So Many Hurting People

Sometimes it feels like every time we go to church meeting or answer the phone or look at a text message or read an email, there is some pain or suffering or burden. Whether it's the sorrow of seeing people we know and love walking away from the truth or someone we care about who is dealing with health or personal difficulties or tragedy. The adversary is very busy these days making conflict and trouble for anyone who is even trying at little to follow Jesus Christ.

Some days it's hard to keep lifting when we are so often in the midst of our own struggles. Yet this is the very thing that we should do in obedience to the Lord and because we are His disciples.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

This song reminded me of why we need to keep helping one another and those who need redemption through Christ.

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The Voice of One Who Wept

Today I heard the voice of one who wept
In far off lands
Because of sin and misery,
And begged with outstretched hands
For one small lamp to light his dark.
Now fain I would have slept,
So - stopped my ears, but in my heart
That sobbing voice still wept.

And then I heard the voice of one who
Counted not the cost,
But left His ivory palaces to seek and
Save the lost.
He said, "The sound of one who weeps
Is coming up to Me.
Dost thou forget that last command
Which I gave unto Thee,
To preach my Word to all the world?"

O, bitter be our shame!
Still hopeless millions walk the earth
Who never heard His Name,
And still the world spends lavishly
In every crowded mart,
And still the voice of Him who wept
Is sobbing in my heart!

by Martha Snell Nicholson

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Through good report and evil, Lord,
Still guided by Thy faithful Word,
Our staff, our buckler and our sword,
We follow Thee.

In silence of the lonely night,
In the full glow of day's clear light,
Through life's strange windings, dark or bright,
We follow Thee.

Horatius Bonar

Isaiah 35:3-4 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress He kindly will help me;

He ever loves and cares for His own.

Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior;

One who can help my burdens to bear;

I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;

He all my cares and sorrows will share.

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone;

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

Elisha Hoffman

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Evening Song - No, Not One

Isaiah 42:1-4 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 

Hebrews 4:14-15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 

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Evening Song - God Leads Us Along

Isaiah 43:2-3 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 

Romans 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

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Thoughts for Troubled Times

 

Worth Repeating
First published here Aug. 2014
Edited.

There is so much sorrow and misery and tragedy in the world lately, what with news sources and people posting things on social media one can quickly be overwhelmed by it all. While I strongly encourage prayer for various situations, and especially for the true Christians in places such as Ukraine, West Africa and Iraq, in all honesty, I don’t believe that the Lord would want us to dwell on these things. I have two reasons for saying this.

One is obvious: Philippians 4:6-9  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

The other reason is because throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry we find Him only rarely talking about “current events.” Obviously He cared about people, but He seemed to focus primarily on those who were in front of Him at the moment. “God so loved the world”, but Jesus didn’t come the first time to set all wrongs right, and He didn’t even try. He came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10), and He did that with all His might, so to speak. In essence we were commanded to continue that commission until He comes to finally set this world straight Himself. 

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be moved with compassion and pray for those in tribulation. We should. But it is not our focus nor our job to fix the whole world or save it from itself. Spreading gruesome photos all over the internet and even supporting organizations of doubtful reputation thinking that we’re helping doesn’t seem like a useful fulfillment of “the great commission”, as it’s called, nor of ministering to the saints. (Besides, I can’t help wondering if spreading the horrible photos doesn’t inspire some evil people to even greater wickedness, rather than inhibiting them.  In some instances it seems more like aiding their evil cause than stopping it. It’s something to think about anyway.)

This poem by Annie Johnson Flint has been a real blessing to me on a number of occasions. It is such a timely and helpful reminder of where our thoughts should be focused in the midst of both our personal struggles and the turmoil of this present wicked world. It also tends to remind me that things haven’t gotten worse as much as we might imagine sometimes. She wrote this sometime in the late 1800s, but her description of the world was just as appropriate then as now.

When I Think of Thee

When I think of just myself and my little cares,
Looming large and crowding close, hindering my prayers,
Of my weakness and my sins, I am sore depressed;
Weary, weary grows my thought; I can find no rest.

When I think upon the world and its many woes -
Hunger, misery and crime - how the long list grows!
Greed and hatred and unrest, strifes that never cease,
Weary, weary grows my thought; I can find no peace.

When I meditate on Thee and Thy works, O Lord,
On Thy strength and majesty, on Thy changeless word;
On Thy Steadfast faithfulness, reaching to the sky;
On Thy patient, watchful care over such as I;
On Thine everlasting love, high and strong and deep;
On Thy wisdom and Thy truth and Thy power to keep;
When I think of what Thou art and what Thy power has done;
When I number all the gifts given in Thy Son --
I forget the things that pass in the things that bide,
And my soul can rest in peace, fed and satisfied.

Annie Johnson Flint

This is a wonderful reminder of the blessedness that we can enjoy when we focus our thoughts in the right place. May God help us to do this.

Psalms 63:5-6  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:  When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

Malachi 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Psalms 37:35-40  I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.  Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

"Let Us Go Hence" - A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint and A Thought

Photo taken near Kingston, Tenn.

I think pretty much all of us have experienced the difficulties, dramas, and sorrows of the last couple years in one way or another. This poem reminded me that we are not always called to a quiet, peace-filled life, though there are times of that. There will also be periods of turmoil and confusion, sometimes more than others. It is a bit daunting when it feels like everyone is going through things at the same time, but it is good to remember that other eras of God's workings with mankind have also ended on a sour note, so perhaps we are only tasting the first traces of the next era as we finish out ours. Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Whatever the case, let's remember that in these troubled times we're going through there are still ways that we can be about our Father's business as we follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Let Us Go Hence”

 

“Let us go hence—from out the quiet chamber

Where soul with soul could meet,

From peace and safety, love and deep communion,

From tender counsel sweet:

“Hence”—to what grief, what terror and confusion,

Bewilderment and loss,

To shrieking mobs, to furious reviling,

The lash, the thorns. the cross.

 

And hast Thou called us, Lord, from peaceful pastures

To turmoil and to care,

To days of toil and nights of weary waking,

To watch with thee in prayer?

Then let us go, be it to shame and scorning,

To suffering and loss;

Even,—if Thou art with us, blessed Master—

 Yea, even to a cross.

- Annie Johnson Flint -

1 Peter 2:21-24 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

I would add one word of caution here. If you are going to suffer persecution or even death, let it be for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Politics and personality cults are not worth dying or suffering for in the context written here.

Revelation 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.