By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit

If you ask the true "heart determined" believers in Christ today just what it is that they need now more than ever, it would be totally answered by the very raw words;

“I am in a state of real Desperation For God's Help!”

HERE IS THE SPIRITUAL INSIGHT THAT THE LORD WOULD HAVE ME SHARE WITH YOU.

In the past few years many have seemingly "gotten" all that they thought they wanted. Lots of new stuff, bigger houses, hefty stock increases, and for some, that "greatly awaited moment" of climbing the mountain to the top of the heap to be "up there with the big dogs." Their inner thoughts exclaimed, "I am now someone that folks finally appreciate and take notice of!"

AND NOW... SUDDENLY!
THE BOTTOM HAS FALLEN OUT OF MANY OF THESE EXCITING MOMENTS!

Friends are scattering, you struggle to get your bearings. Telephones and emails and fax machines fall silent. NOBODY wants to identify with YOUR pain or loss. It just MIGHT rub off on them! Or better yet, it might even expose their slippery slope at the moment!

WE ARE IN THE HOTTEST REFINERS FIRE TO DATE!

People are winding up in anger, disbelief and frustration over this "unfair" season the Bride of Christ is in! It just isn't fair! We have been so good! We have laid down everything! 

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By Mary Lindow through the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit

My spiritual discernment tells me...
... That a change in the spiritual climate is coming.

Yes.

There ABSOLUTELY is risk associated with the shifting of your focus, choices and standards.

For some, there is risk that the newness that God is bringing will also bring an ending to their way of doing things, an ending to the security of the past.

For others there is risk that they will be the people called to forge into new territory in the power of the Spirit, to announce and help build and steward the newness that God is bringing.

I often ponder (at times I stew and pace) about where the church is in this post-modern culture and where it desperately needs to be heading.

I feel a change in the air.
I sense a new freshness and direction being orchestrated by the Lord in His church, meaning His people. I’m sure not smart enough to know what all that means nor am I able to predict the future, but the signs are there.

My spiritual discernment tells me...
... that a change in the spiritual climate IS coming.

I’m not yet sure whether this is a storm or the just the rains after a drought, but I have an inkling that it may be the wind of opportunity that promises a new beginning that I hear blowing. It may just be the fresh winds of the Spirit that will bring the “showers of spiritual blessings” that people used to sing about, but most likely.... this is not the case.

Our world and our culture are changing rapidly all around us.

With new communication technology and increasing global interaction, we face a world that will be absolutely different from the one which we have lived in for so long.

Our own society is changing.

There are new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things.(Think self driving cars and drones delivering pizzas!)

The year were are in just sped through and was just a date on a calendar, but that date caused us to take a long look at where we have been and where we are going. And, when we looked closely, the changes unfolding all around us have surprised us, or at least it surprised me!

Of course, some want to see changes, ANY changes, as threatening.

And so they move into a doomsday mode and adopt a negative view (Think the Jonah Syndrome). They fight most any kind of change as a change for the worse.
There ARE things to be concerned about WITH some changes. But where some people see only problems, others see opportunities.

Change can be threatening, scary, and hard!
HARD
H A R D
WORK!

However, the people who study these things say that times of change are the best opportunities for people to respond to God. The uncertainty and discomfort that any major change brings, opens the door to reevaluate your life and ask questions about your purpose and what in your life has meaning.

If that’s true in individuals, I am pretty sure that it’s also true of society. And it’s true of the church.

Studies and Stats show that there is more interest in religion and spirituality in the world at large now than there has been in the last half-century.

Of course, some of that spirituality is of the weird and twisted kind, and certainly not Christian. But, that also tells us that there are opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, in Love, with authentic compassion and yet without compromising.

Honestly speaking, I’m not sure what all that means for the church. The message hasn’t changed, and the truth hasn’t changed, but the world has, and how we speak and express the truth will need to change in order to speak to that world.

New winds are blowing.
The spiritual climate is changing.
The smell of fresh breezes and fresh showers are in the air.
But one thing is certain.

There will be no status quo.

There will be no “going on as usual”.

The changes, are already in process.

We can’t change things just because we decide it should be done friends!

That’s presumption!

