Are You Tired of Chasing Pretty Rainbows?

      Years ago a beautiful song came out that really spoke to my heart because I tend to worry and get anxious over things.  Can you relate?  Well, the words have remained in my memory and came back to me the other day when I was stewing over something I cannot change.  Here are the words to this song:

       "Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows?  Are you tired of spinning round and round?  Wrap up     all  the shattered dreams of your life and at the feet of Jesus ay them down.  Give them all, Give them all, give them all to Jesus shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys...Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus, and He will turn your sorrow into joy.  He never said you would only see  sunshine. He never said there would be no rain.  He only promised us a heart full of singing...that's the very thing that once brought pain.  Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys.  Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus and He will turn your sorrow into joy.  Give them all to Jesus and at the feet of Jesus lay them down."   

     In the lyrics, the message is so clear just like the Lord's words to us in Scripture.  We are to bring all our concerns to Him for He cares for us.  The Amplified Version explains I Peter 5:7 in this manner:  "...casting all your cares {all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all } on Him, for He cares about you {with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully}."  Likewise, Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us to turn to prayer and petition with a thankful heart to God.  He will give us peace in whatever situation is causing us heartache.  Yet we so often neglect to do this very simply thing.

       

     Very often, we turn to a friend, a family member or the nearest ear to complain about how hurt we feel over something someone did or said.  They may have some ideas or suggestions, but we are still left with the question of how to handle things as well as that heavy feeling in our heart.  One thing they  cannot offer us the peace which God alone can give to us.   So why don't we run to Him first?  Let me suggest a couple of reasons why we don't lay our burden down.

     

     First, we could have an issue with pride.  We think we can handle the hurt or burden all by ourselves, so we go on "chasing that rainbow" even though we can never reach it on our own.  Or it could be that we give the burden to the Lord and then, snatch it back if He doesn't answer us fast enough.  Then there is the possibility that we are expecting God to radically change the other person or situation to suit us instead of thinking that God might want to change us.  In fact, God might even want us to go and ask forgiveness of someone and that is always hard to do.  There are many reasons we often delay taking our burdens to the Lord, but we do so to our own detriment.  He not only offers us peace but the strength to go on. And the best part is that He goes with us.

     

     Jesus never told us that life would be perfect or that all our dreams would come true.  He told us the truth that tribulation would come into our lives in many forms.  Yet, He promised to never leave or forsake us. Rather than fretting and worrying over everything, we need to lay our burdens at His feet. As the song says:  "give them all to Jesus and He will turn your sorrow into joy."  Selah!

                        

If you would like to see the original song done by Evie Tournquist, here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoZsl1NNEC4                                                                                                                       

      

                      

Remembering God's Goodness

     One of the joys of our family get togethers is when we sit around reminiscing about our past vacations. We have had our share of crazy events which at the time were not funny but now we can laugh at them.  This is always a highlight we look forward to and if someone comes in feeling a bit down, they don't leave that way after we have had a few good laughs.

     In much the same way, when we need a boost in our spiritual walk, we need to think about the many ways in which God has been good to us and heard our prayers.  David did this often in his Psalms.  Psalm 143:5-6 and 11 is a cry to God for help and deliverance:  "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.  I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land...Revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble."  From the tone of his words, we know that he has come to ask the Lord for help and deliverance.  While David is asking for assistance, he is not asking for a quick fix but simply, what to do next. The key to his confidence in the Lord is brought up in verse 5 "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works..."  There were many times in David's life when the Lord protected him from King Saul, Goliath of Gath, and even his own Son Absalom.  Plus the history of his people was filled with the great deliverance of God as He led His people through the wilderness and established them in the Promised Land.

     As well as recalling all the mighty deeds which the Lord has done for both David and his people, he stops to muse or think about the work of God's hands.  Creation is a beautiful thing to consider.  I find when I get down that taking a walk and looking at the birds, flowers and all the wonderful things our God has made always lifts my heart.  We all need to take time to meditate on the faithfulness, righteousness and the unchanging character of God.  Because of this, we can fully trust Him no matter what situation we face.

     David strengthens himself by recalling the past which then gives him a greater trust in God for the future.  He certainly knew this principle from the instructions given to the people in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." God's Word from Old Testament through our New Testament is to be pondered on by all who believe so that, like David, we can recall the goodness of God when difficulties come our way.

     After reading through this Psalm and thinking especially about the verses above, I wrote out a list of blessings where God had been faithful to me in prayer when I had called upon His name.  As I read through it, I marveled at how God has guided and walked with me and our family through the years.  I couldn't help but smile and thank Him.  It was very much like the joy that comes during our family get togethers.  Let us all follow David's example of remembering God's goodness to us in all the circumstances of our life.  He doesn't change and we can count on Him each day in good times and bad.  May your day be richly blessed in His goodness!  Selah!

