Rejoice In The Lord...When?

I have been struggling with a situation for about a month and I now realize that the struggle could last indefinitely.  It has kept me awake at night when the thought of it pops into my brain.  All I have been able to do with the thought is to say, "I trust you, Jesus."  And then when the thought doesn't leave and I'm trying to sleep, I continually say, "I trust you, Jesus.  I trust you, Jesus.  I trust you, Jesus"...........and on and on and on.  I think you probably get the idea.  It's kind of along the lines of counting sheep.

Frankly, I haven't been too thrilled with the prospect before me of this lasting indefinitely.  I DO trust Jesus in my life but I really don't want to spend every night laying awake repeating this over and over and over just so that I can fall asleep.  You who struggle with a weak brain like me (that the enemy delights in turning against me), will understand what I am saying.    

Well, anyway, this morning in my daily Bible reading, God evidently thought I had enough and chose to bless me with a scripture that was intended just for me.  And I didn't even ask for it!  I love it when He does that!  The scripture was Philippians 4:4-13.  When I read the first sentence which says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." I immediately stopped and read it again.  "Rejoice in the Lord always."  Wow.....I thought.  There is way more than just trusting in Jesus when I struggle, I can rejoice in my struggle...........WoW! 

I continued reading, "I will say it again, Rejoice."  Boom!  It hit me again, I can rejoice in my struggle!  So cool.  Of course, in my 36 years of being a Christ Follower, I've read this verse before, but I evidently hadn't read it when I was enduring a struggle such as the one I am dealing with now.  I really had to sit and let that soak down into my soul.....meditate on it so to speak.  Even as I write this, I find myself still meditating on it.  That's pretty deep, at least for me anyway.  Rejoice always!  Always!  Even in the midst of a struggle!

I was pretty pumped after reading and meditating on that.  I then went back to the scripture and continued reading, "Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near."  Another WoW moment!  "The Lord is near!"  Well, if the Lord is near, of course I should be rejoicing.   There is nothing I want more in my life than to be near the Lord, and here in my face, is the Word saying that "He is near."  Woohoo!  He is near! 

Continuing on, I read, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the Peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  At this point I am thinking, that this is exactly what I am needing.....and I didn't even know it.  God knew exactly what I was needing and I didn't have a clue.  I realized that I couldn't even ask God for what I needed because I didn't know.  What a BIG God I have.  He knows my needs before I do and meets them when I don't even know to ask.  All I have to do is go to the Word when I am struggling and He will meet my need.  "And my God shall meet all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus!"  Philippians 4:19

My conclusion this morning is:

PEACE will guard my heart and mind when I REJOICE always! 

That is what I'm needing right now; my heart and mind to be guarded with God's peace so that the enemy will not trample on them and that I can continue walking the walk as I follow my Master down His path.

It is my prayer for you that you also find Peace as you Rejoice always, even in the midst of your struggles.

Encouraginag You In Christ

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God! 

Living Intentionally

My youngest son, Jared, moved away from home last fall.  He has done great, graduating from and receiving his certification as an Emergency Medical Technical as one more step in reaching his goal of becoming a Firefighter in a big city.  We are so proud of him.  He has set goals for himself and kept going until he attained each one of them.  First there was his goal of graduating from high school.....attained.  Next was his goal of obtaining his Fire Science Degree.....attained.  Then came his goal of becoming a certified Emergency Medical Technicial (EMT).....attained.  Jared spent the last 4 years of his life living intentionally to attain the goals that he had set out for himself.  The week after Jared graduated from his EMT class, God blessed our family by sending him back home to us for a 12 day visit.    We all had a wonderful, wonderful time with Him.....meeting him at the airport with signs welcoming him home.

Meeting Jared at the airport was exciting!

We all knew that Jared was coming home for several weeks, so we intentionally made time in our schedules to be together as a family in order to enjoy all the time that we could with him.  We packed the 12 days he was home with lots of different activities.  With 3 little ones age 3 and under, we did lots of activities that they could enjoy; we camped out in our backyard, rode bicycles, walked around the pond in our addition, went to a parade, played in our backyard with the little ones, played basketball, ate together; simplying enjoying being together as a family again.  Our family spent these 12 days that Jared was home living intentionally to attain the goals that we had set out for ourselves this week with him.

Fixing a broken pedal on Ash's bike on our bicycle ride.

Jared playing cars with Layla & Seeley.

Jared, Rick, Travis and a friend, Aaron, enjoy a game of basketball.

Eating together at Chipolte, Jared's favorite restaurant.

Watching the Waynedale Memorial Day Parade together.

In my daily Bible reading this morning I read about Paul, a man who lived intentionally to attain the goals that he had in life.  He expresses his goals in Philippians 3:10 where he says, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death and to attain to the resurrection of the dead."  and then again in I Corinthians 1:17 where he says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel." 

Paul's goals in life were to know Christ and His power, fellowship in Christ's suffering, preach the gospel, become like Christ in His death and attain the resurrection of the dead.  In II Timothy 4:7-8 Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing."   Paul knew that through his intentional living, he had attained the goals that he had set out for himself.  He knew Christ and His power, he had fellowshiped in Christ's suffering, he had preached the gospel, he had become like Christ in His death. 

What an example Paul is for me in my life.  Paul knew that because of his intentional living for Christ, he was able to face the end of his life with confidence that he would participate in the resurrection of the dead.   I want my goals in life to always be in alignment with God's Word.  I want to live intentionally so that I know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.

 

 

Like Paul, I desire to live intentionally for Chirst.  I want to be able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, I will share in the resurrection of the dead."  This is my prayer for you as well!

Encouraging You In Christ

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!