If we say we want GOD’S plan(s) for change, we have to get the blueprints from Him. But, we CAN do it as God calls out to us and reveals to us where HE is working in the world. And then, we can do it!

We can RISK as we listen, hear, and respond to that call, as God enables and graces us with the courage it will take to “adjust the rudder” of our ship.

I don’t know about you, but I'm going to be watching closely for the changes in the spiritual weather.

And I’ll be listening carefully so I don't miss the voice of God in the darkness.

If someone asks me about a voice that they may have heard calling their name in the night, I’ll be ready to tell them to say these words.

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

"The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak, Lord.
I am your servant
and......
I am listening.” -Samuel 3:10

Mary Lindow 2020
www.marylindow.com

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that  

complete source,podcast and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You Copyright © 2020 -  THE MESSENGER " ~Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

 www.globalprayerrooms.com

https://marylindow.podbean.com/mobile/

If you have been impressed by the Holy Spirit to assist and bless the needs that Mary has when asked to travel and minister or to helping her to meet other administrative needs such as web site and podcast costs, 
or desire to bless her service with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:  

Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 

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THANK YOU!

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By Reverend Mary Lindow

HELLO DEAR CHILD OF GOD,

TONIGHT AFTER SPENDING THE EVENING WITH A VERY DEAR FRIEND IN FELLOWSHIP, COUNSEL, AND A TIME OF HEARTFELT PRAYER, I WAS PROMPTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WRITE AND ENCOURAGE MYSELF WITH THIS MESSAGE! AS I DID, I WAS ALSO MOVED BY THE LORD TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU AS WELL! 

MAY HE “IMPRINT” UPON OUR HEARTS THE MESSAGE OF HOPE, HELP AND THE CLARITY OF THE MIND OF CHRIST, IN SUCH DIFFICULT TIMES OF TRANSITION AND MATURING IN HIM!

SACRIFICIAL THANK OFFERINGS!

He who sacrifices thank-offerings, Honors me, And he prepares the way, 

So that I may show him the salvation of God

Psalm 50:23

The soul part of our human make-up will never really fully understand what the Spirit of God can easily explain to those who know the intimate and true heart of the Father.

When the tiring and crushing difficulties in life occur, people often run to the massage therapist, the chamomile tea and so on, in order to obtain a calmness and sense of “sane rest” to help them unload anxiety, heartache or fear.

But here in the verse above, the Lord so clearly shows us something that actually prepares the way, a pathway for our deliverance from all of the crushing blows life on planet earth can bring! 

He tells us that if we offer up to Him in the times when we are feeling parched, weary, and just plain scared, - “sacrifices of thankfulness,”  - these words choked out through hot tears and anguish, do something to honor God in a way that actually “prepares the way” for the Dear King of Heaven to use as a path or portal to bring us much needed relief, freedom and deliverance!

HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN IN PLACE WHERE EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE IMPOSSIBLE?

(Many of you are there now) - and you have cried yourself to sleep begging God for help and mercy. It is then when you will truly understand why it is a sacrificial offering to God to begin to praise Him, thank him, for what is unseen and needed!

The Mercy of God is much deeper and more mature and rich than any mercy man tries to administer.  Sometimes it’s a “mercy” to just not receive it from men! (Joke!)

I HEAR THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGING A CLEAR WORD OF COMFORT AND HELP, to His people who have ears to hear what He is saying to them. Those that are determined to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd and not strange voices.

"And a stranger they will not follow, But will flee from him:

For they know not the voice of strangers."  -John 10:5

"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down,

But a good word makes it glad." -Proverbs 12:25

SACRIFICIAL THANKS IS AN OFFERING?

Look at what the word Sacrifice means!

Giving up of something valued:

A giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance. Something valuable or important given up as a sacrifice

Now let’s look at what Offering means.

: To present something as an act of worship

: Something offered as a sacrifice to a deity

 To declare one's readiness or willingness

 To utter (as a prayer) in devotion

THERE IS A POWER THAT WORKS IN THE SUPERNATURAL REALM of a man or woman’s heart and the Heart of God that only the act of worshipping, cried out in agonizing surrender and yielding, that tears away the veil of darkness holding back the Fair Face of Heaven.

JESUS HIMSELF CRIED OUT IN SACRIFICIAL OFFERING.

