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These words ministered to my heart so much this morning:
"He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace...
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving is only begun...
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again."
--Annie Johnson Flint
And I have found that true today ~ as the strength failed "ere the day was half done" and I reached out and I was at the end of my hoarded resources... my Father's full giving had only begun. And I praise HIM.
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee, who passing through the valley of weeping, make it a well"
(Ps. 84:5-6).
My strength is in the Lord. As I come closer and closer to the end of this pregnancy, I find my strength during the long days less and less. And yet, nothing else is lesser. The laundry is just as great a pile, the meals still needed at least three times a day, and cleaning still endless, and schooling still needed, the child training still constant...
And HE giveth and giveth again. His power has no boundary. To added trails, He multiplies peace. His love HAS NO LIMIT:
"Loved! then the way will not be drear;
For One we know is ever near,
Proving it to our hearts so clear
That we are loved.
Loved when our sky is clouded o'er,
And days of sorrow press us sore;
Still we will trust Him evermore,
For we are loved.
Time, that affects all things below,
Can never change the love He'll show;
The heart of Christ with love will flow,
And we are loved."
(I shot this picture on my manual (M) setting -my 28-105 lens with ISO set at 400, shutter speed at 1/80, aperture f/8- to catch the water just as I was wanting it - but with that, it brought in quite a bit of light as well, slightly over-exposing the picture - nevertheless, I cant' help but love her playfulness and the candidness that this shot caught.)
Yesterday, as I sat and watched my husband and children playing in the river waters and rocks, my mind drifted a bit to some things of the past that are a bit painful still. I'm not sure how it all began to drift that direction - possibly just having "down" time, the peacefulness of not being "on duty." Something God just wanting to stir up to cleanse once again by the edge of His clear streams.
There are times when things seem impossible ~ circumstances in life that seem to have no end or that end seems untriumphant. The Lord reminded me that HE IS ABLE.
"Believe ye that I am able to do this?" (Matt. 9:28).
God deals with impossibilities. It is never too late for Him to do so, when the impossible is brought to Him, in full faith, by the one in whose life and circumstances the impossible must be accomplished if God is to be glorified.
If in our own life there has been unbelief, sin, seeming disaster, it is never too late for God to deal triumphantly with these facts if brought to Him in full surrender and trust. It has often been said, and with truth, that Christianity is the only religion that can deal with man's past.
God can "restore the years that the locust hath eaten" (Joel 2:25); and He will do this when we put the whole situation and ourselves unreservedly and believingly into His hands. NOT because of what we are but because of what He is!
God forgives and heals and restores. He is "the God of all grace."
Nothing is too hard for Jesus ~ We have a God who delights in impossibilities.
"The best things of life come out of wounding. Wheat is crushed before it becomes bread. Incense must be cast upon the fire before its odors are set free. The ground must be broken with the sharp plough before it is ready to receive the seed. It is the broken heart that pleases God. The sweetest joys in life are the fruits of sorrow. Human nature seems to need suffering to fit it for being a blessing to the world."
I am seeing now, more clearly everyday, how true it is that the best things in life do come out of wounding. Somedays I am surprised, almost shocked at the sweet joys I find I am experiencing now in my life, and how they did indeed come through sorrows that I thought could never yield fruit of restoration and rejoicing.
Yes, my human nature has needed suffering to be broken before God. Which brings me back once again to the overwhelming thought of His limitless love for me.
(boys fishing the old fashioned way... truly an example of believing and delighting in the "impossible."  )
a. ann~ |
| | Posted 5/4/2009 10:08 PM - 5939 Views - 66 eProps - 37 comments
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