Divine Appointments

He loves His children so much and gives us each day just what we need for that day. 

One afternoon, a young man came to our home to install a new “high-tech” thermostat. Little did I know, or he, it would turn into one of those precious “God moments”. 

As soon as the contractor entered our home, I felt an instant connection with him, and he confirmed that connection within only a few minutes. He was a brother-in Christ. So we enjoyed our faith discussion on and off as he worked. 

After about an hour, he wrapped things up and prepared to leave, and with a deep sigh he added he still had a long trip ahead of him to another customer. He was tired. I felt I needed to ask if I could pray for him before he left. He eagerly accepted and removed his hat. 

I will admit to you that asking to pray for someone is still a bit difficult for me, and it truly is an act of obedience. However, it does seem the more I do it, the easier it becomes, and the more I also begin to see that it’s not so much about my words, but about God speaking through me if I allow Him. He can’t speak through a closed mouth. 

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27) 

The words began to flow out of my mouth with ease, and it actually shocked me a little. I continued until I felt it was time to stop. 

“Amen and amen.”  So it is, and so it shall be. 

I looked up and the young man was wiping his face. He went on to share that the prayer confirmed what he felt the Lord was calling him to do. In addition, it gave him a peace and comfort regarding his life right now. He revealed that he had just lost his wife, the mother of their young children, two months ago to an aneurism, and times were very difficult for them. Now the prayer made sense. Once again, I stood in awe of the goodness and faithfulness of God and how He can use someone as flawed as me to bring a word of encouragement to someone in need.

Making yourself available to God can align you with some of the most awesome experiences.  With God, there are always hidden blessings. Just when I had begun to wonder if I was doing anything, or if I was making any difference at all, God assigned an appointment, giving me a booster shot, so to speak. Glory to God!

Give God permission to use you to comfort others and I promise you, He will provide the opportunities. Ask Him for the desires of His heart and He will give you those desires for your heart. And when He brings it, be obedient, and allow the Spirit of God to minister through you, and you will be blessed indeed. 

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak." (Col. 4:2-4, KJV)

Stay alert. Keep your eyes open. Watch with eagerness for those opportunities which the Lord brings into your day and often right into your path, even when you least expect it. Fine tune your spirit with prayer and a hunger to fulfill God's will for that day. There is an appointment coming with your name on it.

Lord of Glory, God of all comfort, thank you for Your goodness and lovingkindness. Thank you for the Prince of Peace who guards our hearts and our minds in difficult times. Help us Lord, to receive all that is ours in Christ today, for our specific needs. Use me, Lord, to comfort others as You lead. I give You permission now, in Jesus’ name, Amen and amen.

Healing the Wounded Heart (A Prayer)

Father God,

Though so many of us try to hide it with a smile, we know that inside we are broken and bruised, wounded by issues of long ago and left unchecked. We are the walking wounded plagued by feelings of hurt, neglect, abuse and abandonment. Many of us have attempted to find relief by our own methods but instead found ourselves feeling even emptier, even spiraling into depression. 

We learn that sins of omission (neglect, abandonment, etc.) are just as damaging to the soul as the sins of commission. Emotional wounds become so deeply embedded that it begins to feel "normal", setting ourselves up to continue to cycle.

Infection extends into relationships and marriage like a virus, spreading a new strain of sin-saturated remnants stained by years of buried emotions. Deep-seeded anger follows closely, while anger’s close companion, bitterness, begins to rot the soul and distressing the body.(Heb. 12:15)

But, You, O God, desire healing for Your children, (Ps. 147:3)  and are greater than all of our hurts, all of our neglect, all of our abandonment, and all of our rejection. You are more than able to comfort us in all our afflictions. (2 Cor. 1:4) You lead us in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. (Ps. 23:3) You desire righteousness for us, Father, (Matt. 5:6) for sin and righteousness cannot coexist.

Thank you for revealing Your righteousness to us, bringing light to darkness and exposing areas of sin in our lives. Thank you for walking with us through the valleys of past hurts, (Ps. 23: 4) not to revisit our pain, but to reveal Your healing through our forgiveness. (Matt. 6:12) Lack of forgiveness is sin, creating ugly and festering wounds in our lives in which all the perfumes of religious activities cannot remove, but only superficially mask. (Romans 8:6)

Your mercy and grace, O God, and Your forgiveness completely remove the deep underlying roots of the disease of our souls, as Jesus Christ, the Balm of Gilead, brings restoration and healing to the wounded heart. You restore us to the joy of Your salvation, Father, granting us a willing spirit to sustain us. (Ps. 51:12, Ps. 149:4) Your compassion and mercy reveal the hurts of those who have hurt us, helping us to understand their own pain. Hurt people often hurt people. Thank you for helping us to forgive as You have forgiven us.

Your Word tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:19) You bring us out of the midst of sin, (Col. 1:13) and desire for us to touch only that which is clean, and nothing that is unclean. (2 Cor. 6:17) You are my Father, God, and I am your daughter/son. Blessed be the name of the Lord, in all the earth. (Ps. 72:19)

Thank you Father, for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God and Light of the world, (John 8:12) Who shines the light of righteousness into the dark corners of our lives (2 Sam. 22:29) revealing those things You desire to remove as You lead us in Your paths of righteousness. Thank you for Your forgiveness as we forgive those who trespass against us.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Do you see what I see?

