Tag Archives: Faith

Posted on

Trouble, Anguish and Understanding Pt. 3

Anguish Within Mixed With Delight

by

Master's Courage and Calm

“Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight.  Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.”  Psalm 119:143-144

Anguish is the inward response to trouble.  For those with a balanced perspective, anguish is reserved for extreme circumstances.  The Hebrew word used is derived from the word for a narrow place.  Therefore, in this context, the connotation is a place of confinement or disability.  That’s exactly what anguish does to us mentally; it makes us feel hemmed in and incapacitated.  It is both suffocating and immobilizing.  Even so, the writer of Psalm 119 expresses delight in God’s commands when faced with trials.  While at first blush it may seem odd to experience both anguish and delight in the same circumstance, as Christians, there are several reasons to be delighted in dire situations.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Trouble, Anguish and Understanding Pt. 2

Trouble Without

by

WE CAN BE CERTAIN THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE STRENGTH AND RESOURCES WE NEED TO LIVE THROUGH ANY SITUATION IN LIFE THAT HE ORDAINS. THE WILL OF GOD WILL NEVER TAKE US WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD CANNOT SUSTAIN US. BILLY GRAHAM

“Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.” Psalm 119:143-144

Trouble…it seems like a simple enough word to understand.   However, when looking at definitions from secular sources, those provided were vague and had more to do with how trouble affects our comfort level or convenience rather than anything significant.  In contrast, “Vine’s Bible Dictionary” states it clearly as:  tribulation or affliction.  Trouble comes in many forms.  At times it is the result of a personal attack while at other times it is and “random”/general attack that we’re caught in.  It may be an external threat or an internal one such as mental or physical illness.  The point is that, as those living in a fallen world, we are going to experience trouble throughout our lives from the trivial to the monumental.  We will enjoy a more peaceful existence if we learn to view it as God does and trust that He is ever faithful to care for us.  One of the mental hurdles for us is that from our perspective, God’s care for us appears to be inconsistent.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Trouble, Anguish and Understanding Pt. 1

Give Me Understanding

by

Understanding

“Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight.  Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.”  Psalm 119:143-144

Healthy relationships are built on knowledge, understanding and grace.  Sharing a conversation with a person will, in most cases, allow one to get to know them.   However, that does not necessarily mean that they have any kind of significant relationship…at this point they are, for the most part, acquaintances.    Solid relationships are built when people share their lives.  They celebrate the high points together, comfort at low points and offer aid, wisdom and guidance in the midst of struggles.  Grace covers the gap between knowledge and understanding as well as when there is a need for forgiveness.  Developing a strong relationship takes time and effort but yields a great reward.

Last week I was looking for scripture verses to post on social media and came across Psalm 119:43-44.  Despite having read and sung it many times, this time it struck a nerve.  The natural tendency of any human when faced with trouble that causes anguish is to seek understanding.  The important question is: what kind of understanding?

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Glorious

by

“I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever.  Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.  Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.  On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.   Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness.  They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.”  Psalm 145:1-7

As I was finishing a run recently, I was overcome with the urge to glorify God.  As I pondered His glory, I had to check my soul to make sure it wasn’t merely an emotional high.  After all, it was a beautiful day and I had just completed my first good run in a long time.  Thankfully, while the weather and my mood may have been contributing factors, upon reflection, they were minor ones as  I truly just needed to praise God.  However, my contemplation led me to consider how easy it is to glorify God when the sun is shining and things to seem to be going well, but what about the dark and cloudy days or when times are tough?

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Just Enough

Receiving what we need

by

“The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.”  1 Kings 17:16

The passage above is from the story of Elijah and the widow in Zarephath.  God sent Elijah to this particular widow for provision during a drought.  When he asked for bread, she replied that she only had enough oil and flour to make bread for her and her son one last time and then they expected to die.  Elijah asked her to feed him first promising that her provisions would not be exhausted.  She obeyed and her meager provisions lasted until the rain returned.  (You can read the whole story here. (www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+17%3A7-16&version=NASB)

I think of this story often as it has been associated in my mind with anything that is running out.  About the time I’m tempted to throw out the shampoo bottle or tube of tooth paste that has very little left, I think of this story.  More times than not when I’ve resisted that urge, the bottle, tube or whatever has lasted much longer than I expected.  Case in point, the hair gel that I am currently using has lasted three weeks longer than anticipated.   I trust that the Holy Spirit has made this connection in my mind to remind me that I am dependent on God for all things and that He will supply my needs.  It is subtle but effective.  At times God provides in great way, but most often He provides just enough at just the right time in a subtle fashion.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Cup Half Empty or Half Full?

