His Hand is at Work in Our Lives

He knows where we are. He knows what we are going through. He wants us to be aware of his presence. He wants us to Know Him, Trust Him, Obey Him, Hear and See Him, Rest in Him, and to have an Intimate Relationship with Him.
He stands at the door of our hearts, waiting to come in. He is calling each of us and waiting for us to let Him enter into our hearts and lives. When we accept and receive The Lord we will never be the same. We will in no way be sorry that we opened the door. Our lives truly change. God in our life, gives our life meaning and direction.

Frequently, pain and hard times bring us into the awareness of who God is. It is during these times that we search for God and look for meaning in our lives. We become acutely aware of life’s priorities. The things which we thought were important, when all was going well, dim in our scale of importance. We realize that we need God. We find out that He is there for us and we can rest in Him. He is walking with us and will see us through our suffering. He will carry us when we no longer can stand in our own strength. He has always been there we just haven’t been looking for Him. When we have no where else to turn and when we are emptied of the trivial things in our lives, we are ready to open the door to our heart and let Him in.

I have found that no matter what storm I am going through, with God at my side, there is always a rainbow waiting. All things aren’t good but all things work for good (Romans 8:28). Take hold of God’s hand; He will see you through hard times. Adversity will come to each of us. Christians don’t escape times of adversity. God will encourage us, talk to us, direct us, and lead us through the trial to the rainbow at the end of the storm.

When we are in the middle of our trials sometimes we feel that God is silent. I have said, “Where are you God? I need to feel your presence. I want to be in your will. Give me direction. Give me comfort and strength. Give me your peace even when the world is falling in around me”.

Many times when we call out to Him, He will give us a glimpse of His presence. In a sermon which I heard today, a pastor’s wife told of a time of trial in her life. Her young son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her faith was strong and she did not doubt that God was with her. She wanted a word of assurance that her son would successfully come through the surgery and anesthesia. She was getting ready to bring him to the hospital. She was in her walk-in-closet, looking for clothes to bring with to the hospital because she would be staying with him after the surgery. She prayed and called out to God, “give me a word of promise to hold on to; a word that will confirm my faith and provide a sign for my son and me to verify the healing that we are believing in and praying for”. Through her tears she saw a very small object fall to the floor from the closet’s top shelf. She stooped over and picked up a little pin from the closet floor. The tiny pin said, “you can make it’. She had received the pin a few years prior but could not recall placing it on her closet shelf. It reappeared when she needed it. Her son went to surgery with the promising words pinned to his patient gown. The tumor was benign and the surgery a success. You might say that this was just a coincidence but I believe that God gave her a reassuring glimpse of His presence. He honored her faith, her prayer, and her request.

I know of a little girl who is dealing with many trials in her young little life. Her mom is going through cancer treatments and has had surgery. Her dear grandmother also had cancer and the doctors stopped treatment, placing her on hospice. The child and her younger sister had to be told that this very special person in their lives had died. That night the little girl had a dream. She related to her parents, “I saw Grandma Giggi. She told me she loved me. She looked younger and her hair wasn’t white any more. She didn’t have those white spots all over her face and she wasn’t sick. And mommy, she gave me her eyeglasses!” This sweet sensitive child was given a glimpse of her grandmother and of God’s presence and comfort in her life. After telling her parents and sister about her vision or dream, her family gave her Giggi’s eyeglasses. They will be a physical reminder of her beloved grandmother and of her spiritual, comforting, dream. Giggi loved the Lord and wants her granddaughter to see Him and love Him as she did. They will be together again someday.