The God of All Comfort

      When we think we are having a bad day, we need to consider another man who has gone through some pretty tough times.  Read this description of what he endured.  "Are you servants of Christ?  I am a better one - I am talking like a madman - with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.  Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes but one.  Three times I was beaten with rods.  Once I was stoned.  Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).  And we thought we were having a bad day?  Just reading through this is overwhelming.  Yet the Apostle Paul endured all these things for the sake of Christ.       

     In Chapter 1 of this letter, verses 3-5, Paul writes:  "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which  we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too." This has been one of my favorite verses given to me at a very dark time in my life when I, too, was going through some difficulties. This passage gave me comfort and encouragement to keep on going.  Later I saw that what I had gone through was something God would use so that I could comfort others who were struggling in like manner.

     This portion of Paul's letter to the Corinthians was to remind the readers that Jesus told us that we would face trials and tribulations in this life.  He spoke these words of comfort, "But take heart, I have overcome the world"(John16:33c).  Paul wanted the Church in Corinth to be aware that while afflictions and hardships are part of the Christian's walk, they also help us to grow.  As God comforts us, we will be able to comfort others going through a similar difficulty.  We also develop a heart of compassion for others as well.

     When my Great Aunt Micky was going through breast cancer many years ago, I remember my mother (who worked at the same hospital where she was a patient) telling me that every day Great Aunt Micky would go visit other cancer patients to cheer them up and make them smile.  She felt like this was her opportunity to give them a word of encouragement.  The nurses even remarked about her kind words and visits to others.  Ultimately, she did not win her battle against cancer but she brought a lot of comfort to others.  My Great Aunt said that God had given her comfort and peace and she was just passing it on.

     If today, we feel overwhelmed by our afflictions, problems or difficulties remember that we can run to God who is the God of all comfort.  He will hear our prayers and bring us comfort so that we, in turn, can pass it on to others who need comfort too.  Selah!

P.S. A friend once told me that when I think I have it bad, there is always someone else that has greater troubles than I do. We would all do well to remind ourselves of that daily.

The Power of Prayer

     When we think of prayer, many of us think about the short blessing we say before we eat our food or the goodnight prayer we learned as a child.  However, prayer is so much more than a few words of thanks for our food.  This tool which God has given to us can be as simple as "Lord help me" or as complex as the prayer of praise (The Magnificat) spoken by Mary the mother of Jesus.  Sadly, we do not understand this immense power that is available to all believers, and the best part is all of us can pray.

 

   Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, the way is open to communicating directly with God our Father as believers. This means we can call upon the LORD at any time over any concern. The problem often comes when we don't take everything to God in prayer.  Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6: "...do not be anxious  about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."  Instead of running to someone for a quick answer or trying to work it out ourself, why not turn to our Lord first.  He holds the answers we need.  So the first thing we need to do in learning to wield this weapon of our warfare is to go to God and seek His wisdom.

     Secondly, we need to have a humble heart as we come before Him.  Jesus told a parable about the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). Both came to the Temple to pray.  The tax collector beat his chest and would not even look up but asked for forgiveness. In another area of the Temple, the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men and especially the tax collector.  Then, he told God how he tithed and fasted. Jesus pointed out that the one who came humbly and repented went home justified.  He concluded with these words:  "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 14b).  Humility of heart is an important part of praying with a right attitude as we bring our requests before the Lord.

     Another characteristic of using this powerful tool is perseverance.  In a recent prayer meeting, we were made aware of story Jesus told of the widow who keeps bringing her request to a judge.  This judge did not fear God or respect people and he kept refusing to act on her behalf.  This did not stop her and she came again and again.  Finally the judge gave in, due to her persistence, and gave her the justice she sought (Luke 18:1-8). Jesus told his disciples this story to point out that we must never give up in prayer. Some answers may come quickly but others take time according to God's providence and will. I learned this lesson myself in our desire to have children.  Due to physical issues, each of our children was what I call answered prayer, and God receives all the glory.

     Finally, God calls us to pray without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17).  "Without ceasing" means to pray continually. It does not show lack of faith to keep bringing a concern before the Lord.  As He puts a person, situation or crisis before us, then, stop and take a moment to lift that up. Short prayers, long ones or in between are all important in God's eyes.  He delights to hear you call upon Him.  Even when we do not know what to say, the Holy Spirit helps us in speaking our hearts to the Lord (Romans 8:26-27).

     In these dark days we are facing when it seems the enemy of our soul is attacking our families, our nation or even our community, we must stand strong in the power of prayer.  It is a weapon that is far more effective than anything created by man for God is Sovereign over all the affairs of men, and we have His ear as believers.  May this encourage you today my friends!  Selah!