"Not My Will, but Your will be done," and this opened a pathway for the Salvation of our souls forever!

Oh Dear Pilgrim and anxious child of God! Don’t listen to all of the heavy-handed advice of men when the anguish is so deep and the loneliness tries to consume you with the fear of abandonment! 

THE LORD IS SHOWING US A PATHWAY TO A GREATER STRENGTH AND MIGHT IN HIM. 

 Shouting at God isn’t going to bring a cure or answer to your aching need. He can certainly handle us shouting at Him for He is a Father who understands human frailty! But oh! When we begin to lift up our weary hearts and hands to God and begin to thank Him sacrificially, willingly, telling Him how only He can be the Redeemer of our situations, our hurts, our betrayals, our abandonment…something of a "Dynamic release" beings to occur in the realm of God that man will only fully comprehend when he finally and eternally arrives in the Home of Heaven.

NO! IT IS NOT EASY TO DO! 

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, 

It produces a harvest of righteousness and peace, 

For those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, lift up those arms than are hanging down,  Your feeble arms and weak knees! Make level paths for your feet,  So that the lame may not be disabled,  But rather be healed.”      

 Hebrews 12:11-13 

OUR FLESH CANNOT "REASON OUT" HOW THIS WOULD DO ANY GOOD IN OUR PRESENT DISTRESS! 

 We want to do something, go somewhere, help the situation, pace the floor...make a phone call!

 But Heaven is calling. 

Hear what that Divine communication is saying to us!

"Sacrifice offerings to God! Fulfill your promise to the Most High!

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you,

And you will honor Me." -Psalm 50:14-15 

WE MUST FULFILL OUR PROMISE TO GOD!

 Did you see that? Our promise to serve Him, to love Him, to think of ourselves as obedient children, who heed his voice quickly and remain honest in a corrupt and frenzied world!

He tells us to call upon Him.  Call Him...in the day of trouble! He says He will deliver us.

THAT'S WHERE IT GETS TOUGH!!

We ask in pain, "WHEN? HOW? IT SEEMS SO IMPOSSIBLE!"

Well…it is impossible. We will all too quickly find out that we are not "Superman or Wonder Woman!" 

All of our gifts, talents, wit and braininess can’t deliver us! 

But. Through simple loving, surrendered in sacrificial offerings of thanks to the Master for the joy of being one of His very own, He brings a way of relief and… Release.

WHAT TO DO?

Although we are not to be totally ignorant of what is occurring around us and live in hermit mentalities, the Lord does have a greater plan and focus for us during such tough times.

You and I as children of God will never really feel at home here on planet earth.

We have been Divinely implanted with a homing device deep in our spirits that longs for the Home of Heaven. No more tears, no more night, no more longing to fully belong! We have been walking a pathway of preparation, each of us in different stages of our lives, to transition from this decaying world and body into a heavenly place of resurrection and eternal abundant life.

PRESCRIPTION FOR LIBERATION

It will take repeated “doses” of Sacrificial Thank Offerings unto God, 50 times a day if needed, until the rest and mind-clearing presence of God holds you in the Shadow of the Wing of Safety.

You see dear one, It is the total cure for us! His Peace passes all understanding. And can rule and reign in our hearts, even when the storm is chewing the shutters and shingles off of your house! 

WE ARE BEING TRAINED TO TRUST Like never before!

The Father can speak to a boss, a teacher, a doctor, and a tyrant and bring them to a place of peace with you and, a place of favor in the swift blink of a moment in time.

He can move on the hearts of others with such raw compassion that they are compelled by Him to come alongside you and share what they have in prayer, comfort, monetary relief, and counsel, (which by the way…is also often done as a thank offering, offered sacrificially up to the Lord.)

WE MUST START RELINQUISHING OUR JUDGMENTS AND OPINIONS ABOUT THE STRAINS OTHERS ARE UNDER, As well as our presumptions that we “know” what they need or what we project that God wants to do in their lives, and instead, begin to offer up...  sacrificially. 

Offering up unto God in Thanks for their deliverance…where we again… prepare the way for God to manifest something of magnificent proportions in our own place of need!

