Father knows best

This morning, when you woke up, were you happy with the circumstances of your life? Wow, you say...that's a monumental question to ask...who wakes up thinking oh, my life is just wonderful...I'm happy with things exactly as they are...I wouldn't change a thing? No one I know wakes up that way! Most people wake up thinking about all the responsibilities and challenges they will face throughout the day. Many people are burdened by financial pressures, health issues, family problems or other weighty woes. As creatures of the human race, we are naturally predisposed to complain and worry. When we focus on our immediate circumstances, we become narrow minded and often can't see the forest for the trees! 

Some people see things through rose colored glasses and always look for the good in their circumstances...we call those people Optimists. Others tend to find the negative in their lives and we call them Pessimists. Most people tend to have a little of both in their lives and hold a good balance until something sends them teetering toward the other end of the spectrum. Do you ever feel like you're on an emotional seesaw?  Have you ever felt you were stuck in the quicksand of life? 

When we look directly at our circumstances it's easy to become overwhelmed because we realize that we can't always control our situation. Oh, we try to control our lives and many of us work very hard each day to maintain some semblance of order. Like many people, we find security in knowing that things are going according to plan; but in all actuality, we have no control over any aspect of our lives...we only think we do! 

God orders and plans our lives. He knows what will happen every second of every day. He knows what will happen even before it happens! Of course we make plans and we do our best to carry them out, but God orders our steps. He uses both the positive and the negative in our lives to mold and shape us into the one He desires us to be. He uses those things to teach us and cause us to be more like Him.

Charles Spurgeon says it best: "Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, God would have put you there. You are put by him in the most suitable place, and if you had had the picking of your lot half-an-hour afterwards, you would have come back and said, “Lord, choose for me, for I have not chosen the best after all.” You have heard, perhaps, the old fable in Aesop, of the men that complained to Jupiter, of their burdens, and the god in anger bade them every one get rid of his burden, and take the one he would like best. They all came and proposed to do so. There was a man who had a lame leg, and he thought he could do better if he had a blind eye; the man who had a blind eye thought he could do better if he had to bear poverty and not blindness, while the man who was poor thought poverty the worst of ills; he would not mind taking the sickness of the rich man if he could but have his riches. So they all made a change. But the fable saith that within an hour they were all back again, asking that they might have their own burdens, they found the original burden so much lighter than the one that was taken by their own selection. So would you find it. Then be content; you cannot better your lot. Take up your cross; you could not have a better trial than you have got; it is the best for you; it sifts you the most; it will do you the most good, and prove the most effective means of making you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God." 

 So tomorrow, when you wake up, no matter what your circumstances are at that very moment, know that God has purposely allowed you to be right where you are experiencing exactly what you are experiencing for a good reason. God's timing is always perfect. He knows what is best for us. He knows what we need and when we need it. He is the giver of good and perfect gifts! He is the lover of our souls! He wants only the best for us because He loves us with an everlasting love. Do you believe that God, our Heavenly Father, knows what's best for your life? He does! After all, He created you exactly as He designed you to be...complete and lacking nothing in His love. Aren't you glad that we have a Father who knows what's best for us? When we realize that we can look at things from His perspective, we see things in a whole new light. We can then learn to accept both the bad and the good things He allows into our lives knowing that He has a reason for them. Let Him teach you to see things from His point of view - you'll gain a whole new perspective on your life!

Why bother blogging anyway???

Why bother blogging anyway? Those were the words that Satan placed in my mind this morning. I know it was him because I've learned to distinguish his voice over the years. He's the one who always tries to make me feel unworthy of God's love...the one who lies and deceives...the one who worms his way into my life through tiny cracks in my armor. Usually, I don't give much credence to what he says...usually I call him out and shut him down immediately...but today, I listened to that ugly whisper in my spirit and almost let it's gnarly roots take hold. The more and more I thought about it, I came across some pretty good reasons to continue blogging and here they are:

1. Jesus has done an undeniable work in my life. 
Just like the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well, my life has been radically changed by Jesus. Since my life has been so radically changed, I can't help but share that joy with those I come in contact with either in person or through my blog. My stories of faith are real and they need to be told. If even one of my stories helps someone else, then I know God receives the glory. Therefore, I will tell it.

