The Holy Spirit is not just a teacher, the Holy Spirit is also a comforter and this is being demonstrated more and more in my life as I go on with the Lord.
One morning last week I was sat in my lounge having a coffee. I'd had a night of not sleeping much due to the on-going trial that I am going through regarding waiting on the Lord for my healing. I gazed out of the window and negative thoughts of what my future might hold started to form in my mind, and slowly started to balloon.
Suddenly it was as if a voice spoke over these thoughts saying 'Take no thought for tomorrow'. This scripture has always been emphasized to me in my trials, encouraging me to believe and trust in what the Lord has promised, not what my carnal mind is foretelling and trying to convince me will happen.
I immediately felt better, and turned to pick up my cup of coffee.
Suddenly it was as if a voice spoke over these thoughts saying 'Take no thought for tomorrow'. This scripture has always been emphasized to me in my trials, encouraging me to believe and trust in what the Lord has promised, not what my carnal mind is foretelling and trying to convince me will happen.
I immediately felt better, and turned to pick up my cup of coffee.
As I did, my eyes fell upon a pile of my old writings that I had placed on the coffee table the previous evening in order to sort them out (story of my life). There was a page that jumped out to me, it was partially hidden near the bottom of the pile, but the title was clearly showing. It was:-
'You know not what tomorrow brings.'
It was an article that I had written after attending an annual writers' seminar several years ago, the contents of which clearly demonstrated how the picture that forms in a person's natural mind of future happenings can be totally the opposite of what does actually happen.
I asked the Lord to show me something from His word to confirm His promise to me. I opened my Bible straight to Psalm 103, with the words that He has used right from the beginning, concerning my promise of healing, underlined. 'who heals you from all your diseases. '
Later that morning I decided to do some ironing as the pile of clothes needing to be ironed was building up. I asked my husband to put the ironing board in our bedroom as I thought I could watch Tbn UK, the Christian channel that I occasionally watched, on the television in there while he had peace to read his classic car magazines in the lounge.
When I turned the channel on, there was a man speaking about enduring and persevering in trials. He was relating to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and how that, even when we are in extreme fiery trials, the Lord will be there with us to protect us from the spiritual enemy.
I knew immediately that everything that had happened in those few hours was encouragement from the Lord to persevere in my trial, even though it was sometimes hard, and knew that I had to take every thought captive and bring it into obedience to Christ, the Word of God that was being spoken into my situation.
I thank God that my times are in His hands, and that all things are possible if I can believe, and that He helps and encourages in areas where the spiritual enemy tries to cause doubt and unbelief as demonstrated in Mark ch. 9 vs. 23 and 24 .:-
'Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.'
John ch. 14 v. 26 states:- 'But the comforter , the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.' - and this is exactly what He did here, and many other times as I wait on the Lord for my healing.
I know that I could not go down this road if I had not been absolutely convinced that the Lord had initially led me down it and told me to trust absolutely in Him.
Only You
Only a Father as loving as You
could take my life's burdens and carry me through
Only to someone who knew how I felt
could I pour out my anguish each night as I knelt
Only my Saviour, my Lord and my King
could change my cold Winter to blossoming Spring
Only my God and His wonderful Son
will I praise 'til my days on this earth are done
10 comments:
Dear Brenda,
Your poem and post are beautiful and speak to my heart. Every day is a gift, which we can't appreciate and rejoice in fully if we dwell in the past or worry about tomorrow. Praise God for the Comforter Who teaches, guides and comforts us until that glorious day when we shall see Jesus as He is and be like Him. Based on how rapidly the End Times scenario seems to be unfolding lately, it could be any day now!
God bless you and may He answer your prayers for healing,
Laurie
Thank you Laurie for your lovely comment. Every day certainly is a gift, and praise our lovely Father God and His Son for the Comforter who does all the things you have stated. I too believe that we are in the end times, and hope that many people will turn to Jesus in these troubled and sad times.
God bless you richly Laurie in your encouraging ministry.
Hello Brenda, this was very encouraging for me because I have been having a very difficult few weeks emotionally. I've just been feeling weary about a lot of things. I always say to myself that I take every thought into captivity and make it obedient to Jesus Christ. I say this trying to understand and bring my thoughts into captivity. I have so many wanderings in my head, most times I wouldn't be able to fall asleep unless I am extremely exhausted because if I lay down and not fall asleep right away, my thoughts keep me up and I end up feeling tormented almost by my thoughts. I've just been having a feeling of pulling away from a lot of situations and persons I feel are against me, but I am reminded of the scripture that we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
I have also had various strange dreams that I cannot understand what they mean, but I asked God to show me and I am still believing if He wills it He will help me to understand what I saw in my dreams and the things I heard. I thank God for you and others who are very encouraging to me and who I have learnt a lot from. God bless you Brenda.
Sateigdra,
you are one of the most transparent believers, and I understand fully what you are going through. My friend has many dreams, and I have dreams sometimes. I find they usually have Spiritual meaning, and can be warnings to us about certain things, as it states in Job ch. 33 vs.14 - 17:-
'For God speaks once, yes twice, yet man perceives it not.
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, in slumbering upon the bed; Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, that He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.'
It is part of God's love for us and what He does in order to change us into His image. Sometimes, even though the dreams themselves in the natural sense might seem very troubling, when we see them in the spiritual then we see that we are being shown what the spiritual enemy may be trying to do and are being warned against it.
