Don't Scrap It FIGHT BELIEVE

-
May 15
A younger sister in Christ posted on Instagram her new life verse.

"My flesh and my heat may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:26

What are some things you have scrapped because they were such a mess, total failures in your eyes that you decided it was just easier to start over?  I've tossed baked goods, knitting projects, paintings, writings, clothing, fishing poles and even friendships.

Unlike the majority of the items mentioned above, marriage is God made, not something established by human hands. Not something He wants scrapped, but totally refreshed, restored.  While friendships are relational in nature, they are not bound by a covenant to God. Yes, our friendship with God/Jesus is the exception.

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
Proverbs 18:24

Coming alongside a wounded couple one night, my husband and I recognized the spiritual battle warring around them.  His assignment was for them to read Ephesians 6 and learn how to put on the Armor of God.

The next morning, as I read Psalm 73:26 I wanted to go deeper in studying this verse and came across two excellent sermons by John Piper.


http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/models-for-combating-discouragement

Piper lays out 5 guidelines for times when we are feeling despondent. Just ready to scrap life.

  1. "Find your trusted friends. Who are they? Who are your inner ring?
  2. Open your soul to them.
  3. Ask them to fight with you, to wage war with you, to support you, to watch with you and pray with you.
  4. Pour out your soul to the Father.
  5. And rest in the sovereignty of his wisdom, come what may. “But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
 God is greater than any problem we have.  FIGHT for what is of value.  BELIEVE.


Popular posts from this blog

She Fought the Good Fight

-
Image
February 27 Bible Gateway's verse yesterday was: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him . 1 John 4:9 A fitting verse for the day my everyday friend, soul sister, monster of the faith and mischievous partner in crime, Kaye, left this world behind and headed to her heavenly home. My husband was able to be by her bedside and said he knew she heard the words of our faith that he shared. Her sweet daughter held the phone up to her ear so I could say good-bye and the brightest single star you have ever seen shown through my bedroom window as she exited this earth! Yesterday, my heart literally ached so badly that I told the Lord, "Take me too!" Wouldn't she have been surprised if I had snuck up on her in heaven and said, "Thought you were going somewhere without me, did ya." When we received the call she was ready to go, I called out to the Lord for comfort and He led me to the Bible Gat
Read more

Marriage Matters #1

-
Image
One of life's deepest hurts is when the one you love is unfaithful. Forty years ago, I remember an older friend, whose wife had been unfaithful and left him for another man saying to me..."Boo, I hope you never experience having the person you love and are married to, living 8 blocks away loving someone else." Deep hurt. They divorced. The wife of another friend of ours was having an affair with a fellow church member and a neighbor of theirs who lived 5 blocks away. She moved in with this man and our friend said one evening he was walking by the house where they were living together and saw them sitting at a table having a candlelight dinner. Ugh. The torment. I've always said it would be aweful to find out the person you were married to and  loved deeply loved another.  Hmm. We are the bride of Christ.  Is He our first love? 2 Peter 2:14 says: They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed
Read more

Are You Sinking... Being Tossed About?

-
Image
  A text came in from our neighbor recently, on a cold blustery day, when I was home with a stomach bug and awful headache. He said, "My canoe blew off our dock and has floated over to your shore."  And I'm thinking..."And you want me to do what?" I explained my husband was at work, but could help in the afternoon. I went to the window and could see the boat being tossed back and forth along our shore line. One minute it was close to our main dock and the next the winds had shifted and it was 200 feet in the opposite direction.  What I then realized is it had been taking on water. A text came again that he was in his car and driving around to our property.  Climbing out of my night shirt, I put on warm ups, UGGS boots and a hooded coat and limped outside to see how I could help. When I arrived to the shore line, the neighbor had tossed a 3 prong hook tied to a rope into the boat and was pulling it to the shore with one hand.  He had recently had hand surgery and
Read more