 2. God calls all of us to go into all the world and preach the gospel of Christ (Matthew 28:19). 
Who says that blogging can't be a ministry? Being raw and real is what most people want, isn't it? It doesn't tell us in the Bible that we have to be perfect Christians before we can go into the world and share Christ with others, all it says is that we are to "GO." If we had to be perfect, I would be the first to tell you that I am not perfect! Perhaps my writing will influence millions around the world or perhaps only one precious soul will be touched...in any event, it will be worth it in the long run! I've determined that since God made my mouth and has transformed my heart to long after Him then He can make the words I write speak to the heart of others. He wants me to tell my story, so I will tell it.

3. Through my life experiences of pain and suffering, I can help comfort others.
I am a firm believer that God allows pain into our lives for a reason. It may be so that we are able to learn and grow from it; or it may be to humble us. Often times, God allows pain and suffering to give us a heart of compassion for others. Learning to comfort others teaches me more about God's love. So if something I write eases the pain of another, then I know God is honored and I will keep writing.

I am not the most eloquent of writers. I hold no degrees in English Grammar or theory. I do speak from my heart and share what I've learned with humility and honesty. I've learned some hard lessons and I've been given an abundance of mercy and grace from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So today I will choose to squash those lies from the pit of hell that tell me I'm "not good enough"...the lies that scream "no one reads your blog anyway!" I will choose to keep on telling my story. I will choose to keep on writing and I will choose to trust God for all the rest. After all, He is my sufficiency and He supplies everything I need. (Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.")

Drifting away

When I was growing up, summers were always my favorite time of the year because it meant that we'd be going to the beach! Every June or July, we'd load up the old station wagon and head to the beach. My brother, sister, and I were so excited we could hardly stand it! We loved playing in the sand building castles and chasing crabs, but we loved being in the water more than anything.

There's one summer that I'll never forget. After a long, hot ride to Florida, we finally arrived at our hotel. We unloaded the car and soon were donning our new bathing suits. We could hardly wait to get to the beach. Although my father was tired and would have loved to have spent the rest of the day inside the hotel room resting; he agreed to take us down to the beach. After driving a short distance, he slowly parked on the sand.

My brother, sister, and I had new inflatable rubber floats, a rare treat for us that year. My mother went down the beach to spread out a blanket and Daddy began the daunting task of blowing up each of our  floats. My sister was the first to receive her float. She was so proud of it and hugged it to her chest. My father began blowing up the next one and out of the corner of his eye, he watched my sister running toward the water. Our parents had warned us to wait until they were ready to get in the water with us, but a few minutes later,  my sister had somehow managed to get her float into the water and was sitting proudly on top of it. My brother and I were dumbfounded and jealous at the same time. We wanted Daddy to hurry and get our floats blown up so we could get in the water too.

I don't remember who saw it first, me or my brother, but one of us screamed that my sister was going out too far into the ocean. Although we didn't know it at the time, we learned later that she had been caught in an undertow. The current was whisking her rapidly out toward the horizon. The sheer fear that washed over my father's face is forever etched in my memory. In a split second, he was racing toward the water and diving in. My father did not know how to swim, but on that day, he dog paddled with lightning speed and managed to get to my sister's float just in the nick of time.

When they reached the shore, my sister was bawling and my father was as white as a sheet. The commotion had drawn quite a crowd of onlookers. As we all gathered around my sister, we were silent realizing that this day could have ended quite differently.

The undertow had taken my sister several hundred yards out into the water. To this day, I still don't know how my father got to her before she'd fallen off the float and drowned. It had to have been purely by the grace of God that she was saved especially since my father didn't know how to swim. Thinking about that day made me realize that we are often in a hurry to run ahead of God, choosing our own way, instead of listening to His loving guidance. We, in our selfish ways, want to do things when we want to do them and how we want to do them. Often times, we find ourselves thinking that everything is okay even when we've been warned not to do something; but then, we find ourselves floating out to sea with no rescue in sight. We are suddenly drifting toward disaster. We get caught in the undertows of life...the powerful undertow of lust or temptation, the relentless tug of materialism, the undertow of social acceptance...there are so many currents out there that can carry us in dangerous directions. There are undercurrents of false doctrines and all kinds of teachings that don't line up with the Word of God. These are some of the most dangerous of all.

