Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior and my God! (NLT) -Psalm 42:5
Do you feel discouraged when you see a loved one in pain but find it difficult to save them? Their pain can be an emotional one stemming from uncertainties or even angst in life. One thing is for sure. It causes a high level of uneasiness in both them and you. It's easy at times to walk away and escape or try very hard to "fix" things. But the truth is that you are not in control and it can be difficult to remember this or even believe this. The right thing to do is to pour them with love and support, not a quick fix. Then, most importantly, pray, pray and pray for God to carry out what is in your heart for your loved one.
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Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? (NLT) -Proverbs 20:6
Words are easy to say, it only takes a breath to utter them. But it's much more difficult to be a reliable friend. It requires consistent communication, thoughtful awareness of feelings, and opening yourself up in vulnerable times. Don't be too quick to say you are a loyal friend who is without any reliable friends. Have you been supporting your friends in a way that shows them you are reliable? If not, do you have a valued friend who needs you right now?
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Morning, Feb 19
Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them.
— Ezekiel 36:37
Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarcely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. You have found this true in your own personal experience. God has given you many an unsolicited favour, but still great prayer has always been the prelude of great mercy with you. When you first found peace through the blood of the cross, you had been praying much, and earnestly interceding with God that he would remove your doubts, and deliver you from your distresses. Your assurance was the result of prayer. When at any time you have had high and rapturous joys, you have been obliged to look upon them as answers to your prayers. When you have had great deliverances out of sore troubles, and mighty helps in great dangers, you have been able to say, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Prayer is always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessing as the blessing's shadow. When the sunlight of God’s mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain. Or, to use another illustration, when God piles up a hill of mercies, he himself shines behind them, and he casts on our spirits the shadow of prayer, so that we may rest certain, if we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy. Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it. If we had the blessings without asking for them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our mercies more precious than diamonds. The things we ask for are precious, but we do not realize their preciousness until we have sought for them earnestly.
“Prayer makes the darken'd cloud withdraw;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;
Gives exercise to faith and love;
Brings every blessing from above.”
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