"Lord Help Me"!

It was one of those days! I know all of you know what I’m talking about! The day started off behind an hour and went downhill from there. After about the hundredth time of crying out, “ Lord HELP ME! Help me! Give me strength, Lord please! My mind actually wandered through a list of escapes... chocolate… a drink… a nap… I sure wish I had a novel to read… a sedative (don’t have anything stronger than Benadryl)…

I don’t know how long my mind wandered through the options of escape before I realized consciously, what I was thinking! Now I really was praying, LORD HELP ME!

I finally just gave myself a “time out”, with a cup of coffee and the Lord. I came across the verse,

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

What is the joy of the Lord, and how is that going to give me strength? Then I realized, when I find joy in the Lord… I will find strength!

This day has just been one more lesson on keeping my eyes on Jesus. How is it that I let myself go so far down the road of self-centered misery before I do more than just yell at God “HELP ME!”? Okay… okay. I’ve got the message, Once again — keep my eyes on Jesus, not myself!

I pulled myself out of my favorite chair and picked up my iPod, I put on my earphones, and turned up the praise music as loud as my ears could stand! As Toby Mac sang,

I was made to love you,

I was made just for you,

made to adore you,

I was made to love, and be loved by you,…

my mind began to ease. And while I did the dishes… Superchick sang,

“and suddenly it isn’t what it used to be,

and after all this time, it turned out just fine.”

(My Superchick friends are so right!) and while I mopped the floor, Third Day sang. . .

“I caught a glimpse of your splendor from the corner of my eye,

the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…

show me your glory, send down your presence,

I want to see your face, majesty shines about you, I can’t go on without you Lord!

I truly believe I’ve seen a tiny glimpse of God’s glory — only God could take the day I’ve had, and fill it with joy. (and joy while mopping the floor is a pretty big miracle)

So… from now on, my prayer will change from “Lord help me!” To, “Lord, show me your glory!”

Book review — "Get Out of That Pit" By Beth Moore

I will say up front, I am a fellow dweller of pits! I won’t say, “former dweller”, because just when I am freed from one pit, God shows me more work that needs to be done & where more freedom is needed. I move forward day by day, by God’s grace alone. (As you know, if you have read my blog!) Okay, now that that’s out of the way — about the book…

The thing I appreciated most about Get Out of That Pit, was Beth’s honesty. It gives me hope knowing what God has done in Beth’s life. She was a pit dweller, and now God is using her to teach and encourage hundreds of thousands of women all over the world. Beth is a living breathing example of God’s grace, his power, his plan, and his faithfulness! Beth shows us that God not only delivers us, but will use our pain and suffering for His glory in unbelievable ways! God does'nt just deliver us, he refines us into pure gold and uses us to change the world! That’s a lot to hope for!

The second thing I appreciate about Get Out of That Pit, is the foundational teaching . . .call on Jesus, immerse yourself in the Word, & pray Scripture. This is the answer to every question, the solution to every problem! Beth makes it clear that more human will power is not what’s needed, Jesus’ power is what is needed.

The third thing I appreciated was the “freedom from Pit" Scripture. Beth leads us to God’s Word and shows us examples of pit dwellers, their deliverance, God’s promises of freedom, and examples of God’s faithfulness.
My favorite “pit” scripture is Psalms 103:2-5

Praise the Lord oh my soul, and forget not his benefits—Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, Who satisfies your desires with good things so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

My prayer for all of us today is that we would never forget all the Lord's benefits and that He would surround us with songs of deliverance(Psalm 32:7)!

Back to the Book Club

Listen to Superchick

The Ultimate Beauty Treatment

I was listening to the song Beauty From Pain by Superchick… it so beautifully expressed what God has been teaching me.

The chorus of the song says…

After all this has passed — I will remain — after I’ve cried my last — there will be beauty from pain — though it won’t be today — someday I’ll hope again, and there’ll be beauty from pain.

I have come to the understanding that I need to embrace the struggle and pain, and know with all certainty that God is using the pain and struggle in my life to bring about beauty.

Consider it PURE JOY, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1: 2-3.

I need to consider trials joy because trials equal maturity, wholeness, and beauty.

I have become increasingly aware of how limited my view of life is. I saw the momentary troubles and felt consumed by them. God’s view is so much broader and all encompassing. His plan is so much bigger and better than I can imagine. All these troubles and trials are developing in me perseverance, He is perfecting me and refining me.

So the question becomes, will I fight against the pain and take my eyes off God, focus on me and my problems, or will I embrace the trial with joy asking God to teach me what he would like me to learn. Will I with every struggle search for God’s wisdom and grace and have joy knowing God is making me beautiful. Will I say “thank you Lord, for this beauty treatment”!

Yes, yes ,yes! I want God’s beauty, I want to be pure gold refined by the fire and prove genuine (from 1Peter1:6).

It is so easy to get wrapped up in the details of our trials and troubles and not see God’s all encompassing plan. When we choose a limited perspective by focusing on ourselves, we limit our view of God and what he will do.

I don’t fully understand how God works, but I do know He is working on me — I know God has a plan and a purpose! God is scraping away layers of dead flesh, in ultimate beauty treatment. The cost of the treatment will not be too high — the result will far outweigh the cost. It won’t be today, but after all this has passed, there will be beauty from pain.