Thank you all who have written to say you are praying; it does make a difference. Barbara was transferred to the hospital’s mental health ward for evaluation. Pray that she will be released in the three days as promised. Nat is coming tomorrow to see his mother for a few days.
The following devotional from EDIFIED, written in 2008, was a great encouragement to me this morning.
“My soul finds rest in God alone.” Psalm 62:1
My poor old Bible was worn out, the cover falling off, pages coming loose, so I took it to a bookbinder to have it rebound. When I picked it up, it looked great and I was pleased–until I opened it to the back and found my 5 pages of notes missing. The bookbinder had thrown them away! For years I’d collected sermon outlines and verses on different subjects, resources I’d found very useful. Now all that work was gone! It was like losing an old friend!
But praise God, He immediately brought to mind that phrase, “Knowing Jesus is enough for joy!” Although my emotions weren’t lining up with this as I embraced Truth, and exercised volitional faith (giving thanks when I don’t feel like it), I was able to thank God for this loss, knowing that He has something good in it.
It seems lately that God is giving us lots of opportunities to put into practice trusting and praising Him when we would rather complain. Here are some things from the last few weeks:
• In getting ready to move to Germany, we got the unexpected news of the need for a stent in my heart.
• We were unable to make an exit to a Greek Island to renew our visas because Greek harbor workers were on strike. This complicates our leaving for Germany, forcing us to go several days earlier, scrambling to complete the end tasks necessary—but God knows what He is doing!
• A fellow worker had his pickup truck stolen from in front of his house, along with his cell phone, plus the registration for another vehicle and equipment. We suspect that this was engineered by the police who would like this particular worker to leave.
• A business started by a local pastor fell into a legal trap and everything in his business was confiscated by the small claims court.
• No word on my stolen car or on a solution to a difficult and expensively unjust situation with a hotel where we held conferences last month.
However, in the midst of all these unresolved difficulties, the truth is: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9), and “Knowing Jesus is enough for joy.” In the midst of unresolved pressure and problems we can find our rest in Him, knowing that He will carry us through in the way He knows is best.
Prayer: “Praise you, Lord God, for your care and protection in my life. Thank you for all you allow to come to me. And thank you for the privilege of offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving to honor you. Help me to do this consistently and fulfill the purpose of my life by bringing honor to your name (Ps. 50:23). Amen.”
