It was raining this morning, raining a
deluge of burdens upon my mind and heart and threatening a flood to wash away
my proverbial home from its foundation. Large or small, the size of flood is
irrelevant. The reality of emotional burdens is real and paralyzing in any
size. Some of these I have referred to in other posts both recent
and not.
Today the burden focused largely on what our family lacked materially. In the
past I have resisted praying for humility or a freedom from desiring treasures
on Earth rather than treasures in Heaven or gratitude. Did I then over look the
real source of my troubles?
In Sunday School we
discussed 1st and 2nd Peter, and in this verse God spoke
to me. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and
honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).
Also in my heart, sits this thought
from Ketcham's biography of Lincoln.
"It can hardly be doubted that his mother's instruction was of more worth
than all these put together. A woman who, under such limitations, had energy
enough to teach her husband to read and write, was a rare character, and her
influence could not be other than invaluable to the bright boy."
And once again, deliverance from a debilitating burden
that poured down upon my head and threatened flooding.
Yeah for humility! Yeah for overcoming
the lure of earthly riches! . . . Or was I just being ungrateful that such a
burden weighed down so heavily upon me?
Maybe. But the message I heard in 1
Peter 1:7 wasn’t that I shouldn’t seek for earthly treasures. And the lesson I
learned from Abraham Lincoln’s mother wasn’t that I should be humble in my
trials. The message I heard, and once again and the message that gave me
insight in order to truly understand and find liberating peace was that I
didn’t have to seek earthly treasures. Furthermore, I
didn’t need to feel guilty about it.
Life is hard in many ways for us right
now, and the only riches I really need
to be seeking are the ones from God. For that, I am truly grateful.
God bless each of you in your quests
to overcome the Natural Man, and as you do,
may He
deliver you
with Truth.
3 comments:
Your post made me think of the song Blessings by Laura Story. I cried when I heard it yesterday. It contains a message related to your post ... what if the hard times are His mercies in disguise.
Verse 1
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace comfort for family
Protection while we sleep
We pray for healing for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand
To ease our suffering
And all the while You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Chorus 1
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise
Verse 2
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness
We doubt Your love
As if ev'ry promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desp'rate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
(BRIDGE)
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not this is not our home
It's not our home
Chorus 2
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is a revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain the storms the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
I loved your post...it is very near to my own feelings. I pray for your lightened burdens. I think I feel similarly when I think of hair coloring and fashion. My sisters all care VERY MUCH about how they look and will go into debt to have the right hair, clothing and jewelry for themselves and their children. They focus on outside appearances a lot.
Then comes me, I do not color my hair anymore, but let it be the grey Heavenly Father gave me. This has become a point of ridicule behind my back from many sources (not just family, even strangers). I fell victim to the outside influences and colored my hair again for a year, only to go back to being natural again. I allowed outside influences to take away the peace I had originally felt about simplifying my life (and health I might add) to live a more natural life. It has been hard for me to come to grips with the fact that I will be so different. I also don't care about fashion, but more about comfort. I buy second hand clothing to better suit our finances. All of these are burdens I sometimes feel, like I should go back to being like everyone else.
Thank you for sharing.
Perfect!!! Thanks for sharing, Ladies!!
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