This is the Victory...

"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).

It is easy to love Him when the blue is in the sky,
When summer winds are blowing, and we smell the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey His precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley, or over sun-kissed hill.

It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of gray,
That we find it hard to trust Him, and are slower to obey.

It is easy to trust Him when the singing birds have come,
And their canticles are echoed in our heart and in our home;
But 'tis when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.

And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack He will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing--on His promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove Himself sufficient for the needs of every day."

To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hair-breadth for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only lest faith should fail--such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed. 

~George MacDonald

Simply delays.

"I called upon him, but he gave me no answer" (S. of Sol. 5:6).

The Lord, when He hath given great faith, hath been known to try it by long delayings. He has suffered His servants' voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained unmovable, as though it were rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through." Thus have true saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because their prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it so pleased Him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall He not do as He will with His own!
No prayer is lost. Praying breath was never spent in vain. There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things that we count refusals or denials are simply delays. --H. Bonar

Christ sometimes delays His help that He may try our faith and quicken our prayers. The boat may be covered with the waves, and He sleeps on; but He will wake up before it sinks. He sleeps, but He never oversleeps; and there are no "too lates" with Him. --Alexander Maclaren
Be still, sad soul! lift thou no passionate cry, But spread the desert of thy being bare To the full searching of the All-seeing eye; Wait! and through dark misgiving, black despair,

God will come down in pity, and fill the dry Dead place with light, and life, and vernal air. --J. C. Shairp

Singleness & His perfect timing

"Being single is an opportunity to discover who God has made us to be and what He has called us to in this life." ~Eric & Leslie Ludy, When God Writes Your Love Story

Being single has been something I've struggled with for a while. I've struggled with it as I've sat by and watched as one by one of my friends got asked to court and then eventually get married. I've had my own share of tears and I allowed bitterness to harbor in my heart without realizing it. I had asked the Lord, "Why am I still waiting?" but received no answer. I didn't understand why no guy has ever taken a interest in me or even asked me out. I thought there must be something wrong with me. Like any other women, I wanted to be seen and loved for who I am. Whether I am healed of my deafness or not. 

I wanted to be treasured and cherished by only one man for the rest of my life and that man is the one I am to marry.

I have met and liked guys and they liked me but there has been times when I've let my heart deceive myself into believing that a relationship was going to start and then it didn't and all I got was disappointment in the end.

At last, I came to the conclusion that I must be destined to be single. But the truth was, I wasn't completely content in that nor was I trusting God in that area of my life and no wonder that it has caused me to fail every time. I would attempt to start a relationship with a guy but then God was never in the center of it. 

I just re-read the book by Eric and Leslie Ludy, "When God Writes Your Love Story" recently. I had forgotten how good it was and now that I'm older, it has completely changed my perspective. Upon reading it, I felt God tugging at my heart and I knew that I was not allowing Him to have full reign in that area of my life. I knew what I had to do and I didn't want to do it. But I surrendered the pen of my love life to the Lord. I am trusting Him completely and fully to write my beautiful story in His perfect timing. Not mine. 

I also realized something else extremely important. I was not ready then (I am not saying that I am ready now only God knows when). I was not ready to start dating when I thought I was ready. And God knew that! I realized that it goes all the way back to when my mom died nearly five years ago. I was so hurt at the time and lonely that there was no way a guy could fill that void in my heart. Only God could. If He didn't love me so much, He would have let me chase after guys, get their attention, get hurt, and be miserably alone. 

I mean, with all what have happened in the past, if it weren't for those things, I wouldn't be at the place I am at right now in my walk with the Lord. I would not be on the same level of maturity that I am at now. I would have never come to the conclusion that I was not allowing Him to have full reign of authoring my love story. 

If it weren't for all that, I would have never known what God has called me to do in my serving Him through my singleness. I am so thankful for Him protecting me... and for keeping me safe. I've learned that He alone is the One who will never let me down.

Show Love

I read this entry in my devotional book and had to post it... such a good and beautiful reminder for all of us, especially for those who tend to forget sometimes or become absorbed in the everyday living. Showing love, whether it be overflowing or minor, can go a long way for others. I know that because I've experienced it countless times! Give a hug to someone who may need one... write a short note full of love for someone who needs to hear it..

