God, Larger Than My Pain

The Psalms have ministered to my soul and filled my heart with gladness time after time.  How blessed is the man or woman that knows God through the Lord Jesus Christ!  He is larger than my pain, larger than my sins, and larger than any temporal happiness on this earth.  He is everything.  The devotion today is based on Psalm 119: 81-88, with an emphasis on verses 87-88. 

God Is Larger Than My Pain

When life on earth is fraught

 With pain and anguish

With darts undeserved

With arrows that have buried deep within my soul,

I look to you oh God, my Savior.

I cry,

I do not understand.

I ask you to help me to love,

To forgive;

Yet, 

Those who are supposed to love me 

Never say they're sorry.

And, I wonder if I will see them when I leave this earth

Will they want to be forgiven then?

Will some of them be in heaven and others not?

I only know of one who ever took the time to say it was wrong

To spoil the song with lies.

My heart fills when I know how this woman cares, 

In obedience, she loves God enough 

To go to her sister and brothers

To mend what has been broken.

God makes her strong.

Life's stresses and strains.

Pounding the body and soul of God's child, 

Sometimes feels like an ocean's undertow,

That threatens to drown.

Yet,

There is hope for me the sinner, saved by grace.

Though I am weak, He is strong.

He carries me along, 

Until the song can be sung

Loudly in glorious praise.

My God, my Jesus has not forsaken me, 

Nor, I Him.

His precepts live within.

He will not let me fall.

He holds me, 

And waits for me to reach,

To trust,

To be ready to step out again,

Even when, 

I am afraid, my Lord is here

with me.

© D. Bolton 2013 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and for Your mercy.  Thank You for loving me so much, that You sent Jesus to be my Savior. As a sinner saved by Your grace, I often wonder how I could not spend more time with the One, who is everything, who will never let me down, who will  always love me.  And then, tonight I read the  words of David:  They had almost consumed me upon earth;  but I forsook not thy precepts (KJV, Psalm 119:87).  *The word "forsake"

took on new meaning for me, as I knew in my spirit, that though I may fail and become weak -- it does not mean I have forsaken your precepts.  Help me to do the thing that has been hard for me because of the associations it brings back to my body, mind, and emotions.  This is different for each person, Lord. You know mine. I am trusting and thanking You for Your answer. 

In Jesus'  Holy Name I Pray, 

Amen.

*Note:  To forsake something means to leave it forever.  King David in the Old Testament sinned, as we all do.  He also suffered unjustly in his life;  yet, the true desire of his heart was to follow God's precepts.  That is what I see:  it is the true heart, the one given you by God that counts.  I would never have seen this if I had not been feeling badly for not spending more time in God's word.  The Holy Spirit within me motivated me to put down my other pursuits that were not bad in themselves, but I had let myself stray by not putting aside time to study the Bible. I am so glad I listened.  God filled me with His joy.

His Lovingkindness, Great Above the Heavens

Psalm 108: 3-5
I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.

Holy is His Name.  Glory to God, 
He shines above the earth.  He is mysterious and beyond our comprehension. Just when I see a glimpse, I know how much more there is that I do not understand.  Glory be to God on high. One day, we will see Him.  We will see Jesus.  Oh, how I look forward to that wonderful day. 

Many blessings to you on this beautiful day.

In Him,

Deborah


Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

All photos by Deborah Bolton, 2012

The Lord's Love Supported Me

As I read Psalm 94: 17-19, I was reminded of God's presence, His truth, His mercy, and His comfort.  I was reminded that I have called upon Him and felt certain that He understands and loves me. 

Psalm 94: 17-19 (KJV)
17 Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my thoughts (anxiety) within me thy comforts delight my soul.

Even when I have not known how to pray as I should, when I have not had the words to say how I felt, when all I could do is cry, and I had no answer other than the promise of His salvation -- I knew I could trust and that God had heard.  Verses 26 - 27 of Romans 8 make this absolutely clear.  And I knew what was a bad situation was in God's hands, because all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose (KJV, Romans 8:28).

If you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, then I am sure you will see the glorious truth that God cares for you, even when you  despair, even when you experience the infirmities that come upon you while you are a sojourner, waiting for the glorious coming of our Lord. 

Romans 8: 26-28 (KJV)

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Prayer:  May God bless you and keep you.  May He fill you with the peace and comfort of His love.  Amen

Remembering Our Sin and God's Mercy

Scripture

Read Psalm 51: 1-19

Today, as I was reading my Bible, I was struck by verse 3 of Psalm 51:

For I acknowledge my transgressions:  and my sin is ever before me.

This verse reminded me that there are many sins in my life, that I remember, not necessarily because I have repeated them;  but, to me, they were significant.  We could definitely say the sin that David is referring to was significant.  He had just committed adultery with Bathsheba.

However, David admits his sin:  he confesses it and asks for God to restore the joy of his salvation.  He also asks God to not throw him out of His presence and to give him a spirit that is willing, which I think means willing to do as God wants, to follow the Lord's precepts.  

Other verses I found extraordinary in a time, when sacrifices were a means of being granted cleansing from sin are the following:

¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (KJV).

I am not saying we should wallow in our sin or live our lives in regret, but the remembrance of past sin and the concurrent consequences are definitely a deterrent to committing the same sins.  Moreover, if one truly has a broken and contrite spirit over the wrong things we have done or not done, we should not want to repeat our sin.  

The main thing is giving it to God, being truly repentant, and getting on with your life.  Wallowing in our sins and failures is a useless exercise;  however, the memory being there could be part of our protection from ourselves.

I also want to say something about memory.  The best thing is to replace those bad memories with good ones.  Philippians 4:8 says, 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (KJV).

Therefore I pray good thoughts for you today, and may you always remember God's unfailing love. 

Hope for When Your Path Gets Rocky

Just in case you never read  Living Better With An Invisible Illness, one of other blogs;  I felt like I needed to share my recent blog post, A Letter to God-sized Dreamers.  You have probably heard that old saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."  When the going gets tough for Christians, God is right there with us -- holding us up.

Are You Watching "The Bible?"

Are you watching "The Bible" on the History Channel?  I hope you are feeling challenged to read your Bible more;  because there is no way they can cover the entire Bible in 10 hours, and show you the scope and breadth of what God's Word contains.  However, it is a good thing if one's response is I want to know more.

In Living Better With An Invisible Illness, I have been writing about my God-sized dream.  My main dream is to read through the Bible this year.  I have written several posts, beginning with Dreaming God-sized Dreams, which I moved from my Inspirations blog.  When I did that, I lost some really cool comments, which made me sad.  Who knew you lost comments when you move blog posts?  Not me. 

 "Prayer" courtesy of graur razvan ionut/

 FreeDigitalPhotos.net

While reading the Bible through, I have to tell you what has me very, very excited.  For some reason, I had never truly envisioned the mass of people that left Egypt during the Exodus.  However, I realize it was more than I ever dreamed. Numbers 1:1 says that God spoke to Moses on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt.. God told Moses to take a census in Numbers 1, and how to do it.  Therefore, Moses appointed men to assist him in taking a census and listing the men, who were able to serve in an army.  These men were to be age twenty or older.  

What absolutely astounded me were the number of men able to serve after they were counted.  The total number, excluding the tribe of Levi (the priestly tribe), was 603,550.  Now, think about all those people that left Egypt, all the men, women, and children not in the number.  Think about the tents, the animals, and all these people leaving Egypt and moving through the desert to the promised land.  As far as the eye could see, one would see people and more people.  Think of the space all those people and animals must have taken up.  No movie or television show could have enough extras for us to see what it was like.

Our God is truly an awesome God.  If He could do this for the Israelites, how much more is He able to do for us?  I keep envisioning this mass of people.  Can you imagine the dust cloud their movement raised?  Our God is amazing!

Prayer
Thank you, God for what You have done and what you are going to do for Your   
people.  You are truly awesome and great: You are beyond human description.  Thank you for the glimpses You give us of Your mighty power.  In Jesus' Holy Name, Amen..(KJV). 

I Stand Amazed

Image Courtesy of [nuchylee]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Holley, this post brought tears of recognition and joy to my eyes, because it is true. I am seeing the fruit of small steps I started years ago. Now I am blogging, which for me came as a call to minister to those with chronic illnesses, and I am see what God is doing with amazement. Do you know the old hymn, “I Stand Amazed in the Presence of Jesus the Nazarene?” That is how I feel sometimes, as this often in pain, fatigued sinner saved by Grace shares my heart. Glory to God in the Highest! He is absolutely awesome and amazing. 

The above was my response to Holley Gerth's January 16, blog post, and I just wanted to share my joy with you;  which is in my heart because of Jesus.  Usually, I share scripture with you, but see the words penned by Charles H. Gabriel, in Praises, by Edwin O. Excell (Chicago, Illinois:  1905).  

"I stand amazed in the presence

Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

Refrain

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

Refrain

In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.

Refrain

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone.

Refrain

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.

Refrain"

Reading Through the Bible

 "Prayer" courtesy of graur razvan ionut/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Yikes!  I just looked at the last date I wrote a devotional for this blog, and I can hardly believe I have waited so long.  I have to admit to feeling ashamed of myself for I should have plenty to write, since I am planning on reading through the Bible this year.  That means I am starting all over, because I want to try to do it according to the plan our church is using.  In fact, it is the same plan my husband is using.

The bad thing is I am already behind, which I don't like admitting.  However, I had the thought today that is exactly where The Enemy would like me to be, so I will feel guilty;  then, I just might give up.  And it is absolutely not worth it to let myself be ramrodded into guilt.  Reading God's word is fulfilling:  it is a wonderful experience to hear God speak to me through the Bible.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (KJV, 1 Timothy 3:16-17).

One Year Bible OnLine has a good plan for reading through the Bible:   I'm using the One Year Bible Weekly Reading plan.  I hope I do it in one year, but doing a Bible marathon is not the point.  The point is getting to know God better through His word.  I'm not boasting.  I'm not promising to finish reading it in the time allotted, but it is a worthy goal;  and now that I have shared with you,  I am looking forward to it even more.

God bless you in 2013.