Tag: faith

  • Times of Trouble

    “Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth, or walking on a lame foot”—Proverbs 25:19/NLT.

    Don’t you just love God’s sense of humor? That’s the daily devotional verse that greeted me this morning. I’ve been dealing with some on-going, painful dental issues and then I read this verse. Talk about timeliness with my mouth/tooth issues! I’m newly reminded that God is relevant. He is alive & well.

    God is also reliable. There are many unreliable people out there—sad to say—more than reliable people. I know One who stands out above and beyond all the others: God.  He knows all of my pain, suffering, and questions. He knows the beginning from the end.

    In Pastor Jim’s sermon, he asks if I’m viewing my circumstances through the eyes of faith, or through my own eyes. I must stop seeing this whole ordeal through my finite eyes of logic. God is all powerful. He will rescue and redeem. I grow weary and tired of waiting for the end result, but God will accomplish His will in His perfect timing.

    Dear God,

    Forgive my impatience. Help me to not fight this down-time, but instead choose to embrace it as a gift from You, my loving Creator. I long to be patient and wait for your rescue. I give you my fears, doubts, and pain. All of it. However/whenever You choose to heal me, I release to Your Almighty care and love.

    • Is there a circumstance(s) in your life right now that you’re looking at with eyes of logic? Name that circumstance.
    •  What can you do to change that around and view the circumstance through eyes of faith?

     

     

  • Call to Me

    A dear Bible study leader and friend (Helen S.) calls Jeremiah 33:3 her “911” verse. In troubled times, she relies on this verse to reach out to God. In reaching out by calling His name, she also receives comfort and relief from fear.

    Fayette State Park, Upper Pennisula Michigan
    Fayette State Park, Upper Pennisula Michigan

    I like the concept too. This is a never-ending promise with no expiration date. One that’s good to remember in times of turmoil or distress. Not only does God promise to answer me, but I’ll receive a bonus: information leading to great and unsearchable things I don’t even know. How cool is that?

    “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”—Jeremiah 33:3.

    But I must take that first step of faith acknowledging the need for help. I cannot function alone and hang on to a prideful attitude. My heart must be open to the leading of a wise, Heavenly Father. To think that the God of the entire universe desires my fellowship—well, my finite mind can’t capture this fully. I don’t need to. I only need to trust and believe it is so.

    • Is there an area of your life you haven’t called out to God about?
    • Maybe there’s a piece you’re clinging to thinking you can handle all by yourself … do you think it’s time to let it go and let God take control?

    Dear God, I’m weary of trying to manage my life and my loved one’s lives too. The job is exhausting and usually doesn’t work out when I try to take control. I give You back this day, my tired body, and flighty mind. Take control of me. I relinquish the reins and ask that You be in charge. I’m excited to see what amazing results You’ll accomplish through me. Thank you. Amen.

  • Happy 36th Anniversary!

    Hard to believe…today Steve and I celebrate our 36th wedding Anniversary. I thank God for Steve’s love, faithfulness, and long-standing commitment to me and to our family. Love you babe! 

    Always smooth sailing? Hardly. We’ve had our share of turbulent wind and waves, dead-boring calm and serene times too. When we both said “I do,” before God and witnesses, we committed to sticking together in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. God didn’t promise years of perfection or no troubles. In fact, given the vows repeated, you’d expect adversity and pain.

    What’s our secret to success? Flexibility, compromise, faith, and commitment. The best laid plans of men don’t always work out. I may have an idea or plan in my head, but that doesn’t mean my husband will embrace the same idea. Time has a way of helping solve disagreements. If the two of us don’t agree on a certain topic, sleeping on it (if the decision can wait) lends different perspective to the topic.

    Give-and-take remains key in a relationship. I can’t always be right and neither can he. Respect the other person for their individual God-given talents and knowledge. I heard a quote once: “If both of us had identical qualities, one of us wouldn’t be needed!”  If more time is needed, agree to disagree. It’s never a good idea to go to bed angry though, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26).

    Commitment: to bind by pledge or assurance, promise, obligation, dedication, devotion, steadfastness. Those can be frightening words…maybe that’s why many chose to avoid making a commitment. After all, it’s much easier and less threatening to stick with someone when the tide is favorable and the way smooth.

    Perhaps the most important is faith. Faith in someone bigger and wiser than myself. I chose to place my faith in God: healer, Savior, and unconditional lover of my soul. As much as I love my husband, he cannot satisfy every longing of my soul. Steve is only human—just like me—full of selfishness, pride, and sin. When I place my trust in the unchangeable God, great things happen. Like being married 36 years today to my high school sweetheart! 

    Teresa Kay Lasher ©2011

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  • It could have been worse

    It could have been worse. The injury was serious, but it could have been worse. When my daughter tumbled off her dirt bike and broke her collarbone, she could have landed on a hard surface. She could have tangled with a large vehicle going at greater speed.

    We are thankful she lives another day to enjoy a new sunrise and sunset. Another day to:

    • Realize family members do care and love her for who she is
    • Reflect on life, faith, and relationships
    • Capture the moments using her photography talents

    Thank you, God, for allowing more time with our precious daughter, Amanda.

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  • Misery or Mystery?

    “To be ‘happy’ or to ‘prosper’ is to have a solid foundation, to have a place to stand.  For the Psalmist, that foundation is to delight in, meditate on, and to be constantly open to God’s instruction.  Taking such a stand enables one to live with purpose and integrity in a world of confusion.  It enables one to live with hope in a world full of despair, and it enables one to perceive the mystery of life where others may only perceive the misery of life.” – J. Clinton McCann, Jr.

    Wow!  I want to be the one who shares the hope “in a world full of despair,” and to “perceive the mystery of life where others may only perceive the misery of life.”  As I travel the byways of life, the misery of life seems much more prominent than the mystery of life.  Often I hear folks talk about how things are going wrong vs. right.  It takes a conscious shift in the conversation to turn the conversation about face, doesn’t it? 

    How often do those same “misery of life” words come flowing out of my own mouth? I have to admit it’s true all too often in my own life and conversation.  But why? I am blessed—I have food on the table, plenty of clothes in my closet, and a decent roof over my head. Then why would my mind and brain even court ideas of doom and gloom?  I cannot say, other than my mind and brain must not be spending adequate time contemplating, meditating, delighting in, and memorizing God’s love letter (called the Bible) to me.  For these shortcomings, I must confess.

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