Today, they are called “Retro” trees, but in the 60s and early 70s, silver aluminum Christmas trees were quite the rave.  Our family had one that was full and bushy, adorned with dark pink shiny glass ornaments.  My grandparents’ aluminum tree was more slender, but filled with royal blue satin ornaments easily seen from outside passersby through the large livingroom picture window.

Many years ago, when our kids were small, times had gotten tough for several months. The 80s “oil boom” had gone “bust” while businesses and families struggled to make ends meet, including us.  Christmas time was soon approaching, and my stomach began to ache knowing that the Christmas tree would not have as much under it that year. 

Then it hit me….the Christmas tree!  We had always purchased live trees in the past and just did not feel like we could afford one that year. My husband remembered putting away boxes of decorations for his grandmother a few years before, including a box containing their old aluminum tree.  I was excited at the thought of a nostalgic Christmas tree and relieved at not having to purchase one.

The moment arrived as my husband placed the old box in the center of the room, and the kids immediately began to pull the branches out of the crumbling paper sheaths. Enthusiasm soon turned to disappointment as we slowly began to erect what we later called “Charlie Brown’s Aluminum Tree.” The branches looked more like foil rods with a shiny wild frazzle clinging desperately to the ends. We were hoping against hope the ornaments would miraculously fill in the huge gaps. 

As we stood gazing at our Charlie Brown tree, tilting our heads first one way, and then another. And though I tried to hide it, gloom began to overtake me. Then, the words of my four-year-old son shook me from my trance, “If you do this, it looks really bushy!”

I turned to find him standing with his head tilting backward and his eyes squinting nearly shut.  So, I tried it.  He was right!  With the help of the overhead track lighting filtering through the eyelashes, the tree appeared to be gloriously full.  It all depended on how you looked at it!

Oh to have the faith of a child who still lacks the jading of mankind regardng material goods.  So simple. So profound. 

I wish I could say it turned out to be the best Christmas ever that year and that Chuck landed a job that exceeded his previous salary, but I cannot. Looking back however, I can say that it is the Christmas I think of most often.  Not because of the emotional pain or the lack of gifts under the tree, but because of the greater lesson that day from the perspective of a child. 

“Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?”(Psalm 10:1, NIV)  I am sure I have posed this question myself a time or two over the years. In fact, after going through trials, we discover that God never hides, but was there all along. He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5, ESV).  

When allowed to go through the dark places, we begin to see light we did not know existed.

Painful times can have a particular objective for us in that they bring us to the end of ourselves enabling us to discover the treasure hidden in the darkness. It is there we find we have the ability to see through spiritual eyes to behold what we had missed all along. 

Father, I thank you for the gift of Your Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Lord, when times are tough and we feel frazzled, help us to direct our thoughts and prayers toward You, rather than trying to fill in the huge gaps in our soul with the shiny trinkets that offer only temporary fulfillment. You have promised to supply all our needs according to Your riches in glory. And thank you Lord, for those moments in our lives that reveal a greater message, and for using the words of a small child to snap me out of my self-centered gloom. In Jesus name, Amen.

Have you ever experienced those moments when light shined through your darkness in a way you'll nver forget?  Share it below in the comment section. I'd love to hear it.

God won’t give us more than we can handle…really?

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

1 Cor. 10:13

Have you ever found yourself stumbling over your search for the “right words” to say to someone after tragedy, loss, or devastating news of any kind?  I know I do, and I’m not sure there truly are the “right words”. However, none of us are comfortable in that awkward silent moment, so we say things like: 

“This too shall pass.” 

Those Embarrassing Moments!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16)

As I headed out the door that bitter cold Sunday morning, I grabbed my long wool coat for added warmth over my favorite denim skirt and knee boots. I loved this skirt because it was fun to walk in—long, full, and "free" feeling--nothing tight or creepy-crawly, and no worries while crossing my legs. The only thing I had to watch for were windy days, or what is known as a "skirt alert" day. And there were to be no skirt alerts issued for this day.   

Or so I thought. 

All Things for Your Sakes

“For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.” (2 Cor. 4:15)

When my children were young, I remember wanting to protect them of any harm that may come to them. And that was easy… until they learned to crawl! 

Then reality slapped me in the face and I realized that even with my best efforts, I could not shield them from everything. 

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine

I sat in a waiting room one afternoon, thumbing through an out-of-date fishing magazine, when an elderly man strolled across the room and took the seat next to me. He had the kindest blue eyes with only a hint of weariness from the years and I greeted him with the standard American greeting,

“Hello, how are you?”

He returned my greeting with the customary, “Fine, thank you”, and continued to speak. As he spoke, I could tell he was slowly opening up the book of his life, giving me a brief but rich summary of his life. I confess, my initial thought was, “Oh dear. What have I started?” However, as I listened, his story began to pull me in and I found myself leaning even closer and listening more intently.

Soon, I was captured by the story of this man’s life.