Living Life for Christ Alone

  When suffering grows long… Pretense is cast away and the true colors of our faith are revealed. Questions surface, doubts speak, and endurance wears thin.  This is when we are purified by fire. How will we answer the questions?  How will we fight the doubts?  How will we keep going through the suffering when the endurance all but disappears?  The answer is simple. So simple in fact, that we easily overlook it.  We can’t. Our own resources are not enough to pull us through. And when we finally embrace that fact, we open ourselves up to One greater than our weakness.  He steps amid the rubble of our broken lives, sees the crushed self-will, the shredded self-confidence, the sense that all control is lost, and finds us in a place where He can do something with us.  For before the long season of suffering began, though we thought we had built up something He could use, He saw how we were trying to mix self in with His power. And He also saw the grea...

"'Has love no power to save apart from suffering? Why must love suffer at all, and why, above all else, must love suffer long?' "'It is because the very essence of love is oneness,' said the King.  "'That is why love must suffer. If the beloved creatures whom the Creator created for love's sake must suffer, then the oneness of love makes it impossible for Him to allow them to suffer anything which He is not willing to suffer with them.'"   (Mountains of Spices, Hannah Hurnard) //   "...The very essence of love is oneness..." This phrase has echoed in my mind many times this week.  It is impossible for our God to let us suffer without suffering with us. It is impossible for trials and pressures to squeeze us on every side without Him feeling those trials and pressures too.  And yet, how often do I try to handle them on my own?  Standing up under pressure without supernatural strength holding you can only last so long.  My own sou...

 "Blessed be... the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation..." -2 Corinthians 1:3-4 All  leaves nothing out.  Perhaps my greatest tribulation at the moment is a mere backache. Or perhaps the time comes when the backache seems like nothing next to extreme loss.  Perhaps the tribulation is a battle in the mind- perplexities, emotions that pull all different directions, confusing thoughts, lies... Or perhaps it is outward circumstances that have you confused.  Perhaps it's extreme difficulty. But more often than not, our tribulations come in small packages that on the outside don't appear very threatening, until we find ourselves overwhelmed afresh with our own inability to take another step.  Whatever the tribulation may be, in every one of them, Jesus draws near in order to comfort. Never will He speak words of condemnation to the soul in distress. His aim is to encourage -which is to infuse with courage - so tha...

I often write to my soul in psalm-style, acknowledging the feelings and struggles that are there, but then proceeding to counsel my soul with truth. It is he or she who "speaks the truth in his [or her] heart" that is given a clearer glimpse of God. (Psalm 15).  With that being said, I will be posting on here some examples of what that looks like for me in hopes that they will encourage you that it is indeed possible to have a soul-full of feelings and a day-full of less-than-ideal circumstances and still walk victoriously because of who we are in Christ and where we stand before God.  I penned the one below this morning as I was processing through some challenges that I am going through lately.... Hope it lifts your gaze upward as it did mine!  “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.” -Isaiah 45: 3   Oh soul, why do you struggle against being l...

"How can I rest in You and be at peace when storms keep coming my way, God? It seems like every time I settle down another one comes and I'm on my feet again." That question was one that I asked God this morning. Sometimes, I pull out my journal and instead of closing my eyes to pray, I write a prayer to God. Mainly because it is so hard to find the words when I'm just talking. At the end of the prayer, I closed the journal, opened my bible to Jeremiah and began to read. I began in chapter 16 and read through to 17. A passage grabbed my attention that I had underlined in purple and gold on one or two of my previous read-through's.

Well hello there, dear readers! After several months of travelling, moving out of our old home, renovating another one, and then finally moving into our new house (this past weekend), I finally have found some time to write. :) Lately God has been reminding me again and again of His promise that "ALL things work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) ...Not just some things, ALL things. "Do you believe that, Sandie?" He gently asks me.

"Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah." Psalm 84:4 Time of prayer was had, and we get up from our knees, praising God. Lifting high His name. We leave the closet, leave the place where secrets where whispered, grace was given, love was received -we leave it and forget it, almost as though it didn't happen- and we go about our business, forgetting the precious moments we had with the Savior. And then, clouds roll over our Christian life, thunder rumbles, lightning strikes, we are dealt hatred by those we love, unkind words from those we cherish. People turn on us. We lose our most precious belongings to tragedies. Trials come that were completely unexpected. Things don't go our way. ...And what do we do? What is the first thing we run to?

Be still in God's presence. When life gets too hard to understand.... Look to the One who understands all things. When it seems too complicated to figure out.... Be still in the presence of the One who knows the future and is prepared to carry you through it. When things happen you hadn't counted on... Bask in the presence of Him who planned out your life from the beginning. When your heart seems broken beyond repair... Take it to the One who heals the brokenhearted. When loss seems too great to handle.... Go to the One who always holds you in His arms and let Him hold you close to His heart. When trials come and you feel you have no place to turn.... Turn to the One who is always there for you. He said He would never leave you.  Let Him show you the way. When your world falls apart.... Give your world to the One who is never shaken and let Him be your world. In HIS presence there is peace. In HIS presence there are answers. In HIS presence...

Trust God... When the way is rough, trust Him. When your world is falling apart, trust Him. When all forsake you, trust Him. When you lose the ones you love, trust Him. When you're hurt by those closest to you, trust Him. When life is confusing, trust Him. When life's trials seem to overwhelm you, trust Him. When storms threaten to block your view of Him, trust Him. When your next step is uncertain, trust Him. When you feel lost and confused, trust Him. When life is up or down -all the time, trust Him and only Him. He promised He will never leave you! He promised His love for you will never fail! He said He cares for you and delights in every detail of your life! He firmly holds you in His hand! He planned out your whole life before the foundations of the earth were built! He gave you every spiritual blessing, dear child of God! He calls Himself your Father and you, dear Christian, His child! He loves you with an everlasting love and His eyes are always on...