Aches and Praise Three Hundred & Thirty Two

January 18, 2018
 
 
Dear friends,  
 

While sharing meals on Monday and Tuesday with two men who were battling colds, I thought to myself “It’s too bad that they got sick.” Well, now I can better understand what they are going through, as I coughed most of last night and struggled to do routine things today. 

One hymn that has come to my attention recently is Annie Johnson Flint’s “He Giveth More Grace.”  I read it in the book that we finished recently in the men’s discipleship group and then I saw it in the current edition of the “Israel My Glory” magazine. Whether we are feeling on top of the world or “under the weather,” we can take comfort in the truths expressed in this hymn: 

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.”

 

To learn more about the author, please visit: https://hymnary.org/person/Flint_Annie and click on “See More.” This has been a “good, old-fashioned” winter in southern Quebec, with many days of sub-zero temperatures, lots of snow and even rain last Friday. Variety is the spice of life, but rapid changes in the temperature may have contributed to my getting sick. As severe as the snow storm was on Saturday morning, by early afternoon, the sky had cleared and it was a beautiful winter day.  
 

If you’re going through a challenging time at work, at home or elsewhere, remember that the Lord loves you more than you can imagine and He will help you handle adversity. 

Scripture for the weekend: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.”1 Corinthians 2:12 (NASB)  

Thought for the weekend: “Faith is not a pill you take, but a muscle you use.” – from the January 2018 edition of “Have a Good Day” by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
 
 
By His grace, 
 
 

Steve               


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