A SAFE HAVEN

"For You have been a safe haven, and a place of safety for me,  A solid tower against the adversary." -Psalm 61:3

The Spirit of the Lord is calling out to His People in this very, very, serious and crucial moment, to allow Him to bring us to a place of learning what kind of sacrifice pleases Him and bring the Anointing grace of deliverance to our lives, cities and nations. 

The Lord is calling out to you and I!

“Come to Me! Run to Me! I know that you are heavily burdened by all of the concentrated pressures mounting around you.

A DWELLING PLACE OF DIVINE REST AND PROTECTION.

 It will require you laying down the things that so easily set you off and get you weighed down with concern and anxiety. 

Casting the whole of your cares. All your anxieties. All your worries. All your concerns.

Once and for all on Him. 

For He cares for you affectionately, and cares about you watchfully.  -1 Peter 5:7

THE LORD URGES  - "COME INTO A LIFE OF SIMPLICITY."

"Come together into the shadow of My Wings for I AM the Shelter and Refuge for the child that heeds My voice and runs to Me, abandoning self made plans for protection and self-preservation.

I AM your Armor, I AM your Defense.

But you must come with no agenda in your heart or strategy on your lips. You come to the Resting Place of Safety from the Storm to WAIT, Ponder, Rest and rethink your Life call.”

THE NEED FOR DIRECTIONAL ADJUSTMENT

We are in much need of a directional adjustment as believers right now as the world turns itself upside down with malice, dictatorships, and political posturing. We need to be certain that nothing of the world and its behaviors are hidden in our own hearts. We must hear that Vigorous pulling voice of the Holy Spirit, and obey it without turning left or right.

"So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you;

Do not turn aside to the right or to the left." -Deuteronomy 5:32

FAITHFUL SECURITY. When we walk in the way of surrender and tenderness with our ears attuned to the still small voice of God, we actually walk in the Overshadowing Security of the Presence of God. Training our spiritual ears to hear the voice of the Father is a lifetime guarantee of knowing that when storms or troubles arise, there is a promise for direction to a place of Divine Protection whenever needed.

"Therefore my heart is glad, And my tongue rejoices; My body also will rest secure."

-Psalm 16:9

HAVE A REST CHILD OF GOD. It is the hardest thing the mind and body to do! Learning to rest when the world is screaming at a fevered pitch, "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW”  is a hard learned yet reachable discipline if we will lean into it and ask for God’s help.

Hear the Voice of God calling you to enter into His rest. 

It is a place of pleasant simplicity and uncluttered doctrine. 

His Presence silences all of the noise of the day and noise of the Head.

HIS PRESENCE - HIS SHELTER, IS A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR THE WEARY

Dear Child of God! There is no criticism or shame there.

It is a restful place of learning and a place to lift up to him the heavy weight of sorrow and to take up an easy yoke and light cargo.

Let’s Pause. Right now...

...And let's begin to offer a sacrifice of thanks to the Lord together. 

It is just as if the smell of a fresh bouquet of flowers has released it’s perfumed fragrance into the room we are sitting in and floats up to the heart and face of God.

He breathes these offerings of ours into His Great heart and sees the portal being formed by these offerings where in He can reach down to our pain-filled hearts and give us hope, healing and miraculous direction and freedom form all forms of bondage.

Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed provided that complete article, podcast  and website information for  Mary Lindow is included.

 Thank You! Copyright © 2020 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

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By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit

If you would ask the true "heart determined" believer in Christ today just what it is that they need now more than ever, it would be totally answered by the very raw words;

“I am need to have full clarity of mind and a fearless trust in the knowledge of how much God loves me.”

WE ARE IN ONE HOT REFINERS FIRE!

People are winding up in anger, disbelief and frustration over this "Unfair" season the Bride of Christ is in! It just isn't fair! We have been so good! We have laid down everything!

Why oh why are WE being singled out?

“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My eyes fail while I wait for my God.”

~ Psalm. 69:3

“ I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim,

I dissolve my couch with my tears.

~ Psalm. 6:6

Does this sound like you right now?

EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE TESTED SOMETIME!

The strongest impression I have received from the Father about the condition of His Bride is this. When things are going "fabulously" for her, when all of heaven is blessing, she wants to keep it that way! If she is not in a place of great humility and thankfulness for what the Lord is doing, she tends to assume that, “It’s about time folks knew just how long I've been waiting for them to see just how great this church, or ministry or intellectual skill I've been soooo blessed with is!”

