Eleven Thoughts

Faith Weakens In Sickness And Pain

As our faith weakens in times of sickness and in times of pain, we can still be invigorated. However, our will can be invigorated with a new vision of Christ's sacrifice for us. We can be renewed and inspired by His call for our sacrifice for Him. In times of our deepest distress, we must remember our belief in Christ is grounded upon His hope everlasting, upon His love overflowing, upon His power never ending, and upon His grace ever abounding.

When God Does Not Give Us What We Want

When we have a crying need, when we are prostrate on the ground in our grief, and when we are begging God to do what we ask, God may not give us our desires. God may not give us our desires because He can see consequences we cannot see. In the hours of our darkness and pain, we must rest in His peace, rest in His love, and rest in His tender care. We must trust Him to make all things right in the end. Just as a parent can see consequences a child cannot see, God can also see consequences we cannot see.

When Our Heart Is Lost

When our heart is lost and God seems light years away, God is with us. God pours out His love so we can always know we have a home with Him. Christ's love and grace speaks so kindly to our heart we find the hope to overcome our present circumstances. In Christ's love and grace we find His glory, His truth, and His hope filling every void of life.

Christ's Broken Heart

When our needs go unfilled, we must cast our eyes upward into the Lord's great mountains as we absorb the beauty of His snow-capped peaks. When life seems to look the darkest, we must turn our eyes upon Christ hanging upon the Cross for us. In the dark scene of the Cross, the darkest scene in all human history, we find infinite hope, infinite love, and infinite promise. From the Cross, we see Christ's broken heart pouring His love upon the world. From the Cross, we hear Christ's loving voice calling His little ones to be near Him in the darkest hour. From the Cross, we find strength to battle all manner of diseases and maladies. From the Cross, we see His nail-pierced hands reaching out to our hearts as a shepherd gathers in his flock.

God's View Of All Things

When we are able to see God's view of the minute details and the grand scheme of history, His view keeps the Lord's fire burning within us.

We can all possess a tiny glimpse of God's view in the here and now if we rest in the Lord's embrace. We can all have a tiny glimpse of God's view in the here and now if we will trust Him to lead, guide, and direct our every thought, word, and deed.

When In Need Give To Others

The help we so desperately need in desperate times comes to us when we suddenly realize we are not helpless. God's help comes to us when we realize we have the power to give. Our help comes from God as we are willing to help others by praying for them, speaking with them, or reaching out to them. When we truly believe in God, we are not just passively waiting for help to be poured out for us. When we truly believe in God, when we truly, truly, truly believe…we are activated to work and serve others. At the times in our life when we are able to take care of ourselves, God may not take care of us because His help is not needed. These are the very times when we must be His servants and help others. When we help others when we are weaker, God will help us when we are weaker.

Helpless Before God

When we stand before God in the spirit while we are alive, or when we stand before Him after we die, we are helpless before Him. No matter how much power we might believe we have in the world, we have no power before God. When we make the admission before God we need His forgiveness, we become a child before God. When we become a child before God…we receive His forgiving love. When we receive Christ's sacrifice for us on the Cross, when we accept our sin sent Christ willingly to the Cross on our behalf, we are then able to receive His forgiveness.

Jesus Calming The Winds And Waves Of Evil

For just as surely as Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, God will calm the winds and waves of evil if we are willing to take command and control over the power of temptation. When the darkness of evil comes against us, we are capable of dispelling the darkness with the divine touch of Christ's love. In Christ, in His truth, and in His mercy we find His power to overcome the winds and waves of evil.

Afflictions Of Physical Pain

When our body is afflicted by physical pain, we must, with all vigor, reach out to Christ because His touch will help us. When we are afflicted with emotional pain, His healing love pours over us if we open our heart to Him. When we hurt then Christ's hand, the very hand nailed to the Cross, touches us if we seek His touch. In what may seem like some kind of strange reverse logic, we can use our moments of pain to remember how much Christ loves us. We can remember how much work there is to do in His name when we are afflicted by pain. When we hurt, in humility we are to turn each moment of our pain into a moment to glorify His name.

Power Of Christ Vs. Power Of Evil

The scars upon Christ's hands melt away the power of evil. Most important of all, as we are willing to be humble, Christ brings us certain victory. The blood of Christ erases the influence of evil in our life. The same hand of Christ nailed to the Cross is the same hand resting upon you in your darkest hour. In Christ, you can call down the fire of heaven to burn away the evil seeking to destroy you. In waging our spiritual battle, we must always remember God considers us His precious child. God's will is for none of us should suffer. When the darkness comes against us, our moments of intense communion with Christ may be gone for a while. However, we must have faith in our dark hours. Our faith brings back our moments of communion with Christ, even when the moments are only a fragment of what we might want or expect.

2 Corinthians 5:19 God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.

This message was presented in August 2012 as the Virtual Church message in Shepherd's Care Ministries virtual church site at http://www.shepherdscare.net