Do you ever find yourself drifting? Do temptations often overwhelm you? When you find yourself aimlessly drifting, remember to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus! He is the anchor that will keep you tethered and safe from raging tides. Ephesians 4:14 says "We will no longer be babies in the faith. We won't be like ships tossed around by the waves. We won't be blown here and there by every new teaching. We won't be blown around by the cleverness and tricks of people who try to hide their evil plans." 

It's so important to know the truth of God's Word. It is a compass to guide you in every situation. Don't run ahead of God and try to do things in your own strength. Let Him navigate you through the rough and murky waters of life.  Don't be tempted to climb up on the float of your own wisdom for you may soon find yourself drifting out to sea.

Got questions?

Retirement. Most people dream of the day they can stop working and enjoy their lives by doing whatever they choose, whenever they choose; but retirement brings huge changes to the lives of people who have found security in their daily routines. I speak from experience. I never dreamed that I would retire so early in life but, through unexpected circumstances, that's exactly what happened to me. The first few weeks were exciting! I was free at last! Then the months began to follow and the excitement wore off as all my family and friends continued to work. I found myself often alone and lonely during the day...and that's when the questions began to creep in. Did I do the right thing in leaving my job? Could we make it on one income? Should I volunteer somewhere? Why do I feel so useless? What am I supposed to be doing with my life right now??? Silly questions to some but they were important to me.

Those questions also brought about doubt. Satan began to tantalize me with the fear of the "what ifs." What if your husband gets injured on the job and can no longer work? What if he dies suddenly? What if you're left all alone with your family so far away from you? What will you do then? How will you survive? What if the bills mount and you're unable to pay them?

People all over the world have questions. What about those mothers whose babies are born prematurely? Through tear filled eyes, they watch their tiny infants hooked up to machines that breathe life into them. They sit beside their isolettes day in and day out waiting for the word that they can take their babies home. They wonder day to day if their child is going to survive or if the next breath will be their last. Their souls cry out in deep agony, why??? What about the young woman who is suddenly thrust into widowhood when her brave soldier is killed in action? I'm sure she has many questions for God. What about the single parent who struggles to make ends meet...to feed a family of four and wonders where their next meal is coming from when there's no more money left in the bank account? What about the Olympic athlete who suffers a tragic injury that totally shatters his career in the blink of an eye? So many questions but God in His great mercy doesn't condemn us for the asking. 

Does God get angry when we ask Him questions? No! Look at Job...Job asked some pretty tough questions of God. He even asked God why He didn't let him die at birth! Can you imagine asking God something so bold and blatant? I would be scared to death that He'd send a huge bolt of lightening to strike me down! But God didn't do that with Job. He allowed him to ask as many questions as he wanted to ask.  God remained silent and let Job fire away. Did God answer each of Job's questions? Not really. But what He did do is tell Job that He was God and Job was not!

If God had answered each of Job's questions, do you think Job would have been able to wrap his head around the answers? Sometimes it's better for us not to know God's plan for us. That's how He teaches us to trust Him and have faith in Him. We're always going to have questions because we're human and I think God understands that, afterall...He created us!

In the book of Romans, Paul gives us an answer that we can hold on to when he says "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)! ³⁴ For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has understood His thoughts, or who has [ever] been His counselor? ³⁵ Or who has first given God anything that he might be paid back or that he could claim a recompense? ³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him.] To Him be glory forever!"

In other words, God is God and we are not. With that being said, we will continue to have questions. He knows we will want to know the answers. Sometimes He will choose to give us the answers but most times He will not. We must learn to rest in the fact that He is holy and just. He knows what is best for us. He knows what we need and when we need it. He is in control. 