Then comes the attitude that we have to keep it allotted to only a few “real winners” like ourselves, and we become exclusive and look for only high rollers to run with.

And then. AGAIN comes the TEST.

Persecution comes, mug slinging, attacks on personal integrity, character assassination, and again the fiery trial.........of our soul.

TO REMOVE IMPURITIES - GOD USES A HOT OVEN!

These trials as if by fire are only to test our faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-- and our faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.

“So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” ~ I Peter chapter 1: 7

HOW ARE YOU DOING?

The Lord is working the Bride overtime right now to deal with selfish ambition, personal comfort, and any other areas of personal agenda or presumption.

YES! Presumption.

We as Christians have often presumed that because we are Christians…

…we should never experience severe sorrow, grief, loss, or devastation.

This “fairy tale” stems from a huge level of denial and total self focus. It is also a very Western culture mindset.

A dear friend of mine who went to China and who was visiting a Chinese underground church group, had a reality check that shook her to the core of her faith.

She thought that she was coming to this group to “help and bless them.”

When they asked her what could they pray for the church in American about in order to bless them she was flummoxed! Her reply was, “We came to see how we might help you! ” How can we pray for you?”

The response back was, “Pray that we would not be fearful or silent about the gospel of Jesus we share when the authorities beat us or imprison us. Pray that we remain strong enough physically to endure the persecution we receive and not fear what man may do to us.”

SOBERING ISN’T IT!

When others around us are going through loss, trauma, or heart breaking circumstances, sadly, many believers turn away in disgust or even more disturbing, display an arrogant attitude of thinking they are more blessed by God because their lives are not so complex or “shattered” as those around them who must have done SOMETHING wrong to bring these things upon themselves.

Regrettably, some of the pain some saints are experiencing is due to the disobedience of those in the Body of Christ around them! They resist the hand of God and react against others in retaliation toward God bringing correction or exposure to their secret lifestyle of personal gain or need for power!

WE ARE NOT ALONE!

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners

against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”

Heb. 12:3

Admit it! It is hard to not lose heart right now!

The world is in a tailspin and lukewarm Christians are showing their true colors! It's time to deal with this! It is NOT going to go away!

AGONY IS MORE SEVERE WHEN IT IS "ENHANCED" BY BETRAYAL!

Jesus went through it. Stephen went through it and so did hundreds of others! AND it hurts, and disillusions, and causes us to be so very very weary!

“You will be delivered up and betrayed even by parents and

brothers and relatives and friends, and [some] of you they will

put to death.

Luke 21:16

THE TRANSFORMATION FROM FRAGILE …

…TO FERVENT IS COMING!

“When?” You may ask…..

For my determined purpose is that I may know Him. That I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even to His death, in the hope…

… That if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead even while in the body.

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do, it is my one aspiration, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

_Philippians 3:10-14 (Amplified Bible)

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS THE LORD WOULD REQUIRE:

1.) To gain HIS strength, we must relinquish our power or control

over what we think of others. We will be judged by the way we

judge others when they struggle. Pious and lofty lectures are not

the Kingdom language of healing and restoration. Loving-

kindness and Mercy reveal the heart of godly maturity in a

believer when dealing with the sorrows and anguish of others.

“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,

Or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs

To a heavy heart.”

Proverbs 25:20

2.) Reach out in kindness to those under fire.

Encourage them to stand. Encourage them to seek the Lord.

Bless them and don't talk about them when they struggle!

"The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples,

That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens me morning by morning,

He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple."

Isaiah 50:4 3

3.) Get still. Stop organizing, planning, and pushing ahead into

oblivion! God really does have a plan!

“Though youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

Yet those who wait for the Lord, Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become cynical. “

Is. 40:30 -31

4.) TRUST FOR A MOMENT!

It's all about trusting God in the end. Oh yes it is!

Will He REALLY refresh us in this time of struggle?

His Loving Word says so.

“For I satisfy the weary ones,

And refresh everyone who languishes."

Jer. 31:25 5

THE LORD IS PRODUCING ENDURANCE WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT!