"Put on as the elect of God, kindness" (Col. 3:12).

There is a story of an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. And thus he passed through life lubricating all hard places and making it easier for those who came after him.

People called him eccentric, queer, and cranky; but the old man went steadily on refilling his can of oil when it became empty, and oiled the hard places he found.

There are many lives that creak and grate harshly as they live day by day. Nothing goes right with them. They need lubricating with the oil of gladness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. Have you your own can of oil with you? Be ready with your oil of helpfulness in the early morning to the one nearest you. It may lubricate the whole day for him. The oil, of good cheer to the downhearted one--Oh, how much it may mean! The word of courage to the despairing. Speak it.

Our lives touch others but once, perhaps, on the road of life; and then, mayhap, our ways diverge, never to meet again, The oil of kindness has worn the sharp, hard edges off of many a sin-hardened life and left it soft and pliable and ready for the redeeming grace of the Saviour.

A word spoken pleasantly is a large spot of sunshine on a sad heart. Therefore, "Give others the sunshine, tell Jesus the rest."

"We cannot know the grief
That men may borrow;
We cannot see the souls
Storm-swept by sorrow;
But love can shine upon the way
Today, tomorrow;
Let us be kind.
Upon the wheel of pain so many weary lives are broken,
We live in vain who give no tender token.
Let us be kind."

"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love" (Rom. 12:10)

No doubt about His enduring promise!

Sometimes I ask God 'why' about things like why did He let me become deaf at 18 months old, why did my mom have cancer when she was such a healthy human being, and so forth on. The more I ask why and try to find the answer, the more I am at a loss and I had to let it all go. Now I am simply waiting on Him. I know I will see my mom again soon! Why should I still grieve for her when she's with Jesus rejoicing and dancing? Of course there will always be times when I will miss her terribly and I will always miss her in a way everyday even without thinking about it. 

I was thinking about how a thousand years here on Earth is but one day to God in Heaven and how even days is but a mere minute to Him and that gives me great comfort because that means I will arrive in Heaven just one minute after my mom got there! 

I have no doubt that someday we will understand that God has a reason behind every happening and every no that He gives us through the course of our lives. Yet even in this life, He always make it up to us! When has God ever taken anything from a person without restoring it many times over? It is true that God never touches the heart with a trial without intending to bestow a greater gift or compassionate blessing. The person who knows how to wait has grown to an expectional degree in God's sufficient grace!

"He Worketh"

"He worketh" (Ps. 37:5).

The translation that we find in Young of "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass," reads: "Roll upon Jehovah thy way; trust upon him: and he worketh."

It calls our attention to the immediate action of God when we truly commit, or roll out of our hands into His, the burden of whatever kind it may be; a way of sorrow, of difficulty, of physical need, or of anxiety for the conversion of some dear one.

"He worketh." When? Now. We are so in danger of postponing our expectation of His acceptance of the trust, and His undertaking to accomplish what we ask Him to do, instead of saying as we commit, "He worketh." "He worketh" even now; and praise Him that it is so.

The very expectancy enables the Holy Spirit to do the very thing we have rolled upon Him. It is out of our reach. We are not trying to do it any more. "He worketh!"

Let us take the comfort out of it and not put our hands on it again. Oh, what a relief it brings! He is really working on the difficulty.

But someone may say, "I see no results." Never mind. "He worketh," if you have rolled it over and are looking to Jesus to do it. Faith may be tested, but "He worketh"; the Word is sure!  --V. H. F.

"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me" (Ps. 57:2).

The beautiful old translation says, "He shall perform the cause which I have in hand." Does not that make it very real to us today? Just the very thing that "I have in hand"--my own particular bit of work today, this cause that I cannot manage, this thing that I undertook in miscalculation of my own powers--this is what I may ask Him to do "for me," and rest assured that He will perform it. "The wise and their works are in the hands of God."  --Havergal

The Lord will go through with His covenant engagements. Whatever He takes in hand He will accomplish; hence past mercies are guarantees for the future and admirable reasons for continuing to cry unto Him.  --C. H. Spurgeon"

~L.B. Cowman, Streams In The Desert

Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:7)

"O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee,
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's glow its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that lifest up my head,
I dare not ask to hide from Thee,
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossons red,
Life that shall endless be."

~George Matheson