Thorny Weather

By -

Do you have a thorn in your side? I do. In times of trials, every minute is a battle for my faith. At times, I find myself crying out for mercy and then, I understand that while He is merciful, He is also purposeful.

He says to me, "Count it all joy."

JOY?!?

"Yes, joy. For the trying of your faith worketh patience. Let patience have her perfect work, so that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4

So each day, I battle. Every hour, I fight. Every minute I paste a pained smile over my mind. While I wait patiently for Him. All the while, rebuking the Devil's lies that He (my Father) has forsaken me. What I realize....eventually....while I am without, a slow recognition begins to form. A miraculous transformation. I SEE His daily provision. I AM waiting patiently upon the Lord.

So, bless this thorn! And count it all joy! I still battle and still I fight. This will be my lot until the Lord returns on high or until He calls me home. But, as I collect thorns throughout this life, that pained smile becomes a bit less pained.

So today, Father I praise you, I lift your name up with a thorn on my side. For I know you discipline those who you love. May you strengthen me and the calling you've placed upon my spirit and all those who may read this post. All those who have thorns. May you be glorified.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth"

Hebrews 12:5-6

Comments

  1. HannahJune 26, 2007 at 11:07 AM

    Author's note:

    For my readers, I wanted to add this scripture in addition to this post.

    Romans 8:18
    For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ShaleneJune 26, 2007 at 2:04 PM

    Hannah, beautiful post today. And so relevant. We so often forget that God did not promise a life of ease, and in fact promised just the opposite. But He does provide for our every need. And sometimes more. But the operative word is NEED. What we think we need and what we actually do, may be two different things. I find that to be true in my own life, anyway. Love In Him.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 26, 2007 at 9:37 PM

    I agree, Hannah, beautiful post. It's easy to forget in the moment that our trials are as much a gift as our joys. To forgo a trial is to miss out on a new opportunity to realize how great our God is when we are weak and how we can show His love when other face the same or similar trials.

    2 Corinthians 12:19
    But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HannahJune 26, 2007 at 10:12 PM

    AMEN, may the Lord be glorified!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated.

Please note the changes to this blog. ONLY respectful comments and questions are accepted. Special note to other Christians: This blog no longer caters to debate and or arguments about the Bible. If you have a comment in SUPPORT of clear and concise understanding of the saving power of Christ Jesus, you are welcome to leave comments on this blog.

Popular posts from this blog

Confessions of a Former World Wide Church of God Member

By -
Now some of you may have heard of The World Wide Church of God. For those of you who haven't here's a brief, basic, summation of WWCG, as described by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : "The Worldwide Church of God (WCG), formerly the Radio Church of God, is a Christian church currently based in Glendora, California , USA. Founded in 1933 by Herbert Armstrong as a radio ministry , the WCG under Armstrong had a significant, and often controversial, influence on 20th century religious broadcasting and publishing in the United States and Europe, especially in the field of interpreting biblical end-time (eschatalogical) prophecies. However, within a few years after Armstrong's death in 1986, the succeeding church administration, led first by Joseph W. Tkach, Sr. and then his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr. , examined and changed the doctrines and teachings of which the WCG held fundamental differences with more mainstream Christianity. Many members and ministers left the WCG to
Read more

The Law of Sin and Death

By -
A relative and I were having a fascinating discussion about sin. He made a statement that rang very true to me. "So many Christians are obsessed with sin". For a long while, since reading other posts and forums about sin, I've been dwelling upon and studying about that matter. Although I've been compelled to analyze the subject by post, I haven't felt prepared to do so. As you all know, I'm experiencing a trial that proves to be a continuous battle for my faith. It has been a trial which continues to manifest the truth of Scripture, the Word of God, to my soul. It is during hard times such as these when the Glory of God is a sight to behold. And His goodness, a pleasant taste! "O taste and see that the LORD is good..." Psalm 34:8 Why do we obsess with sin? Either of our own or those of fellow Christians? Has Christ not set us free from the law of sin and death? "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
Read more

Translation vs. Paraphrase

By -
Up until about four years ago, I studied primarily out of the New Living Translation. It was simple to read and I was comfortable with it. However, I did notice through out my studying in that specific translation, that passages just weren't making any sense. My husband preferred the King James Version and studied out of that, our studying together almost always ended out of the KJV version for the simple fact that the NLT was not adequate in conveying some of the principles of the Word. My husband, at that time worked for Tyndale House Publishing (which publishes the NLT version) gave me a Bible published by them called "The People's Parallel Edition". This edition had the KJV and NLT side by side. It was only then I began to see a true difference between translations. Romans 8:1 in both of these versions comes out different. Romans 8:1 KJV says "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Read more