Rejoice in the Lord Always!

In Philippians 4:4, Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again, I say, rejoice!”  The amazing thing is that Paul wrote that from a prison.  How could Paul rejoice while he was restrained in chains and awaiting his trial?  What did he know that we need to know?

About 10 years before Paul wrote that letter to the Philippians, he was in Philippi to share the gospel.  Paul and Silas were beaten and put in jail for casting an evil spirit out of a slave girl.  Late that night, while in a dark prison cell, Paul and Silas began to pray and sing to the Lord.  See Acts 16: 16-34.  It must have seemed strange to hear the song of the Lord in a place of suffering, shame, and abuse.  How odd to hear JOY coming from a place of SORROW. 

Paul and Silas could have cried, but they chose to rejoice.  They knew that Jesus Christ has overcome the world.  They knew that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They had a deep conviction that God is always in control, and God will have the last say.

Have you ever felt like you were in a prison?  Ever felt stuck between a rock and a hard place?  Maybe it was a prison of sickness, accusation, financial ruin, heartache, or depression.  What are you going to do when you’re in that hard place?  When you’re up a creek with a paddle, how are you going to handle it?

Paul shows us how to rejoice in dark place.  God is bigger than whatever you’re facing now.  Your circumstances may look bad, but God is still on the throne.  No matter what happened to Paul, he kept on praising.  He kept on rejoicing in the Lord.  When we are weak, we have to depend on God and his strength.  When we come to the end of ourselves, we see that we can’t accomplish anything apart from God.

If you are tired and weary, sick and tired of being sick and tired, trust the One who has overcome the world.  If you need help or encouragement, if you don’t know how long you can keep hanging on, seek the strength and joy that comes from the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Praise and rejoicing can help you see beyond your emotions, your circumstances, your enemies.  Your praise will establish a base for God’s wonder-working power.  If you rejoice in the Lord and his faithfulness and goodness, the Master will work it out.   God is always in control, and God will have the last say.

Thirsting For God

A drought will renew one’s appreciation for a glass of cold, refreshing water. 

In Psalm 63:1-2, David wrote, “You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
 and beheld your power and your glory.”

David wrote this while he was a fugitive in the desert of Judah.  He fondly remembered the sanctuary of the temple in Jerusalem and longed for God’s presence that he’d experienced in the past.  Listen to the deep yearning in his prayer: “Earnestly I SEEK you;
 I THIRST for you, my whole being LONGS for you,
in a dry and parched land 
where there is no water.”

As children of God, we have a void, a vacuum in our hearts, that can only be satisfied by God.  We thirst to love and be loved by others.  Many try to fill this void in unhealthy or sinful ways.  The only way to truly satisfy this void is through God’s living water.  Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

This life has many trials, tests & difficulties; it can seem like traveling throught a desert after running out of water.  We get tired, thirsty, and lonely.  We miss the fellowship of close friends.  There may no one to help us or encourage us.  When we are weak or lonely, this life can like a dray, weary land where there is no water. 

But we don’t need to thirst.  God can quench our thirst, fill our hearts, and fill us with his Living Water.  Remember what God has done for you in the past.  Close your eyes and imagine standing in the sanctuary before the throne of God, with flowing fountains at each side.

If you do not have a church home, you are welcome to attend First Presbyterian Church in Hugo, where we are blessed with the Water of Life each Sunday, in Sunday School at 9 am and worship at 10 am.  The next time, you pour a glass of water, pause to thank the One who gives the Water of Life.

PRAYER:  O God, my heart is dry.  My body hurts.  I am lonely.  I thirst for You, for more of You.  I long for You.  I want to be filled with Your Living Water.  Please fill me with Your Spirit.  Amen.

Do You Live With an Invisible Illness?

Invisible Illness Week starts Sept. 10.  Some years ago, Lisa Copen and the folks at www.restministeries.com started a week of offering help and hope for people with chronic illness.  The term “invisible illness” was used because many people with chronic illness look fine; they look like normal healthy folks.  A common response these people hear from others is, “But you look fine.”  Well, we may look fine, but we don’t feel fine. About 96% of people who live with an illness have an illness that is invisible. These people do no use a cane or any assistive device and may look perfectly healthy

I have lived with the chronic pain of spinal degeneration and fibromyalgia for about 15 years.  In fact, the Lord used the cold, horribly painful winters up north, to guide me to southern Oklahoma.  At various times, when I mention my back pain to others, they’ve said, “Well, you look fine.”  I may look fine or normal to you, but my back and neck hurt everyday, and I have numerous physical limits.  Surveys show that one-third to one-half of Americans live with a chronic health condition.  Sixty percent of Americans with a chronic health condition are between the ages of 18 and 64.  Ninety percent of seniors have at least one chronic disease and 77% have two or more chronic diseases.  

About 10 years ago, I discovered www.restministries.com which was founded by a young woman, Lisa Copen, with rheumatoid arthritis.   This site is a huge online ministry for people with chronic illness or chronic pain.  It has tons of free articles, and you can sign up for chronic pain email devotionals.  It also has resources for caregivers, families of patients, and parents of disabled children.  If you need help with anxiety/worry, anger, grief, depression, suicidal thoughts, fear, loneliness, love, joy, click the section on Emotions.  You can also find help with pain management and relationships.  A prayer request will be handled by their Encouragers Club.

Keeping our hope alive is a common theme for those of us with chronic illness, because of our health struggles.  Living with chronic illness hit our finances in 2 ways.  It reduces or eliminates one’s ability to work, while also causing more medical bills and prescription costs.  Most people with chronic pain experience depression.  Living with a chronic illness can wear you down.  So hope can be hard to find. 

Isaiah 40:29-31 says, He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord
 will renew their strength. 
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint.  Trust in the Lord for hope and strength.

Invisible Illness Week will be Sept. 10-14.  Go to http://invisibleillnessweek.com/ to attend online seminars, both printed and video.  May our faithful God give you the strength and hope to continue living with your chronic health condition.