Be Raised!
How great the power of Our God, how majestic is His name!
How good and pleasant it is to be love by one such as He!
My dear readers,
how often has the Lord OUR God been at our side when trouble threatens to overwhelm? how often has He given us comfort in our despair, companionship in our loneliness, strength when we were weary, joy when circumstances offered no happiness?
Many of us are going through periods of draught; we are being led through our individual valleys (see psalm 23:4) and O how real the sorrow and grief of the world. how piercing the pain in our hearts and bodies. but yet we live on. that in itself is miracle enough is it not? that every new day we are given life anew! that every morning we are given consciousness anew! that every morning we are greeted with his sapphire skies and heavenly symphonies.
If we just look past our sorrows for awhile; if we would be still and sense the closeness of God, truly then we will see how it is his hand that supports, his arm that defends, his embrace that so strengthens. In these moments when all around us loses its flavour, when love, knowledge, relationships, passions fail, how REAL the claim, "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." -psalm 39:7, how true that he alone is the sole reason we rise to work and attempt to live the day. and truly how sweet is it to have this simplicity of purpose! when there is nothing that distracts, nothing that battles for our attention.
i have an interesting theory as to why we grief in such situations. i believe that it is because when one loses any other reason to live and inadvertently turns to God that the evil one has no other tool he may use to distract you or encumber you that he uses one's emotions. that the battlefield is no longer external, but purely internal; a battle in heart and mind. Our natural reaction in times of abject helplessness would be to turn to the sole being who could be of any help, but the evil one cannot have that. thus he sends intense waves of grief and sorrow that we might focus on the pain and not find the relief to this pain. O that we would just cling on to the promises of God, that we would just claim Isaiah 40:31, and then my brothers, then we will truly rise on eagles wings and soar above the circumstances of our lives.
When has God been more real besides the time when our agony seems the most excruciating? When has God closer other than the times when we felt most painfully lonely? and perhaps the most debilitating of all, when have we felt the smallest and most underserving of His grace, other than those moments when we just sit in the quiet little corners of our room weeping to him, helplessly repeating, "dear lord, dear lord, i know not what to do, i know not what to do".
even as i write this i feel a great wave of emotion, remembering the many times that God has broken me only to show me the great depth of His love and His faithfulness. it is after these countenance wrecking experiences that i can truly attest to Joshua 1:5 and say that he has truly never left me nor forsaken me; it is after these heart wrenching times that i have found the truth of nehemiah 8:10, "Do not grief, the joy of the lord is your strength".
we go through trials and testing, breaking and refinement, all for the building up of our individual souls. but how? we always hear this sanctimonious cliché, but how? how is our faith built up? ahhh and with this the claim, "the truth shall set you free" has been proven truth, that truly only when we we go through all the flames, and all we have left are the very words of God, that all we have left is Him alone and we realise his faithfulness and goodness, then and only then are we refined, then and only then are we built up!
therefore my brothers, "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." (James 1:1-3) and "perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4). and what is this hope but the greatest hope of all, the "hope of glory" that is "CHRIST IN [US]" (Col 1:27)
i pray this song i share will speak to you as much as it has to me.
YOU RAISE ME UP
When I am down, and oh my soul so wearyWhen troubles come, and my heart burdened beThen I am still and wait here in the silenceUntil you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.I am strong when I am on your shoulders.You raise me up to more than I can be.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains!You raise me up to walk on stormy seas!I am strong when I am on your shoulders.You raise me up to more than I can be.You raise me up to more than I can be.
How far high He raises us! to STAND ON mountains and WALK ON stormy seas!!!
How good and pleasant it is to be love by one such as He!
My dear readers,
how often has the Lord OUR God been at our side when trouble threatens to overwhelm? how often has He given us comfort in our despair, companionship in our loneliness, strength when we were weary, joy when circumstances offered no happiness?
Many of us are going through periods of draught; we are being led through our individual valleys (see psalm 23:4) and O how real the sorrow and grief of the world. how piercing the pain in our hearts and bodies. but yet we live on. that in itself is miracle enough is it not? that every new day we are given life anew! that every morning we are given consciousness anew! that every morning we are greeted with his sapphire skies and heavenly symphonies.
If we just look past our sorrows for awhile; if we would be still and sense the closeness of God, truly then we will see how it is his hand that supports, his arm that defends, his embrace that so strengthens. In these moments when all around us loses its flavour, when love, knowledge, relationships, passions fail, how REAL the claim, "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." -psalm 39:7, how true that he alone is the sole reason we rise to work and attempt to live the day. and truly how sweet is it to have this simplicity of purpose! when there is nothing that distracts, nothing that battles for our attention.
i have an interesting theory as to why we grief in such situations. i believe that it is because when one loses any other reason to live and inadvertently turns to God that the evil one has no other tool he may use to distract you or encumber you that he uses one's emotions. that the battlefield is no longer external, but purely internal; a battle in heart and mind. Our natural reaction in times of abject helplessness would be to turn to the sole being who could be of any help, but the evil one cannot have that. thus he sends intense waves of grief and sorrow that we might focus on the pain and not find the relief to this pain. O that we would just cling on to the promises of God, that we would just claim Isaiah 40:31, and then my brothers, then we will truly rise on eagles wings and soar above the circumstances of our lives.
When has God been more real besides the time when our agony seems the most excruciating? When has God closer other than the times when we felt most painfully lonely? and perhaps the most debilitating of all, when have we felt the smallest and most underserving of His grace, other than those moments when we just sit in the quiet little corners of our room weeping to him, helplessly repeating, "dear lord, dear lord, i know not what to do, i know not what to do".
even as i write this i feel a great wave of emotion, remembering the many times that God has broken me only to show me the great depth of His love and His faithfulness. it is after these countenance wrecking experiences that i can truly attest to Joshua 1:5 and say that he has truly never left me nor forsaken me; it is after these heart wrenching times that i have found the truth of nehemiah 8:10, "Do not grief, the joy of the lord is your strength".
we go through trials and testing, breaking and refinement, all for the building up of our individual souls. but how? we always hear this sanctimonious cliché, but how? how is our faith built up? ahhh and with this the claim, "the truth shall set you free" has been proven truth, that truly only when we we go through all the flames, and all we have left are the very words of God, that all we have left is Him alone and we realise his faithfulness and goodness, then and only then are we refined, then and only then are we built up!
therefore my brothers, "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." (James 1:1-3) and "perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4). and what is this hope but the greatest hope of all, the "hope of glory" that is "CHRIST IN [US]" (Col 1:27)
i pray this song i share will speak to you as much as it has to me.
YOU RAISE ME UP
When I am down, and oh my soul so wearyWhen troubles come, and my heart burdened beThen I am still and wait here in the silenceUntil you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.I am strong when I am on your shoulders.You raise me up to more than I can be.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains!You raise me up to walk on stormy seas!I am strong when I am on your shoulders.You raise me up to more than I can be.You raise me up to more than I can be.
How far high He raises us! to STAND ON mountains and WALK ON stormy seas!!!
posted by Ian Kwan at 7:41 PM
1 Comments:
amen.
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