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;

For once he has been approved,

He will receive the crown of life,

Which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

James 1:12

THE FATHER IS URGING US TO RUN TO HIM.

He is there! Even in the fog of struggle, loss, anxiety, and also in seeming success.

He wants us to be desperate for Him and rely wholly on His voice.

To make all of our decisions based on His plan for the whole earth!

Seek Him.

Lean into His Voice.

Elevate Grace and Mercy…

…And lower your own opinion of yourself and your abilities to

“lecture” others into healing or restoration.

WALK SOBERLY IF YOU ARE LIVING IN ABUNDANCE AT THIS TIME, ON ANY LEVEL.

Keep the vigil of prayer you are keeping for others well lit by the reflecting memories of past times when you yourself needed the Merciful Hand of God to lift you from agony and redeem your life from the pit.

Let us be so devoted to the “One” who lavished and spilled out all He had, that we might repeat His actions, and in so doing, bring His Glory to it’s fullest measure and depth.

His Mercy….

…Endures.

Forever.

“Then will the lame leap like a deer,  And the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness,  And streams in the desert.”

Isaiah 35:6

*****************************************

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information for Mary Lindow is included.

Thank You

Copyright © 2019 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow

www.marylindow.com

www.globalprayerrooms.com

https://marylindow.podbean.com/mobile/

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By Mary Lindow

SUFFERING AND SORROW ARE A PART OF LIFE

Knowing this, however, doesn’t make it any easier to cope when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith, and mentally anguish and strain.

Don’t you wish Christianity could make you exempt from suffering? That would be great, but as most of us have learned, following our faith doesn’t give us a free ride.

We catch as much trouble as unbelievers—often more.

The difference, of course, is that we can turn to Jesus when things go wrong. Unbelievers might argue that we’re only turning to our imagination, but we know better.

At some time in your life, however, suffering will hit you so hard that you won’t be able to do any of those things, and that dark time will probably visit you more than once.

“Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright,

for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.”

Psalm 112:4

WE ALL WANT THINGS WE DON’T GET.

Maybe it’s a person you’re sure would make a perfect spouse, and the relationship crumbles apart. Maybe it’s a better job or promotion, and you don’t make the cut. Or it might be a goal you poured your time and energy into, and it doesn’t come to pass or others sabotage it all.
All of us have prayed for the recovery of loved ones who were ill, but they died anyway.

It takes real spiritual maturity to stay faithful when things go wrong, but severing our relationship with God punishes us, not him. It’s self-destructive behavior that can put us on the path to a miserable life. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) teaches us that God always wants us to come back to him.

Whether your problem is discouragement, illness or aging,

sometimes all you have left is Jesus.

When you’re angry and bitter, you can still cling to Jesus in the midst of your tears. You can grab onto him and refuse to let go until he brings you through it. You’ll find, to your surprise that he holds on to you even tighter than you hold on to him.

JESUS UNDERSTANDS SORROW

He knows about being hurt. He remembers the terrible moment on the cross when his Father was forced to abandon him, because he was filthy from taking on our sins. Jesus won’t let you go.’

And as you age and start down the path from this life to the next, Jesus will take your hand to guide you. He appreciates all that you have done for him through the years, but what he has always wanted most is your love.

So there you are in the middle of one of life’s train-wrecks-dazed, wounded, wondering what shoe-or bomb-will be dropping next, and up walks Job’s comforters.

We all remember Job from the Bible. A rich, powerful man, a great father and good in every way was Job.

Then, in a series of overlapping upheavals, he lost everything and everybody except his wife-who turned out to be a whole lot less than sympathetic in her changed status.

Battered Job ends up sitting alone on a pile of dirt, scratching his boil-covered body with some broken pottery.

WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH POOR JOB.

Life drags us through some tough times of loss that make us feel every bit like Job. Caught in a vortex of pain, and wondering if we’ll ever make it to safety.

And, boy, do we recognize Job’s so-called friends who showed up to by all accounts offer support and comfort. As they sat with Job in his misery, they took turns playing a self-centered, self-righteous, can-you-top-this game of knowing for certain that every bit of Job ‘s disaster had to be his own fault or a lack of trust in God. They weren’t sure how or why because Job seemed so decent, but deep down, they insisted, he just couldn’t be all he pretended to be.

