak on her face.  “You might as well curse God and die.”

Job stares at her through red-rimmed, exhausted eyes, “You talk like a foolish woman! I really thought you were wiser than that!” Shaking his head, Job rubs a hand over his face, leaving a black smudge on his cheek.  “I’m sorry, I know you’ve been through a lot and it’s hard, but should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?”

Good question.  Should we accept only good things from God and never anything bad?  Is life with God a bed of roses without any thorns?  If we walk with God do we expect it to be a walk in a beautiful park beside tranquil waters?

I think we usually do.  I think we often equate God’s love and goodness with sunshine and birds singing.  Don’t we?  I know I do. I’m surprised when the storms come. Often my first thought is, what have I done wrong? Why is God punishing me? Or have I strayed from His path so far that He is using a two-by-four to knock some sense into me?

However look at what God tells the Accuser about Job.  “He is the finest man in all the earth.  Look at him, he is blameless!  A man of complete integrity.  He fears God and stays away from evil.”  He didn’t just tell Satan that once but twice.  Yet God gave Satan rein to torment Job extremely.  One trial after another fell upon Job until all of Job’s hope, all of his joy was gone.  Even his wife turned her back and walked away leaving Job on the rubbish heap.  Alone.

Sometimes in our lives things get worse before they get better.  Do they not?  Sometimes burdens pile upon us until it seems an elephant sits on our backs.  Sometimes pain in our bodies or our hearts becomes so great we feel we can not endure another minute.  Sometimes the night is so black we can not see even a glimmer of hope.

Oh but friend hope is there.

Sometimes hope whispers a song in the night.

“Now I am deeply discouraged but I will remember you.” David says, “I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.  But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me and through each night I sing His songs.  Praying to God who gives me life.”  Psalm 42:6-8

When troubles pile on top of us, hope glimmers in the darkness.

“Though I am surrounded by troubles, You will protect me from the anger of my enemies.  You reach out Your hand and the power of Your right hand saves me.

The Lord will work out His plans for my life, for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.  Do not abandon me for You made me.” Psalm 138:7-8

When the night is the darkest and the storm is the fiercest, hope soars on the wings of our praise.

“I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart.  I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done.  I will be filled with joy because of You.  I will sing praises to Your name, O MOST HIGH.

            The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  Those who know Your name trust in You for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.”  Psalm 9:1-2, 8-10

When all we hold dear is gone, when life is turned upside down, when all seems hopeless, yet hope whispers in our souls.

“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 42:11

Where do we put our hope?  Not in wealth which is as shaky as shifting sand.  Not in prestige and power which can topple like a great tower.  Not in possessions which burn away as straw.  Certainly not in our loved ones who belong only to God.

No, Job had to learn, as I did when I lost my husband, that our hope, our only hope is in our God the solid, unshakable Rock.

Christ’s greatest triumph was in humility.

Job was brought low and humiliated before he saw victory.

Humility is not just putting others before ourselves, its putting ourselves UNDER the mighty hand of God.  Its letting God do what He will do in our lives.  Its accepting His will in our lives, no matter how tough the climb or how painful the walk. Its casting all our cares on Him and thanking Him for everything. Because He cares for us.

Could it be in our lowest place, in humility, in trials and grievous trouble, we find victory?  Not necessarily when the storm moves on and the sun bursts from the clouds, but during the storm.

During the rampaging tornado, during the great tempest, we need to stand firm in our faith and trust our God and sing praises, no matter what troubles and storms come.

So, on the blasting winds we soar with wings of hope and in our joy and peace we find we triumph.

“If in the dusk of the twilight dimmed by the region afar

Will not the deepening darkness brighten the glittering star?

Then when the night is upon us, should the heart sink away?

When the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day.

Whispering Hope, oh how welcome Thy voice,

Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

*Whispering Hope by Alice Hawthorne and Domenico Savino

“When each earthly prop gives under,

And life seems a restless sea,

Are you then a God-kept wonder,

Satisfied and calm and free?”

From Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

 

 

 

Posted in Darkness, Hope dawns, Hope in Christ alone, Hope in God only, Job, Joy in the storm, Suffering, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sufferings of Job part 1

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

ON THE WINGS OF THE STORM

 

*O worship the King,

All glorious above.

And gratefully sing

His power and His love.

Our Shield and Defender

The Ancient of Days,

Pavilion in splendor

And girded with praise.

O tell of His might,

O sing of His grace,

whose robe is the light,

whose canopy is space.

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form.

Dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

        One day in Heaven at the throne of God, surrounded by vibrant colors like a rainbow, angels of the Heavenly court presented themselves to God.  Satan the Accuser came with them, no doubt to point out the faults of God’s children on earth.

            However God beat him to the draw, “So Satan,” God said, “have you seen my servant Job?  He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless, a man of complete integrity.  He fears Me and stays away from evil.  Period, no swaying.  No walking the fence.  No compromise. No toe dipping into sin.”

How could Satan contradict such a statement from the Creator?  So the great Accuser uses a different slant, “Yes but Job has good reason to fear You.” He whines.  “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property.  You have made him prosper in everything he does.  Just look how rich he is!”  Satan rolls his eyes.  “But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” His lips curl in an evil sneer.

“Ok,” says God, “Go ahead and test him, do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically. And we’ll see what he does.”

Of course God knew what Job would do, or He wouldn’t have given Satan permission to test him.

So Job, who had everything he needed or wanted, who respected God and served Him with a singular purpose, who even prayed for his children and offered burnt sacrifices for them just in case they might sin, was going about his business one fine sunny day, when a storm swept in and blind-sided him.

A messenger came running up to his house and burst in the door shouting,  “Your oxen were plowing with the donkeys feeding beside them and the Sabeans raided us.  They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands, except for me.”