When my Aunt Carrie’s only son Justa was dying after a ruptured appendix, she told me how she sat helplessly at the edge of his bed. He was twelve years old and this was in the early 1900’s, prior to penicillin. Suddenly, he called to her and said, “Mommy, Mommy, look at the flowers”. The painful expression left his face, he looked upward, he raised both arms into the air in front of him, and said “I am coming, I am coming, I can’t come any faster”. As he spoke those words he died. God gave Aunt Carrie a glimpse of His presence at the time of her suffering, at the time of her son’s death. Her faith deepened as the years passed. She was always so grateful for the vision which her son had at the moment of his untimely death. Justa’s words and actions were a memory that gave her the assurance that he was alright, he was with God, and she would be with him again someday. She became a reflection of God’s light in my life. She passed on her faith to me and many others. God was at work in her life and I know that His Hand is at work in my life. Faith is contagious and wherever and whenever I can, I will pass it on.

Because He Lives

“Because He lives” is the title of a Christian Hymn written by Gloria and Bill Gaither. Tears always come to my eyes when I hear or sing the words of this song. It brings me back to the 1980’s. During my time of pain and suffering the words of this song showed me the reason why I had to keep on facing my tomorrows. My family and my faith gave me purpose. Christ died for me. The death of my children would not be in vain. God wanted my spirit to grow as I searched for a deeper walk with Him. Elisa was a gift that God had given to us and our family for 9 years. Carrie’s time with us was only two weeks. I knew that The Lord had taken them to be with Him. I knew, with certainty, that they were alright and that when my physical life was over we would be together throughout eternity. Because Christ lives, and my girls are with Him, I continue to face each day as a Christ Follower. He is the light of the world and I want Him to reflect His light through my life. When we share in Christ’s suffering, we will also share in His glory. May He always be glorified in my life!

The words of the song are:
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds my future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.
God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.”

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds my future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.
And then one day I’ll cross the river, I’ll fight life’s final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.”

As tears flow and past memories flood our thoughts, just know that Jesus died for our tears, pain, sickness, sin, and sorrows. He died for our tears. The words to another song, “For Those Tears I Died”, are as follows:
“You said you’d come and share all my sorrows;
You said you’d be there for all my tomorrows. I came so close to sending you away,
But just as you promised, you came there to stay, I just had to pray.
And Jesus said, ‘Come to the water, stand by my side.
I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied.
I felt every teardrop when in darkness you cried,
And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died’.

Jesus, I give you my heart and my soul, I know now without God, I’d never be whole.
Savior, You opened all the right doors, And I thank you and praise You
from earth’s humble shores, Take me I’m yours.
And Jesus said, ‘come to the water, stand by my side.
I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied.
I felt every teardrop when in darkness you cried,
And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died’.”

Because He lives, I CAN face tomorrow. On this side of eternity, there will be times of sadness, suffering, sorrow, and tears. I never have to walk through these times alone because I have given Jesus my heart and my soul. He hears my prayers and stands by my side. I thank Him for all His has done in my life and I glorify His Holy Name.

"For I Am The Lord Who Heals You"

God says, “For I am The Lord Who Heals You”. This scripture is found in Exodus15:26.
This is one of the many healing scripture promises found in the Bible.

James 5:15 “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up”.

Mark 16:17,18 “These signs shall follow them that believe; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”.

James 5:16 “Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results”.

Isaiah 53:5 “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed”.

Jeremiah 30:17 “I will give you back your health again and heal your wounds”

Deuteronomy 7:15 “The Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known”.

Psalm 41:3 “The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, thou dost restore him to health”.

Psalm 121: 4,5 “He is always watching, never sleeping. Jehovah Himself is caring for you”.

Psalm 32:7 “You are my hiding place from every storm of life; you even keep me from getting into trouble! You surround me with songs of victory”.

Mark 9:23 “Anything is possible if you have faith”.

2 Corinthians 4:17 “These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever”.

In Isaiah 41:10 God tells us that He is with us, we are not to be afraid, He is our God, He will help us, and He will give us victory in our battles. We go through many battles in life. I cannot imagine going through a battle of illness; be it minor or major, without the Lord in my life. I would be on my own. Facing all situations in life with God or without God is a choice we all must make. We choose to believe or not to believe. We choose to trust or not to trust. We choose to obey or not to obey. How we respond to God releases the blessings of God. God sees our faith and He sees our responses to Him. How do we respond to Him? How do we respond to His Word? How do we respond to His promises? As Christians we are to claim and stand on all of His promises. We are to focus on God, not our illnesses or problems. God promises us that He will be with us and that He will not fail or forsake us.
The presence of God is connected to His Word. When going through a trial of illness, go to the many healing scriptures in the Bible and pray them back to God. He will hear you. He is the Lord who heals you; Jehovah Rapha.

