Do the Next Thing...

I have to face it... my fear of the unknown and uncertain.

It is sin, plain and simple.  I am told over and over in Scripture to fear not, so fearing is disobeying, and disobedience is sin.

But it creeps to my front door and crouches on the step waiting to pounce at the very first opportunity-- that horrible monster called fear.

The thing I am learning, though, is that I have an arsenal of weapons available to combat this fear.  The first is the Sword of the Spirit-- the Word of God.  Oh, how sweet the Word is to my fearful heart.  If I'm not reading it and memorizing it, I have no weapon ready.  It would be like having a robber come to my front door and then saying to him, "Excuse me, but can you please stand here and wait while I go search my house for a weapon to use."  That weapon of the Word has to be ready and available to be effective.  I am learning this more than I ever have in my life up to this point.  Fear robs and steals.  It robs me of my joy and steals my peace, but I'm not without help and weapons-- praise be to God for giving His mighty and powerful Word!

The second thing I am learning is to ask myself constantly, "What is the next thing?"  If I look too far ahead, I can become completely overwhelmed by all that looms in the gray shadows of the unknown.  Ah, but just asking that God would show me only the next thing-- that is the lantern glow that sends the shadows scurrying away.

Sometimes the next thing is making a bed, putting a band-aid on a knee, finding my glasses, or making some little person a peanut-butter sandwich-- knowing that whatsoever my hand finds to do, I'm to work at it with all my might.

Sometimes the next thing is taking a walk in the sunshine, reflecting on a big Creator-God who measures the heavens with the span of His hand.

Sometimes the next think is taking the Scripture card out of my pocket and reading it 20 times until I feel better.  "Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid...Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid..."

Read the Word, memorize the Word, do the next thing... these three lessons are huge right now in my battle against the fear of the unknown and uncertain.

 What is your "next thing"?

Dear perennial heart, bloom with joy and peace in these times of uncertainty.

Lest I Forget

The Lord has provided for our family in amazing ways over the last few weeks.  The situation seemed impossible, yet I know that God has been at work, providing in miraculous ways while my husband was unable to work.

I have a friend named Jane who loves the Lord and speaks His truth to my heart often.  She believes that one of the things we struggle with the most is forgetfulness.  We can remember what happened on a summer day when we were seven years old, but we don't remember the Scripture that God gave us this morning.  It is this forgetfulness that keeps us from relying on God and trusting Him to keep His promises.  When we forget Who God is, we don't trust His word.

I guess that is why I feel compelled to write all of the details of God's provision in my journal every chance I get.  I don't want to forget.  If someone gives me a verse, I need to write it down.  If someone gives us a gift (and we have been given gifts that have overwhelmed us to tears), I need to write it down.  I don't want to forget these things.  I don't want to walk away from this hard time forgetting how near God has been.  I don't want to forget the consolations God has sent to cheer us through His word, His people, His spirit, and His providence.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not

all His benefits.

Psalm 103:2

Forget not, forget not, forget not...

Dear perennial heart, bloom with joy,

 and forget not the wonderful things God has done.

Many Cares

The Lord gave me this verse recently, and it has been such a ballast for me.

When the cares of my

heart are many,

Your consolations cheer

my soul.

Ps. 94:19

Oh, to think that He knows the many cares of my heart and sends help and consolation through His Word and His people.  He is so intimately acquainted with every difficulty and knows just how to meet each need.  What a blessing of the very sweetest kind.  In His providence, He may not remove the difficulties, but He will help me carry them and cheer my heart all the while with His unfailing love and grace.

Dear perennial heart, bloom with joy
 and cling to the consoling Word of God,
even when cares are many.

  

All that He Is

This card was sent to my husband before his surgery...

Dear perennial heart, bloom with joy, for all that He is, He is for you--

and He is so much more than we could ever imagine.

Ps. 37:7

I wrote this a long time ago, but it has been in my mind all day.  Somehow it really fits tonight as I anticipate my husband's surgery tomorrow.

Ps. 37:7- "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;"

My body sits so very still,
But not so- my insides.
They quiver, shake, twist, and turn;
My mind, my thoughts, and stomach churn.
"Be still before the Lord,"- the Psalm,
"Wait patiently for Him."
Be still, my mind.
Be still, my thoughts,
While others see the outward calm.

Great God of the Invisible,
You know my heart is not so still.
And waiting seems unnatural
Yet Your Word clearly marks Your will
For me- a deep, internal rest,
Not just a calm veneer.
Your sovereign hand carved out this test.
Enable me to trust You here.

Dear perennial heart, be still before the Lord.  He knows all that you are facing.

All

One of my favorite promises of God...

God will give...

All Grace...

              At All times...

                                 and All sufficiency...

                                                               in All Things...

All means all, not some.

As Amy Carmichael said of this verse, "Lord, help us today to live upon this all."

Dear perennial heart, bloom with joy in the new year, because when God says "all", He means "all". 

"Will", Not "Might"

Ps. 138:8

"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;

Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands."

God gave me this verse in 2011.

I love the phrase "will fulfill."

"Will fulfill", not "might fulfill".

His purpose for me will be accomplished.

Dear perennial heart, bloom with joy,
 for "will fulfill" means that there isn't even the tiniest hint of uncertainty.