Will I still have questions for God? You'd better believe it! Will I be afraid to ask some of those questions? Probably...but, I know God won't condemn me for asking. He is loving and patient and understanding...just the way any Father should be. I am thankful that He expects me to be an inquisitive child even though I'm rapidly approaching 60. God is the same as He was yesterday, the same as He will be today, and the same as He will be tomorrow. If He didn't throw lightening bolts at Job, then He won't throw them at me either! So go ahead and ask the hard questions, it's okay! God is on your side. He understands and He already knows what you're going to ask anyway. After all, He IS God.  

Jesus sticking out all over

The greatest compliment I have ever received was from a dear friend who told me one day that she saw "Jesus sticking out all over me." At first I wondered what she was talking about and the puzzled look on my face must have led her to explain herself. She told me that I was so full of the love of Christ that it was evident in my eyes, my face, my smile, my actions...just all over me! I thought about it for a few minutes and was extremely happy to know that my love of Christ was flowing from my inside to my outside. As I looked toward my friend, I couldn't help telling her about a story I'd heard as a teen. The story begins with a little boy attending a tent revival. At the end of the service, the preacher gave an invitation telling folks they needed to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. The little boy walked down the aisle toward the preacher and when he got close, the preacher bent down to speak to the boy. "Did you ask Jesus to come into your heart tonight, son?" The little boy began shifting back and forth shuffling his feet as he looked toward the ground. “Well, I’d like to,” the boy said,"but I got to figurin’….I’m so little and Jesus is so big – He’s gonna stick out all over!” Smiling at the congregation, the preacher said, "that's the point son, that's the point!"

Most people have heard Christians talk about asking Jesus to come into your heart. It's a simple way to help others understand the concept of salvation. When someone does accept Christ as the Lord of their lives, Jesus immediately comes to dwell within them. Jesus said, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20) In other places in scripture we learn that His Holy Spirit is within each believer (John 14:17) and His word is to fill our hearts and our minds (Luke 8:15, Psalm 119:11). With all that Jesus in us, He should be oozing from our very pores!

So why don't we see Jesus coming out of all the believers we know? Don’t get me wrong, I do know some people that seem to ooze Jesus on a daily basis. Most of the Christians I personally know don't. Why is that? What gets in the way and how can we change it? It seems to me that we have prioritized the things of the world and put them over the things of the Lord. That greatly hinders the flow of Christ in our lives.1 John 2:15-16 he says this, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions–is not from the Father but is from the world.”

In the Bible, the apostle John warned Christians that many who claim Christ are not really His followers. He admonished them to be ready to examine their faith to see whether or not it was genuine. He wanted them to understand that Christ followers show evidence of their faith in the way they lived. He explained that we are to love God the Father and His Son, Jesus, more than we love the world.

Often times, we care more about what people think of us than what God thinks of us. We are quick to cover our own mistakes and slow to defend what others see as mistakes on God’s part. We are slow to forgive others even though we've been greatly forgiven ourselves. For many of us, the only thing that's coming out all over us is pride and selfish desires.

My number one desire is that Jesus would continually flow out of me. I want others to see how grateful I am for all He's done in my life. I want His love to flow out of me like an endless river. I want my words, my deeds, my actions to reflect Jesus and Him alone. In fact, I'd prefer if others would only see Jesus and not even see me.

Oh look! What's that I see? Is that Jesus sticking out all over you too? If He's filled you completely with His love, His mercy, and His grace, it can't help but leak out of you! Don't let your pride get in the way and block the flow...let others see Jesus in you today!

Are there "high places" in your life?

During Bible times, high places were usually natural elevations in land such as hills or mountains, but sometimes they were man-made places such as tall towers or buildings. These were places where people worshiped or made sacrifices. Most prophets worshiped the one and only True and Living God atop these mountains or hills. The Canaanite "high places" were notorious for pagan worship where pagan idols were worshiped and wicked practices often occurred. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they were commanded by God not only to have nothing to do with high places, but to destroy them because they would be corrupted by their presence - a command that was largely disobeyed, to their regret.


