Aches and Praise Two Hundred & Sixty Two

Dear friends,

This week I have been reading a book that is so well-written that I want to recommend it to everyone. Dr. David Jeremiah’s book entitled “What Are You Afraid Of?”examines the fear of rejection, the fear of mental breakdown and other fears that hinder people from living the abundant life that the Lord Jesus offers to His children.

One thing that I found especially encouraging is that Dr. Jeremiah states that “sometimes the depth of the valley is a promise of the height of the blessing to come.” His insights helped me to see that there is a flip side to the truth that trial follows triumph. He writes: “We can anticipate that the path through a dark valley rises toward an elevated scene – a place where God will bless us. Valleys are defined by the high places that surround them.” He then quotes the famous British preacher C. H. Spurgeon: “Before any great achievement, some measure of the same depression is very usual … the cloud is black before it breaks, and overshadows before it yields its deluge of mercy.”

I remember being in a Bible study with Ramez Atallah when he was the director of Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship in Quebec in the 1970s. Ramez spoke about how Elijah went from the mountaintop experience of seeing God answer his prayer to the depth of despair after running from Queen Jezebel. I, too, have learned the hard way that fatigue is a major contributor to discouragement.

Someone who had a reason to be discouraged on Tuesday, but wasn’t, is a lady in our church whom I drove to hear my daughter Bethany give a report of her trip to Israel in July. After going to the Golden Arches with my son, Ryan, during the meeting, I asked Karen where the lady was. To my astonishment, she told me that she wasn’t at the meeting. I couldn’t believe it … what happened? I had left her near the main entrance to the church, not realizing that the door was locked and the ladies were meeting downstairs, using another entrance. We drove to the lady’s home and I apologized profusely. She could easily have been upset, but apart from asking me to get on my knees, she was very positive, despite her long walk home.

Scripture for the weekend: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Thought for the weekend: “There are only two ways to face the future: with fear or with faith. Those who live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20) will find all their fears – especially the fear of death – consumed by the security of His person and the certainty of His promises.” – Dr. David Jeremiah (from his book “What Are You Afraid Of?”)

By His grace,

Steve


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