The wind blasted against the house.

While he was speaking another messenger ran up and said between gasps, “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds.  I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

Thunder rumbled.

While Job sat wide-eyed and speechless another man burst into the house and gasping for breath he said, “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants, I am the only one who escaped.”

“Oh no!” Job exclaimed, clenching his fists.

Black clouds rolled over the sun and the earth plunged into darkness.

As if that wasn’t bad enough news to get all at once, yet another man ran into the house, his face was white, and he staggered as he stopped before Job.

“All your children were feasting in your oldest son’s home and suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides.”

Lightening, swift and blinding, struck.

“The house collapsed and all your children are dead.  I am sorry, so sorry, I am the only one who escaped.”

The wind roared, like a hurricane and it knocked Job to the ground.  Job’s muscles had no strength.  His breath was taken from him.  Shock numbed his body and mind.  He clutched his chest because of the great pain there.

However, Job did an amazing thing.  In the midst of the storm Job reached out to God.  He worshiped his Lord.

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave this earth.  The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.”

While the storm raged, while the wind tore at the trees threatening to uproot them, while the rain pounded the house, while the lightening struck, while the thunder pealed, Job said, “Praise the name of the LORD!”

 

Storms can hit quickly in our lives.  Suddenly the black clouds are roiling and boiling above our heads.  Blinding lightening strikes towards the earth.  Thunder rolls across the sky shaking the ground.  The powerful wind blasts against us knocking us to our knees.  Rain pounds on our heads threatening to drown us.

One phone call and our world is turned upside down.  In one instant our lives are changed forever.  One blinding lightening strike and our days are roiling with trouble. The storm is fierce.  The thunder booms and shakes our existence.

It seems I am alone in the darkness.  Where is God?  I can not feel His presence anywhere?  When the wind buffets my body and the rain stings my face, I feel as if I am completely alone in the storm.

As Job says, “I go east, but He is not there. I go west, but I cannot find Him.  I do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden.  I look to the south, but He is concealed.

But He knows where I am going and when He tests me I will come out as pure as gold.”  Job 23:8-10

Do not fear!  God is on the wings of the storm!  He doesn’t come behind the storm.  He isn’t only in the middle of the storm, no He comes before the storm.  He is on the wind that ushers in the roiling storm.

God had taught Job to trust Him.  He trusted God even when his whole life, including his health, had fallen apart. Somewhere along the line, God had instilled in Job an unswerving desire to follow Him with everything he had.  Job had integrity on his side.

God prepared and sent to Job three friends, actually there were four.  They sat with him for 7 days on the rubbish heap, in all kinds of weather and said not a word.  Now that is support!

Later when they opened their mouths, they were not so supportive.  They accused Job of sinning but you see because of his upright walk, he knew he was right with God.  He knew God was not punishing him.  He knew there was some other reason for his trials.  He knew God had something to teach him.  So in the storm and darkness, Job sought God.  Job reached for the Light.

Our God is on the wings of the storm. He comes before the storm, shutting the hatches, buttoning up our lives, preparing us for the storm. He knows how much strength we will need and He gives it. He knows what kind of support we need and He makes sure it is there in our lives.  He knows the physical and financial needs we will have and He provides them.  Before the storm ever darkens the sky.

God speaks to Job from the whirlwind.  Not the sunshine.  Not the warm pleasant days. Not a nice laid back afternoon while he was fishing beside a quiet stream, but out of the swirling, whirling, blasting wind came God’s voice.

“Where were you, Job, when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?  What supports its foundations and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?  Can you make the lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?  Who gave intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?  Who is wise enough to count all the clouds.  Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?” Job 38:4-7, 34-38 NLT

You see God is the wind that tells the storm where to go.  He is the lightening striking where He desires.  He is the rain that waters the parched ground.

He is not surprised by the storm, He is in the storm.  He knows the storm is coming. He orchestrates or allows the storm to come into our lives. He knows the testing we are about to have.  He knows how much we can endure.  He has a reason for the storm.  He is making our arms strong to bend a bow of bronze and our feet like the feet of deer so we can walk on the high places.  He measures out the exact amount of training that we need.

He is the sun that shines after the storm.  And the storm will pass.  The sun will shine again. It always does.

When Job prayed for his friends,  the Lord restored his fortunes.  In fact the Lord gave him twice as much as before! And he lived 140 more years to see his children’s children and many more generations.  (from Job 42:10)

When the thunder crashes, when the lightning strikes jagged across the sky, when the wind roars, He is there.  He is in the midst of the storm.

You may fall to the ground in your shock and weakness, but turn to Him.  Worship Him.  Praise Him.  Lean on Him.  Trust Him.  In the dark storm, seek the Light.

 

*Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air, it shines in the light.

It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain.

And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, feeble and frail.

In thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail.

Thy mercies how tender!

How firm to the end!

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.  Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Be still and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us!  The God of Israel is our fortress!” Ps. 46:1-3, 10-11

“You are my King and my God!  You command victories for me (Israel).  Only by Your power can we push back our enemies.  Only in Your name can we trample our foes.

I do not trust in my bow.  I don not count on my sword to save me.  You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies.  You disgrace those who hate us.  O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise Your name.” Ps. 44:4-8

“All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

He comforts us in all our troubles!  So we can comfort others when they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ.

We are crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact we expected to die.  But as a result we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God who raises the dead.

He did rescue us again.  We have placed our confidence on Him and He will continue to rescue us!”  2 Cor. 1:3-5, 8-10

Story from Job

*”O Worship the King” by Robert Grant (good on u-tube by Chris Tomlin)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Comfort, God is in control, God is in my midst, God's plan, He is in the Storm, He is with us in trouble, Jesus is the Light, Job, Light, Suffering, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments