Well, where has the time gone? Today is the end of August. I remember last year during this time, Kansas had just gotten out of the heat, fall was coming, people were outside rejoicing and my dad was still here. He was leaving for New York again. It would be his last trip and he was filled with so much excitement. We should yearn for each day to come. I know there are troubles but within each day their are blessings. Like today, the flood waters in Louisiana and Mississippi are very bad. People have already been reported dead and homes have been destroyed. Nature can do a lot of damage. Things change and we change with them.
Today is a day that the Lord hath made! I don't know what you're facing today but I know that the Lord is with you. You might be a victim of the hurricane or you might be having marital problems, either way the Lord is with you and is before you. I'm not saying that today will not hold challenges, every day does but let's look at the blessings bestowed on us before we look at the loss. It's easier to look at the loss and not see the blessing. I've done it myself and I bet you have too. But like the seasons changing, we can find something new in each day to praise the Lord.
Last year, I became very close to one of my neighbors. I have talked about her several times on this blog. She has been losing hair for over a year and a half. The doctors made her feel as if she was a lunatic, they falsified records and basically put her down so bad that she had nowhere to go. She found a wonderful, Christian doctor but he was stumped with her disease and told her so. At least he was honest! In February of this year, she made an appointment at the Mayo clinic. Her appointment time is today. Months and months she has sought answers and today could be the day she finds the cure. This woman has been up, down and all around. She has felt blessed and an hour later felt like Job. It has been a tremendous struggle, all of it spiritual, and none of it, could I or any doctor in Kansas fix. So, as I sit here and write, I can think of the many blessings God has bestowed on her. She, however, just started seeing them and of course, depending on what these doctors say, she may need to look up once again.
When she left this week, I told her that her hope had to be on Jesus and not man. Man has failed her so many times that she honestly thought they might think she was crazy. She can tell you how many hair strands she's lost in a day, how long this trial has lasted, down to the hour and how many times she has weeped for God to heal her. And every day, I encourage her to look at one blessing, one act of kindness, on thing that made her smile. Trials are not easy, especially when Christ is stretching you. It takes perseverance, prayer and a will that aligns with His to get through. She has moments when she wishes she could die and moments that she knows He's with her. Have you struggled like that? If you have then you know exactly where she is.
I hope today is the day God reveals and heals. It's up to Him! I have faith that He will restore her and that in the stretching, she has found Him deeply. I believe that when we are stretched to our max, God will use us to bring His people to Him and I know that this trial was for His glory. Hard to tell your friend that, though. She wants it to be over and I want it to be over for her too. But like everything in this life, we must wait on the Lord.
So, if you're like my friend or perhaps a victim of the hurricane, you know what it's like to be on an island hoping for Christ to save you. I'm not a profit so I can't predict when that will occur but I believe in Jesus and when He decides to change your circumstances they will change. How do I know? Well, I've been there more times than I can count and every time my faith has grown and my relationship has gotten stronger. At the time, I was stressed, stretched, and often, depressed but every time I looked up, I saw Jesus and that's what we must always do. Look up and see the glory of our Lord!
My last note of today is this, don't give up! Don't let the evil of this world take your joy and if you are in a challenging time, pray for friends that will support you and lift you up. God will provide for you just like He did for the Israelites. He knows what your needs are before you do and He will lift you on eagles wings. To all those hurting out there, I know life seems like it's not worth living, but choose to live anyway. You have a purpose and Christ has chosen you today! He's with you and He's surrounding you with love, seek Him first and you will see the kingdom! May God bless you today wherever you are and comfort you in your hour of need.
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Psalm 118:24 NKJV:
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
My prayer today:
O, Lord, Your people need You today! Please protect and keep them. Show them Your love and guide them through the changes they are facing. We know that our will must align with Your will, so we call upon You today and surrender all to You. Open our hearts to You and make us Yours. We don't always understand what You're doing or why the healing takes so long, but You know what's best for us. So, we come before You asking for our manna today! Help us to see the blessings You have bestowed on our lives and give us clarity in our journey. I know that our thoughts are not Your thoughts but help us to align ours with Yours. There is nothing on earth more precious than You! We bow down before You, women that proclaim their Savior! Raise us up and show us our way, guide us through the waters of life and show us Your glory. We desire to see You in all things. Grant us mercy and please Lord, don't leave us. We are Yours to hold, Yours to mold, and Yours to bless. Go before us Lord and be with us always. In Jesus name, AMEN
Until tomorrow...
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