What do you believe?

by

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.”     Psalm 23:4-5

The past couple of weeks I spent some time with my mother-in-law helping take care of some things around her home.  On the long drive there and back I listened to two sermons from Ligonier Ministries…in fact, I listened to them twice.  The second, “All Scripture is Profitable” (https://www.ligonier.org/blog/believing-god-new-teaching-series-rc-sproul-jr/) was by R. C. Sproul, Jr. which brought up the concept of whether our cup is half full or half empty.  As this is a subject close to my heart, I spent a fair amount of time on the trip considering this topic.  Like the phrase “cup half empty or half full”, the word cup in scripture has a figurative meaning that refers to one’s lot in life whether sorrowful (half empty) or joyous (half full).  Like many, if I ponder my life without God, I would have to conclude that it is half empty for I have accumulated 60 plus years of losses, trials and ordeals.  However, when I consider my life’s experiences in light of God’s involvement, I see a different outcome.  What was half empty becomes half full by God’s grace.  Let me walk through a few “for instances”.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Problematic Assumptions

by

“But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.   When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.   But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.”  Acts 28:3-6

My wife and I were recently on vacation and decided to stop for dessert after while walking back to our hotel from a craft fair.  The dinner rush had passed, but there were still a few stragglers entering the restaurant for a meal.   After being seated, we waited an unusually long time without being acknowledged by a server…long enough that the couple in the next booth who had been seated after us had already received their drinks.  Slightly irritated at the lack of service, I suggested that if we weren’t acknowledged in the next five minutes, we should just go back to the hotel.  Our waitress finally showed up just before we were ready to leave and seemed less than enthusiastic about serving us.  However, she apologized and explained that a tourist had come out of the ladies’ room and hit our server’s nose with her elbow causing intense pain.  What we had assumed to be poor service was in actuality something entirely different.  Having heard the explanation, our demeanor quickly changed from frustration to concern.  That’s the problem with assumptions, just because we have a little information, doesn’t mean that we know the truth of the matter.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Love and Grief

by

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

This was not the topic that I originally intended for this week’s post, but given a few divinely inspired events, my plan was changed.  As is my habit, I started the day with the “verse of the day” emails from Bible Gateway and KLove. The one from Bible Gateway was a portion of Psalm 139.  It is a favorite of mine for many reasons; one of those is that it was the last passage my parents read together on the eve of my mother’s death.  That circumstance coupled with the quote that I posted this week beckoned me to consider love and grief.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Forty Year Stretch

Marriage, Commitment, Love and God

by

“Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.  Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What will man do to me?’  Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”    Hebrews 13:4-7 

This past weekend Marie and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.  While I would like to say that it was an entirely blissful 40 years, that would not be a true statement for two reasons.  We are both fallible humans still in the process of sanctification and there have been trials that have tested our faith in each other and our God.  However, what I am able to declare as true is that those 40 years have been blessed and I would, therefore, like to share a bit of our walk with you.

If you read from the beginning of Hebrews 13, you will see that Paul is asserting a list of essential behaviors for the body of Christ; they are in essence keys to living well.  Honoring marriage is just one of them.  However, if you look beyond the issues themselves, you see a few common denominators that allow for success in these areas. 

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Hope Defined

by

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  (Hebrews 10:23)

Hope is an integral part of our faith, but what is it really?    The world tells us that hope is a feeling or a desire.   That connotation hardly works in this passage.  How can one hold fast to a feeling or a desire?  Just because we have a feeling something will happen or we desire it does not make it a certainty.  The word that Paul uses in this passage is really defined as “favorable and confident expectation”.

Continue Reading »