THIS IS FAMILIAR TERRITORY

You get fired, and friends smirk knowingly when you try to explain the political nature of the event. Your child gets into difficulty-well; you know the kind of comfort you’ll get from friends about that. (It probably started sometime during potty training.)

Yet others try to “help” you with what I call “prayer lecturing.” While praying “for and with you” they let you (and God) know just how lucky you should be to even have running water, had a meal that day and more! Not really comforting in any way, and very very short on compassion.

Yet, from the story, it’s clear that Job was completely innocent. Dreadful things do happen to completely innocent people, good people.
Because of their opinion of Job’s guilt, history has bestowed his friends- (and their current replicas) – the label, “Job’s comforters.”
So-called friends who add to a suffering person’s anguish by piling on false charges of blame and guilt and harsh reprimand for daring to show sadness or agony.

You may never have met anybody like Job, but you’ve met his comforters on more than one occasion. They seem to be everywhere.

WE CAN CHARGE SOME OF IT OFF TO JEALOUSY

Job had everything a person could dream of wanting-and then some-so jealousy was never more than a stone’s throw away. The green-eyed monster is a little more subtle with people living everyday, typical lives, but jealousy doesn’t need much ground to take root and grow with vigor.

WE DON’T WANT TO ADMIT BAD THINGS MAY HAPPEN TO US!

If bad things happen to people who don’t deserve them, they could happen to anybody, including me. If I don’t want bad things to happen to me, (who does?), I have to persuade myself and everybody around me that the victim’s actions caused the problem. If blame can be assigned, then I’ll be safe as long as I’m good.

In other words, if I can claim that the cause of your problem is something you do that I don’t do, then what happened to you can’t happen to me. There is, of course, n
o logic to this, but it brings some shaky comfort to frightened hearts.
We see this thinking at work when people stare numbly at adversity and ask, “What did I do to deserve this?” Sometimes the answer is, “nothing.”

HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF WHY ME?

And it doesn’t have to be bad; you could be excited from something wonderful. Most often then not I ask myself this after something I am looking forward to goes wrong.

Even at times when something goes wrong I lay awake at night and my thoughts wonder to what previously occurred. I am sure everyone does it at times, wishing for another try or chance.

You may lay awake thinking about your suffering, part of life’s suffering is misery’s shadow persisting/hanging on; not only do you suffer but you have to think about suffering.

I can’t prove this with statistics or find it any book I know of, yet I would say that more people either come to the faith or fall away because of this reason above all; the disturbance of suffering.


YOU SEE GOD USES TIMES OF SUFFERING…

...TO TEACH AND GROW US.

If you allow yourself to recount your sufferings, did you not learn more about faith while suffering then any other time?
 It has been said that; “Blessings are God’s whispers, he speaks in our conscience, but shouts to us in our suffering.”

“O my Comforter in sorrow,

My heart is faint within me.”

Jeremiah 8:18

Suffering becomes the only way to realize our hollow spiritual self. Pain is unmasked, and every person knows when something is not right when they are hurting. Pain insists upon being attended to.
So when you travel down this line of thought you come to the idea, why do I or someone else suffer when others don’t?

I KNOW SUFFERING IS EXHAUSTING AND PAIN HURTS

That is why it is called pain and suffering. If there were an escape a person of great wisdom and insight would have done it already. Yet Discipleship demands such trials to compel us towards renewal. Read Hebrews 2:10

“God, for whom and through whom everything was made,

chose to bring many children into glory.

And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering,

a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”

The real question is what to do when life has just punched us a good one, and Job’s comforters show up at our door. Nobody says we have to let them in. And certainly nobody says we have to entertain them. And, most positively, nobody says we have to believe them.

“For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,

So also through Christ our comfort overflows.”
2 Corinthians 1:5

We can sort out the who’s-to-blame-for-what after we get some solid ground under our feet and a little energy back into our lives.

But we still won’t want Job’s comforters anywhere around us…

...We will want people who care.

"Compassion"

To me not to be kind
 is evil of the mind.

No need to pray or preach,


Let us our children teach
 with every fond caress,

Pity and gentleness:


So in the end may we 
God’s Kingdom cause to be.

Author - R.W. Service

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