You have certainly not 'lost your marbles' Victor. As I was listening to your words I kept thinking our our Blessed Mother. She is a shining example of what you spoke of. Yes, if we truly believe that God loves us, then we know that 'all things work for the good' (Romans 8) and somehow we must find the faith to continue to Praise Him - even through gritted teeth. Thank you. Andie
Beautiful and honest reflection on a difficult topic, Victor. However you definitely hit the mark with this one. St Paul tells us and the Thessolonians "In everything give thanks for it is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all." God does bring about good out of suffering- the Crucifixion is evidence of this. Your reflection also made me think of a quote from Teresa of Avila- when a wagon she was traveling in got stuck and landed her in the mud, she said to Jesus: "If this is how You treat your friends no wonder You have so few." Lately when things seem to go awry in my life I try to remember that God has His reasons and thank Him for giving me something to offer Him- sometimes through gritted teeth indeed! Thanks and God bless!
Thank you for writing in. Yes ... through gritted teeth even, we praise the Lord and thank Him for being in control. I know I find it ever so difficult at times ... trying to work out His motives when things go wrong around me ... The trick though is to acknowledge that He's still in control and knows what He's doing ...
Victor, No, it doesn't sound crazy at all. I believe this, too, though it is difficult at times. I smiled at "through gritted teeth even" because often this is precisely how I have to do it. I remember before my healing having to do this on a daily basis and trusting Him despite how things seemed on the surface. It was no easy task then and still is not easy now when things go wrong - but I do it anyway. Thank you for your thoughts on this. You picked a great subject to speak about and one that I'm sure many people have trouble with. You are in my prayers, Victor.
Yes it can be difficult at times to praise God when we're going through a bad patch ... it really tests our Faith. We know we should trust Him, we know He cares for us and loves us ... yet, we feel so helpless as we focus on our problems instead of focussing on Him.
Thanx for your prayers Mary - much needed right now.
It's interesting because our pastor is preaching through 1 Peter on Sunday mornings and just had 1 Peter 3:13-17 for his text this past Sunday and talked about this very topic.
Perhaps God's trying to get me to see some things!
Hello my dearest friend, I rejoiced so much as I heard you speak on this. I know it and yet in this past week when I have been under severe attack, I forgot it. Friends phoned me on Thursday knowing I needed them and asked me over for morning tea. We shared and prayed and Praised the Lord together. Yes, the Word of God tells us that "all things work together for good" and that is so true. So what I am doing now is saying..What was good about it..and truely, There is much good!!! Praise His Holy Name...Have you read the book, Prison To Praise?by Merlin Carothers? I first learnt of it in the Charasmatic Renewal..so excellent!! Keep up the good work. God loves you and so do I.
It's difficult I know to praise the Lord when things are bad for us ... but by doing it we acknowledge His greatness and He will bless us for it.
Hello Crystal Mary,
I'm so sorry to hear you had a difficult week; and I'm so pleased athat you and your froends P{raised the Lord together. May He bless you always for this.
Yes, I've read Prison to Praise and the other Praise books in the series. I highly recommend Prison to Praise to all readers of this Blog.
You have certainly not 'lost your marbles' Victor. As I was listening to your words I kept thinking our our Blessed Mother. She is a shining example of what you spoke of. Yes, if we truly believe that God loves us, then we know that 'all things work for the good' (Romans 8) and somehow we must find the faith to continue to Praise Him - even through gritted teeth. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAndie
Beautiful and honest reflection on a difficult topic, Victor. However you definitely hit the mark with this one. St Paul tells us and the Thessolonians "In everything give thanks for it is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all."
ReplyDeleteGod does bring about good out of suffering- the Crucifixion is evidence of this.
Your reflection also made me think of a quote from Teresa of Avila- when a wagon she was traveling in got stuck and landed her in the mud, she said to Jesus: "If this is how You treat your friends no wonder You have so few."
Lately when things seem to go awry in my life I try to remember that God has His reasons and thank Him for giving me something to offer Him- sometimes through gritted teeth indeed!
Thanks and God bless!
Hi Andie and Karinann,
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing in. Yes ... through gritted teeth even, we praise the Lord and thank Him for being in control. I know I find it ever so difficult at times ... trying to work out His motives when things go wrong around me ... The trick though is to acknowledge that He's still in control and knows what He's doing ...
God bless you always.
Victor,
ReplyDeleteNo, it doesn't sound crazy at all. I believe this, too, though it is difficult at times. I smiled at "through gritted teeth even" because often this is precisely how I have to do it. I remember before my healing having to do this on a daily basis and trusting Him despite how things seemed on the surface. It was no easy task then and still is not easy now when things go wrong - but I do it anyway. Thank you for your thoughts on this. You picked a great subject to speak about and one that I'm sure many people have trouble with. You are in my prayers, Victor.
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteYes it can be difficult at times to praise God when we're going through a bad patch ... it really tests our Faith. We know we should trust Him, we know He cares for us and loves us ... yet, we feel so helpless as we focus on our problems instead of focussing on Him.
Thanx for your prayers Mary - much needed right now.
God bless you and yours.
Awesome word!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting because our pastor is preaching through 1 Peter on Sunday mornings and just had 1 Peter 3:13-17 for his text this past Sunday and talked about this very topic.
Perhaps God's trying to get me to see some things!
Hello my dearest friend, I rejoiced so much as I heard you speak on this. I know it and yet in this past week when I have been under severe attack, I forgot it. Friends phoned me on Thursday knowing I needed them and asked me over for morning tea. We shared and prayed and Praised the Lord together. Yes, the Word of God tells us that "all things work together for good" and that is so true. So what I am doing now is saying..What was good about it..and truely, There is much good!!! Praise His Holy Name...Have you read the book, Prison To Praise?by Merlin Carothers? I first learnt of it in the Charasmatic Renewal..so excellent!!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. God loves you and so do I.
Hi Tracy,
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult I know to praise the Lord when things are bad for us ... but by doing it we acknowledge His greatness and He will bless us for it.
Hello Crystal Mary,
I'm so sorry to hear you had a difficult week; and I'm so pleased athat you and your froends P{raised the Lord together. May He bless you always for this.
Yes, I've read Prison to Praise and the other Praise books in the series. I highly recommend Prison to Praise to all readers of this Blog.
God bless you Tracy and Crystal Mary.
Not easy to do but indeed Praise the Lord. Again Thank you!!! Cathy
ReplyDeleteHi Cathy,
ReplyDeleteThrough gritted teeth ... that's how I often do it!
God bless you.