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Monday, August 18, 2008

Reminding Myself......

......that all things work together for good for those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose.


I'm telling myself that today, over and over and over and over. It just seems like I'm surrounded by disappointments and hurts. Disappointments in our own family and disappointments in the lives of our friends. Some are more grave and serious and heart-wrenching than others, but there are many. So, I'm telling myself that God can work out these disappointments for good. And, even when there is no shred of evidence, I'm going to believe Him to do it. In every.single.instance!! Every instance of illness, every single instance of job related concerns(no matter what kind), every instance of school related concerns, every financial concern, and every concern of loneliness. All of them! As the song says, "so we lift up our hope in you, though we may not yet understand, we know it's true, all things work together."

Psalm 33:22May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

God, may you accept this as a pleasing faith offering to you, and may you show yourself strong and mighty to those of us who need you so badly right now!

Psalm 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

8 comments:

MBJones said...

Amen. I am agreeing with you in prayer. Thanks for sending out encouragement to us all. We are all going through something that the Lord is shielding, protecting and delivering us from. On my door at work, I have Psalm 91 taped.

He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust...He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.

Cyndi Lou said...

Shana,

Thank you for this word today. We will agree with you and pray with you as we all continue to trust that God works out all things for good for those called according to His will--- even the difficult, painful things.

You are a jewel to Him!!

Love,

Cyndi

DeLynn said...

Life is hard. These words came to mind when I read your post---and actually for myself over the past week. Love you.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

The Wild World of Richmond said...

Wow, sometimes I like to think I am alone in my worry, doubt and confusion. It's obvious that God is knitting us together to be there for encouragement and support. Know that He is with you! Know that he is the provider and comforter of all of us! I am choosing to grab hold tight to that and cling to it with all my being. Yesterday, I was overcome with gratefulness for what he has done for me. He chose to remind me of it in the softest of ways. I guess when I am in my weak state I choose to cling to the disappointment, sadness, and bad things rather than remembering that I have all I need. All I really need is HIM. He will sustain me and when life doesn't seem to make sense-I need to remind myself that it doesn't have to make sense to me. He has already planned it out for me and He is the prize.
Ya' know, this morning I kept promising Jayden if we get through all these yucky errands, then Mommy will stop by Sonic for you. He kept remembering the prize. He had to suck it up and choose to focus on what was coming at the end. I think sometimes (well all the time) we have to consciously choose to focus on the prize...the end of the race-which truly becomes the beginning of eternity.
I love you and I'm thankful that you reminded me again today to hang on to what's at the end of the race.
Terri

-brittany- said...

awesome awesome awesome so very timely

Maddie said...

I am reading a boook called Praying the Names of God. This morning I read about El Roi, the God who sees me. It just seemed to fit. Hagar used this name for God when she ran away from Sarah...hurt.alone.and pregnant.

from the book:
He pinpointed her exact position in the present. And he saw what the future held for her-a son named Ishmael, descendants too numerous to count.....El Roi, a God so watchful that he is said to note when even the smallest sparrow falls to the ground-this is the God who watches over you today, whether or not you recognize his presence. Aware that you may sometimes find yourself in desolate places, he is always near, helping you find a path through troubles, working out his plans for your future.

Tamara Chastain said...

Thank you for this most encouraging blog. I needed to hear those words.

Jenny said...

Oh sweet Shana, you are such a great woman...yo. :) To see the way you are choosing to leave it all to God is so great and He is going to bless you for that. Thank you for this post...it was needed by many.