  As they were about to enter the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, God instructed the Israelites to demolish the idolatry in the land:

"And The Lord said to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, "Say to the people of Israel, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it." (Numbers 33:50-53 RSV)

Only two kings in Israel and Judah's history followed God's command to tear down the pagan high places of sacrifice. What was it that motivated them to carry out God's order when so many of their predecessors and successors did not? What can we learn from their example in order to tear down our own spiritual high places in our hearts?

If you're at all familiar with the history of Israel and Judah, then you probably know that most of the rulers were pretty ruthless.The good rulers were small in number. They tried desperately during their reign to reverse the evil their predecessors had introduced to their kingdom. They smashed idols and killed false prophets. They renovated God's temple and reintroduced true worship to the people.
Of the 39 rulers in Israel and Judah after the time of Solomon, only eight of them (all exclusively from Judah) attempted to make things right. Only eight saw the depravity around them and decided to do anything about it. And in the books of 1 and 2 Kings, only eight kings are described as "doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord."

But those kings had failures too. The overwhelming majority of Judah's eight righteous kings have their histories tarnished by one common shortcoming: They failed to take down the high places. Before entering Canaan, the Israelites were commanded to "utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things" (Deuteronomy:12:2-4


). Instead of obeying this command, the Israelites adopted these pagan high places as additional centers for worship.

Some of them were honest attempts to serve God, but they were on man's terms. God mentioned only one location where He wanted His people to make sacrifices and that was in His tabernacle. (Leviticus:1:2-3

). The Israelites' way of responding was to continue to use the high places. It was as if they were saying, "Okay, but...what about here too?" God had spoken! He had issued a decree! His people broke it by choosing to continue worshiping at the high places. Their disobedience resulted in sin.

We aren't told why six of the eight righteous kings of Judah left the high places standing. Perhaps they didn't see them as a serious problem. Maybe they were exhausted from the effort of eradicating the other forms of sin rampant in their country and decided not to bother with the high places.
Whatever their reasons, we can look at the recorded history and learn that stopping short of destroying the high places was not enough in God's eyes. Their stories are all tarnished with what equates to, "They did what was right before God, except..."

So what does this mean for us? We're not kings and we don't have the ability to tear down the "high places" of our world today. Did God make a point of recording this fault of the kings for no reason at all? I think not! God tells His children, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, [which] is in you, [which] you have from God, and you are not your own" (1 Corinthians:6:19). As God's temple, it is our duty to stay wholly dedicated to Him and not allow ourselves to build any spiritual high places in our hearts.

The Israelites fell prey to the idea that they could serve God through any means they wanted -in any way they wanted—that they could serve Him along with other gods or in locations of their own choosing. So they went to the high places, with "every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes" (Deuteronomy:12:8). Without continued vigilance on our parts, we, too, can fall prey to that idea.

What high places do you have in your heart? Take a close look. What altars have you set up there, and what gods are you serving at those altars? Maybe you pay homage to money and possessions...Maybe you've chosen to set yourself up as an idol, allowing God to only touch certain areas of your life...And what ways do you worship God that detract from how He wants to be worshiped? Maybe you've fallen into vain repetition in your prayer life or present your works to Him as if they are earning you your salvation.

The only two kings in history to follow God's command to tear down the high places left us an example to follow for dealing with our own spiritual high places. Hezekiah, the first of the two, made such an impact that the Bible records, "After him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him" (2 Kings:18:5). Hezekiah "removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent" (2 Kings:18:4). Why? What prompted him to do this, when the kings who had come before had fallen short?
To Hezekiah, nothing mattered more than God and His commandments: "He trusted in the Lord God of Israel...[He] held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him but kept His commandments" (2 Kings:18:5-6

). So when he saw the high places standing in defiance of that same God, the only logical action was to tear them to pieces. What matters most to you?

Many years later, Hezekiah's great-grandson, Josiah, would take the throne. He found that those before him had rebuilt the high places and reintroduced Israel to idolatry. How did he respond? He "made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul" (2 Kings:23:3). Josiah's priorities were clear. God came first, and Josiah devoted himself to following Him. His whirlwind campaign to rid the land of all things pagan (see 2 Kings:23:4-25





















) was a natural consequence of devoting himself to God. 

