Monthly Archives: October 2016

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LIFE CAN BE HARD

Put your Hope in God

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“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23.  

“Life Sucks” as our son often remarked when younger. I don’t know about you but some days just feels that way. God has been reminding me lately again that His mercies are new each morning and His love is steadfast and never ceasing. God is faithful!

He is not only faithful but gentle!  If He can be gentle with me I can be gentle with myself.    

I’ve been wondering how many of us have quoted Lamentations 3:22 and 23, yet never taken time to look at the verses around it?

My pastor sometime back walked us through this passage and now these words have taken on new meaning. Just what is the context of which these verses were written, and why were they written?  

A story of a man named Jeremiah author of Lamentations 3, tells us that God’s mercies are new each day and His steadfast love never ceases, yet he had great trials, and was currently going through great affliction. If anyone could say “life sucks” it would be Jeremiah.   

The whole chapter leading up to Lamentations 3:22 and 23 tells us that Jeremiah experienced a bleak life of darkness, where he was often left to die. He found himself in all kinds of tribulations becoming even bitter at life. He would, at those moments, often cry out to God, yet feeling as if God was ignoring him and didn’t hear him.    

Maybe you feel (or have felt) that God isn’t answering your prayers? Maybe life is bleak and dark right now and you have no answers? (more…)

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WHEN LIFE SEEMS DARK

Often things look brighter in the morning

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“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night,  but joy comes with the morning.”Psalm 30:5  

Do you often doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light? Does heaviness of heart press on you at night when it gets dark?  Often things look brighter in the morning when we see it through a different lens.

After Cebu, Philippines in Asia, our next stop was going to be Bohol.  I would finally get to see the place God had called us to serve.  This would be home for the next four years.    

The night I was supposed to leave Cebu it started raining. Really raining!  I had never seen it rain so hard and so long. This is part of living in the tropics as I would soon learn.  

One of the missionaries named Sandy, an old friend, came to get us a few days earlier than expected. She had already been living in Bohol for a year and would escort us to our new place. Sandy and her husband were both in our wedding. Seeing her felt like seeing family. A familiar face in a sea of unfamiliarity was like the feeling of being home again.  

Jim wasn’t ready to leave Cebu and needed  a few more days with the group of young people we were responsible for, for the month. But he encouraged me to go ahead of him.  He would follow some days later.  This way I could get some rest and have some time with Sandy before everyone joined us. It seemed like a good idea.  

Our transportation to get to the island would be a boat.  Sandy and I left at night with the rain still coming down. I had visions of the boat going down, me draining and never seeing Jim again. I found comfort that we weren’t in the Arctic with icebergs like the Titanic. Fortunately, it was a bit warmer too.   (more…)