Jehovah Rapha

God wants to be glorified in our lives. He created us for His Glory and He loves His creation; He loves each of us. Essential to our ability to glorify God is our knowledge of God; to know Him personally. Psalm 138 speaks of praising the name of God.

God looks for the praises of His people. God wants the sacrifice of praise. We are to praise His Holy name. When we praise God in our prayers and songs we feel His presence and He empowers our worship.

God’s many names in scripture are given for very specific reasons. God’s names, as revealed in The Word, declare much about His person, His true nature.
Jehovah is the “I Am”. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His existence is changeless. (Exodus 3:14)

Many names are used to describe God. One name used is Jehovah Rapha. Jehova Rapha is The God that Healeth; The Lord, I am your healer. It literally means, “The Lord who makes bitter things sweet”

I have been reading God’s healing scriptures. I am praying His healing scriptures back to Him in my prayers for a friend of my daughter Erica. KK is a young mother with a brain tumor. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor. This special young woman trusts the Lord, feels our prayers, and feels God’s presence in her life. God is using her Christian family and friends to physically pray for her and spiritually keep her spirits lifted. As the family of God we need each other. Because of the suffering which Erica has experienced, God has been able to grow her into a wonderful woman of God. She has sought Him and now He can use her to pass on His love, hope, and comfort to others. She is His vessel and He is using her where He has placed her. God puts certain people in our path so that we can help one another and we can radiate His presence.

I can remember feeling so very alone during my time of trials. I felt God’s presence but prayed to Him for someone “with skin on” to talk and pray with me. We need Christian friends who are spiritually mature to help us grow in our walks; to help God bring us where He wants us to be. When my friend Heidi was going through her suffering, I could be there with her. We talked and prayed about all she was going through. God could use me in her life because of what He had taught me in my walk; my walk with Him through my pain.

2 Corinthians 1:3 spoke to me personally as I searched for answers. Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth and to all of God’s people. I know you can read it for yourself but I will quote verses 3-7 here. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy and comfort. He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us. We share in the many sufferings of Christ. In the same way, much comfort comes to us through Christ. If we have troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation, and if we have comfort, you also have comfort. This helps you to accept patiently the same suffering we have. Our hope for you is strong, knowing that you share in our sufferings and also in the comfort we receive”. When we share in Christ’s suffering we will also share in His glory! That is a wonderful promise!

Today is Ash Wednesday. We start reflecting on Christ’s sacrifice and suffering for our sins, pain, and sicknesses. By His stripes we are healed and our sins are forgiven. As we walk through the 40 days of Lent, we live in anticipation of Easter and The Resurrection. If it weren’t for the Resurrection, we wouldn’t be Christians. Christ was God’s plan for our redemption from the beginning. We see this throughout the Old Testament; read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.

God speaks of the power of prayer in James 5: 13-18. James 16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results”.

Let us, as believers, continue to pray for each other. May God use each of us to His Glory. We are to pray believing that nothing is impossible with God. We are His vessels and my prayer daily is for Him to use me where He needs me.
In my next blog I plan to list some of God’s healing Scriptures.
Jehovah Rapha is The Lord that heals.

Lord, help me to be discerning and obedient.
Lord, I pray for KK’s total and supernatural healing.
Also Lord, I pray for the quick and complete healing of my husband Richard who was painting the roof and fell (on the roof not off the roof) and broke his wrist on Monday.
Lord, you know every need we have and everyone we pray for. We thank you for hearing our prayers and we thank you for answering our prayers.
I praise you, I thank you, and I glorify your Holy Name.
I pray in Jesus’ Precious Name. Amen