What are you devoted to? Seek out every obstacle that stands between you and God—and when you find them, follow the example of Hezekiah and Josiah. Smash them to pieces. Tear them down. Grind them to dust. Obliterate every trace of all opposition to God, every speck of resistance.

Spiritual high places are much harder to destroy than their physical counterparts. We can't destroy them on our own, but only through turning to God. By prayer, fasting, Bible study and meditation can we expect to tear down what separates us from Him. For "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians:10:4-5

). Don't let those high places remain in your life. It's time to start tearing down those walls!

Hope for a hurting heart

Pain. No one likes it. Pain can be a small, nagging feeling or it can be a deep, throbbing sensation that consumes our entire being. Which is worse, physical pain or emotional pain? That's a hard question to answer since physical pain can often be measured by degrees. Physical pain is usually on the outside of our bodies and we can learn to ignore it or distract ourselves from focusing on it. Physical pain can be calmed by medication or other remedies...but emotional pain, that's a different story.

Emotional pain is an "inside pain." It usually effects the mind, the heart and the emotions. Mental anguish, resentment, bitterness, and even a dryness of the soul can hound us. These pains can often cause us to fall into a spiritual vacuum. While we can describe physical pain to a physician, only the Great Physician can know our inside pain.

God in His great wisdom often allows us to experience inner anguish. When we experience "inside pain," we're forced to deal with the problem because those inside pains bombard our thoughts continually. God can use "inside pain" to capture our attention. He can use it to purify us in ways that physical pain can not.

Have you ever had an argument with a sibling or mate? Have you ever felt that nagging feeling deep in your spirit that you needed to apologize? Often pride kept you from going back and immediately making things right, but God, in His gentle, loving way kept pricking your heart for days.

Inside pain can be purifying if we remember the verse in 2 Corinthians 10:5, "...take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." Those feelings of worry, fear, anxiety or spiritual dryness can all be used to help us learn to deal with the real issue at hand. When we deal with those issues, we're learning to be obedient to Christ.

Maybe you've recently remembered an unkind word spoken against you...maybe a hurtful situation arose between you and someone you love...maybe it's a situation over which you no longer have any control...whatever it is, choose not to carry it alone. Give that situation over to God in prayer. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us that we are to cast ALL our anxiety upon Him because He cares for us.

If the inside pain is the result of an unconfessed sin or unresolved conflict don't wait any longer! Bring that wrong attitude into the light of God's Word. Ask for forgiveness and allow the healing balm of God's love to wash over you. If you are willing to humble yourself, God will accept you with open arms. You'll find that nagging, inside pain melting away. Jesus is the only one who can offer a cleansed heart and pure mind. He doesn't want us to have troubled hearts. He wants us to live in joy and peace.

Examine yourself and see whether the pain you're experiencing is a true physical pain or if it might be an "inside pain." Jesus was acquainted with grief. He understands. He wants to heal you but you have to be willing to do your part, too.

Whatever the reason God's allowing you to go through a painful situation, trust Him that His ways are not our ways. If He's allowed you to travel a painful road right now, maybe it's part of His perfect will to cleanse and purify you making you more Christlike. Remember, He loves you like no other and even times of trial at His hand are for our good. Introspection is a good thing when you're looking inside your own heart and spirit for things that are unpleasing to God. He wants you to experience freedom from the pain of unforgiveness, bitterness and hurt.

This poem may speak to you today:
Lord Jesus, King of Pain,
Thy subject I;
Thy right it is to reign:
Oh, hear my cry,
And bid in me all longings cease
Save for Thy holy will's increase.
Thy right it is to reign
O'er all Thine own;
Then, if Thy love send pain,
Find there Thy throne,
And Help me bear it unto Thee,
Who didst bear death and hell for me.
Lord Jesus, King of pain,
My heart's Adored
Teach me eternal gain
Is Love's reward
In Thee I hide me; hold me still
Till pain work all Thy perfect will.
~William Bathurst