When the Path is Dim

When circumstances seem all in a shamble, and the path ahead is dim at best, (but more likely invisible), it’s easy to forget the most simple and important concepts.

God is with you.

His love for you is unimaginable.

His grace has no measure.

His thoughts for you are countless.

He holds you by your right hand.

The other night I was lying in bed trying to focus on God, but it seemed that my thoughts about the present circumstances kept creeping back into my mind.  I began to doze off when suddenly, I realized that I had a mental image of God which wasn’t correct.  I saw Him in my mind as filling up my whole room – His vastness surrounded me in billows of protection and grace and love.  But is that really true?  No, God goes beyond my room, outside the wall of my house, across the borders of my city, out of the state – His love and power stretches over the seas and soars right up into the stars, and it just goes, and goes, and goes.  Do I really think He can’t handle my “problems”?  Even though I may not be able to see the end, He has penned it already. 

So, why can’t we rejoice?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD0_bSEi0V8&feature=related

What a Friend We Have!

Today was a flurry of emotions and experiences, but through each one, my heart sang that simple phrase that is unmatched.  I have a friend in my Savior!  The moment I got in my car and turned on the ignition, Alan Jackson's voice began singing,

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sin and grief to bear.
What a priviledge to carry
Everything to God in prayer.

The words sank deeply into my heart.  Many Christians know this hymn well, but do we truly know the meaning of our Lord also being our friend? 

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear...

I thought about how I had been trying to deal with my problems and find solutions without letting them rest in my Savior's strong and caring hands.  This seemingly simple concept will never get old to me - I will never grasp it to the point that I should.  But oh, today, I got a glimpse of His glory as I chose to trust in Him instead of exhausting myself. 

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Everything.  Everything?  In the hustle and bustle of this fallen world, we often forget that we have a God bigger than the entire universe who loves us more than we can fathom, who cares about our tiny and dismal trials more than we do.  The Psalmist says, "How precious are your thoughts to me, O Lord!  How great is the sum of them!  If I were to count them, they would far outnumber the grains of sand."  That verse has always dumbfounded me.  How many grains of sand would fit into a tiny vial?  And to think, my God's thoughts about me outnumber all the grains of sand in the world! 

His vastness and love is beyond our comprehension.  Maybe that's why sometimes it's so difficult for us to rest in Him.  How our problems can be solved is beyond our thinking, and we get caught up in the moment of anxiety and confusion.  But shouldn't we remember that we're citizens of a greater Kingdom?  Our Father is looking after us, and will do a much better job taking care of us than we could ever do taking care of ourselves.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.