This is not always the case though.
I will also pray that the Lord reveals the meaning of your dreams to you Sateigdra, and always keep in mind that the plans that He has for us are for our welfare and not to harm us. Praise His lovely name.
God bless you Sateigdra
Dear Brenda,
A very encouraging article when considering big changes coming my way. I'm about to retire after 47 years of employment (self employed for the last 35 years.)
Yes indeed, if God had taken care of me since the day I was conceived, why should he stop taking care of me now?
Worrying about my future brings no benefit, except to acknowledge God's goodness throughout life and to keep trusting in him.
God bless.
Frank,
I absolutely agree with everything you have said. I believe if I had not trusted in the Lord over the last thirty three years, I would probably be dead, and I am serious when I say that. Only God knows our full story. One of the first scriptures He highlighted to me was 'Take no thought for tomorrow', the next was 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight'
I started to endeavour to do that, and His word has proved itself true in my life, and even that which has not come to pass yet is being confirmed more and more in my life. Sometimes it has been a bit hard, but when I have prayed to Him in those hard times, He has always answered with scripture to comfort or guide me. The Holy Spirit is the best comforter and counsellor we could have,
Do not let your carnal mind predict your future Frank, our times are in His hands and His plans have no cause for fear:=
'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'
Jeremiah ch.29 v. 11.
God bless you with a very happy retirement, the future God has for you, and Alex with good health.
HI Brenda! What a wonderful witness you are to the movement of God in your life. These little things, these big things that the Lord sent to you are His love notes. He wants you to be at peace! What a grace that you were listening so faithfully, and that you asked Him to help you understand.
I don't think God wants us to live in worry and stress. He wants us to live in peace, and will heed your call to understand. What a good Father He is!
I hope your troubles pass soon, and that you are given the gift of patience until your healing comes.
Blessings,
Ceil
Hi Ceil,
You are so right, that God does not want us to live in stress. It was very unusual for me to be negative that day, and emphasized to me what Jesus says:- 'In me you have peace'. I have always had peace in Jesus throughout this long trial, and have never actually had any physical discomfort until this last year. However I have always felt I have been shown the spiritual situation and battle concerning this and know absolutely that I have been in a 'Job' situation this last year.
I think I remember sharing with you Ceil that years ago I asked the Lord to teach me patience. I had looked up the meaning in the dictionary and it said patience was the ability to endure with calmness. At the time I could only endure while gritting my teeth. Then the Lord sent me into care work in a home for the elderly, and I certainly learned patience.
There are many things that are happening lately to encourage me to trust more and more in the Lord's promise to me, some that even other people in my life have said are 'not coincidence'.
One thing I want to say to the Lord is ' I love Thee O Lord my strength.' There is no way I could have entered this trial without knowing that He was with me, and had shown me this when I asked Him to teach me about sickness and healing.
Hi Brenda,
I know that the following statement will ruffle some feathers, but you know that hasn't stopped me before. :-) LOL
I know, firsthand, that it's hard not to think about your present situation, or others, to the point of worrying about it. Point in case, my 28 yr old daughter recently found what turned out to be a tumor on her abdomen. A biopsy has been taken and honestly it doesn't look good.
My first inclination was to worry about the outcome. However, as I watched her through the initial days of discovery, I found that she was initially sad, not because of herself, but her children and the possibility or them being raised without a mother. She then reminded me a something that I taught her over the years, that it's was ok to be sad about your situation, but it is sinful to worry. Amazing!!!! Here she possibly stands at the doorstep to eternity and her thoughts are about her relationship with God.
Worrying is not trusting in God, and is a sin. This life is but a whisper in the overall scheme of things and will be nothing but an ripple in the fabric of eternity that we will spend with each other and with God.
Such a wise reminder from a daughter to her dad.
Have a Great Day, my friend.
Hi ND,
I am very sorry to hear of your daughter's physical situation, and can understand her worry.
It is different in my situation. I have experienced divine healings, both when my father prayed for me as a child and also since I have become born again of God's Spirit, through the prayer of faith and the gift of miracles, so my experience helps increase my faith as to what the Lord is capable of in my life.
God has kept me with lumps in my body for about twenty four years, and it comes as a result of asking the Lord to teach me about sickness and healing after noticing a great lack of the healing and miraculous gifts of the Spirit operating in the church, He told me to trust absolutely in Him and not in the world, using scripture constantly to guide me through my long trial.
There is no way I could advise anyone else to go down the same road as there is a difference between tempting God and obeying Him as to what He instructs us to do.
However, I will pray for your daughter, and would like to encourage her with a poem that I wrote regarding 'worry' when the Lord was leading me to trust in Him absolutely for my healing, which I believe may speak to others in there situation even though it is not completely the same as mine is.
Do not worry do not fear
let your heart be still
for who on earth of mortal man
can always know God's will
But this we know, who worship Him,
'by faith shall live the just'
for then we see the power of
the One in Whom we trust
One of the main things I have been brought to do is to not allow my carnal mind to overrule what God is speaking to me as I seek Him. I have to take every thought captive and bring it into obedience to Christ, the Word of God. I would encourage everyone to seek God as to what He says regarding the situation as all things are possible with Him, and He is able to do what is not possible with man. If we only seek what man can do then we have allowed man's ability to have the final word in a situation.
May the Lord bless your daughter with total healing
God bless you and your family, and you too have a good day my friend.
Post a Comment