Psalm 42:1-4 ESV

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.

My husband Rick and I lived in South Carolina (USA) for 27 years before he retired and wanted to move back north to have time with his parents before they died. We were gone for three years, and now the Lord has brought us back. Our four children, their spouses, and their children all live here.

It is a blessing from God to be back home with our children and their spouses and our grandchildren. So, I thank the Lord and I praise him.

While I have been busy unpacking boxes and putting our things away in drawers and in closets and cupboards in our new apartment, the Lord Jesus has been impressing much on my mind to trust him in all things. For, there are no guarantees in this world of ours. I don’t know what the future holds for me here, but God does. Yet, I know he brought us back for a purpose.

The Lord has also been impressing on my mind much that I need to keep my eyes, my focus on him, and not on the cares of this life. So, basically his message to me as I have been unpacking boxes and putting things away is that I need to stay focused on him, and that I need to trust him in all things, even though there may be things I don’t understand.

I need to hunger and thirst after God, putting my life and my future in his hands, trusting him in all things, in the good times and in the bad times. And, then all else will flow from that. It will all come together. It will all work out according to God’s plans and his purposes, and for my good.

Psalm 42:5 ESV

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

Sometimes, when things happen in our lives that threaten to undo us, we can start to feel depressed, and we can begin to feel down emotionally. If we are not careful, these thoughts and emotions can overtake us. We can begin to feel as though our circumstances can get the best of us, and that they can determine our future. But, they can’t. For, God is still in control. Amen!

So, we need to put our hope in God. We need to keep believing that he is still God, that he is still on the throne, and that nothing, not anything can thwart his plans and his purposes for our lives. No one can do anything to us or say anything about us over which God has no control. For, he is completely sovereign over all that he has made – always has been, and always will be! We can count on that!!

And, we need to keep thanking him and praising him, in the good times and in the bad times. For, he has it handled! So, we need to just rest in him, and just do what he shows us to do. We need to keep following the Lord in his ways and in his truth, keep hoping, and keep praying.

Psalm 42:6-10 ESV

My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”

If we are truly following the Lord Jesus with our lives, doing what he says to do, going where he sends us, and saying what he tells us to say, he says we are going to suffer like he suffered. We are going to be hated, rejected, despised, forsaken, forgotten, betrayed, slandered, and falsely accused of wrong that we did not do. And, some of us will die for our faith as martyrs.

So, in these times especially we need to remember our God, that he is God, and that none of this takes him by surprise. And, again, he can handle it! And, we need to remember the things he has done for his people all throughout history. And, we need to bring to recall all the many ways he has come through for us before when we didn’t see any way possible that good could come out of our situations.

One of the primary ways in which the Lord comforts me in such times is through song. I love the old hymns. They speak so much truth to my heart. And, I love many of the more contemporary songs written about Jesus, too. As well, the Lord has given me many songs to write which are based off scripture, so they are like scripture put to music. So, he will often bring those to mind, as well, as I am going throughout my day.

By putting scripture to music, it helps my mind to remember the scripture verses, so this has been a blessing to me that the Lord gave me this gift of writing songs, for this is one way in which he plants the scriptures in my mind and in my heart. So, when the enemy does come against me, I can bring these songs to mind and sing them, and in that way I am putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s schemes against me.

Psalm 42:11 ESV

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

So, don’t let the cares of this world get you down. Don’t let persecution or false accusations or abuse or rejection weigh in you, either. Just keep hoping, keep praying, keep believing, keep praising God and keep singing! God has all things under his control, even if sometimes it doesn’t look that way, especially when this world appears to be going absolutely mad.

I Will Lift My Eyes

An Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

P.S. I want to thank all of you who have been praying for us during this move. The Lord has been strengthening me beyond measure to be able to accomplish what needed to happen. So, I appreciate the prayers so much!