Just Stay Calm

    This morning as I was reading about the Israelites' exit from Egypt, I came across this scripture. It grabbed my attention. I re-read it several times. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. The Lord himself will fight for me. Just stay calm. The LORD himself will FIGHT for ME! JUST STAY CALM! Wow! How huge is that? I just have to not panic, not get upset, not try to figure it on my own (Hmmm, where have I heard that before?), and not get in God's way. I just need to stay calm, pray about it, and trust God to fight for me, to work it out for me.

    Just as the enemy was coming after the Israelites, the enemy is coming after me. No, my enemy may not be Pharaoh at the head of all the forces of Egypt and his weapons may not be swords and spears. All the same, he is attacking me. He is trying to destroy me just as the Egyptians were trying to destroy the Israelites. His weapons? Worry, fear, discontent, uproar, and turmoil.

    See, satan thinks that if he can get me looking at the circumstances of my life that I'll stumble and fall. By getting me to worry about how I am going to pay the bills or how we are going to afford a new engine in the trailblazer that possibly threw a rod yesterday or... or... or any of the many other things that come up, he thinks he can get me to take my eyes off of Jesus. And that leaves me vulnerable. Makes me an even easier target. So what does the enemy do next? He goes to work on a different area. He starts trying to pick apart my relationships or my children's relationships or any other area of my life that he can, just to keep me distracted and unfocused. This is the way he works. Not just on me, but on all of us. He tries to keep us concentrating on our problems instead of on the One who an fix them.

    Just stay clam. The Lord is fighting for me. The Lord is fighting for you. We just have to keep looking up. Keep our eyes on the Lord. He will fight for us. And just as He made a path for the Israelites, He will make a way for us. We just have to stay calm and be ready to move, to act, to obey when He says, "Go." We have to stay quiet and listen for His voice, His direction, His command. We have to be ready to step out between those towering walls of sea water and cross that dry sea bed. We have to trust Him even when it seems impossible; when all our problems seem too big for even God. Trust Him. Nothing is too big for God. Not cancer. Not a car engine. Not anything of this world. God can take care of it. He is fighting for us.

    And just as He washed away the Egyptians as they tried to cross behind the Israelites, He will stop the enemy dead in his tracks. He will put the enemy on the run. He will provide for the bills. He can repair an engine. He can restore relationships. He will open doors and hearts. He will heal cancer. He can make the impossible possible. Just stay calm.

    Thank You, Lord, for fighting for me. Thank You for the encouragement this verse, Your word, Your promise, gives to me. Help me to just stay calm and quiet and at rest as You fight this battle for me. Guide me, direct my path, and help me to recognize when it is time for me to move, to take action, to follow Your commands. And to always give You the honor and glory. In Your Son's name, Amen.

~Delta

Power of the Tongue

    Last week was a rough one. I woke up early Friday after not sleeping well with a headache. I got up and did a few household chores intending to just push through it. I'd feel better in a little while. After a couple of hours I gave up and laid back down. An hour later I was still miserable so I tried a hot bath. Nothing seemed to help, not the bath, ibuprofen or laying back down, again. I tried eating something...mistake. After getting sick I went back to bed and slept for a few hours. Thank You, Jesus, I woke up feeling much better.

    I hate when I feel bad. It makes it hard to stay focused, to think only positive thoughts. When I feel bad it's easier for all the negative thoughts, the worries and cares of this world to take over. Things I know I shouldn't let get to me, get to me. I dwell on thing I know I shouldn't dwell on.

    Worse, it makes me want to say things I shouldn't. I have to bite my tongue. I have to stop myself from saying, replying, commenting or posting those negative and not so nice thoughts. Usually, I am a very positive person. I do pretty good at following the old adage "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." It's not that hard. When I feel good, most of the time I never even have those thoughts.

    Yet when I feel bad, and I'm being bombarded by all the problems and fears, I struggle. I have to remind myself what the Bible says about the tongue: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. Proverbs 18:21. And Ephesians 4:29, "Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it."

    God instructs us to not say anything that does not encourage, lift up or bless others. We are not to say anything that may cause another believer to stumble and fall, or turn away from God. That we have the power with our word to spiritually cause death to others and that we will have to answer for those words. That we should be ever mindful that what we say to others will encourage and help them.

    We are to be careful of the things we say and think. If we only think about, talk about, focus on the negative things, that's all we will ever experience is the bad, troubling things in life. If we want positive and good things in our lives, we should only think, dwell, on positive and good things.

    It's not that we will never have negative things happen to us or life will be full of sunshine and roses. But if we concentrate on the positive, the good, we will begin to find it comes more naturally to us to always see the good in every situation. And the negative things will become less important and not the center of our focus.

    Lord, I thank You for the positive things in my life, for the many blessings I have: family and friends that love and care for me. Help me, please, to always focus on the positive in my life, to always find something to be thankful, grateful for. When I am bombarded by all the negatives, help me to stop, to change my thoughts and focus on the good. Help me, Lord, to only speak life and that which is good. Let me be an encouragement to others, and let the words of my mouth minister grace to all who hear. In Jesus' name, Amen.

~Delta

Be Still

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

    I have crossed paths with this message several times in the past week. It may have been said or written in different words, but the meaning has been the same: stop trying to figure it out on your own. Just be still and let God do His thing. And whatever He has panned, will be way better than anything you can come up with on your own

    Waiting is not my strong suit. I have a hard time sitting "idly by." I want to fix it. I want to know that it is taken care of. My first inclination is to "figure it out." But that is not what God wants. God wants me to just be still, to wait on Him, to trust Him. 

    Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." Yet so many times, like tonight, I catch myself trying to figure it out on my own. I know this is one of those lessons God is trying to teach me -- to be still, to trust Him in all things.

    It's hard to let go, to up the reigns. I have been accused of being a control freak. I will not deny it. Some areas are worse than others and one such area is finances/money. When you are down to your last $40 and still have a week to go until pay day, it's HARD to "be still," to not try to figure things out. When you get that 48 hour cutoff notice from the electric company, it's hard to say, "Okay, God, I know You got this." it's HARD to tamp down that gut instinct to come up with a solution, even when I know, I KNOW, God will keep His promise to meet my every need. He has before, over and over again.

    Not even a year ago, we were in this same situation -- maybe even worse. You see, when I was diagnosed and went on disability my income was cut in over half; yet, our expenses went up. So, after months of robbing Peter to pay Paul and juggling the bills, it all came crashing down. We were behind on every bill, including rent. We were days from eviction and all utilities being cut off. I had no other tricks up my sleeve or bright ideas.

    I finally said, "God, I can't do this anymore. I need Your help." I turned to Him and trusted HIm to provide for us. I sat on my hands and prayed. And you know what happened, He didn't let me down. He supplied all our needs and then some.

    That is not the only time since journey began that God has come through for us. I can think of several others. I am sure that this time won't be the last either. And I know that He will not forget me this time, that He is going to work it out, some how, some way. I just have to stop trying to be in the driver's seat, let Him take the wheel and trust Him to direct my path.

    I just have to be still and wait on God. He is never late. He is always on time. "But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches n the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3.

    Father, thank you for all the times You have made a way for us financially. Thank You, Jehovah Jireh, my provider, for meeting our needs. Lord, I know I can't do this on my own. I need Your help. Help me to be still and wait for You, for Your timing. I trust You, God to make a way to meet our needs. I thank YOu, praise You, for all You are doing on our behalf. I know we would't have it this far with YOu. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

~Delta

Do Not Give Up

Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest

if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

 

 

    I know social media gets a lot of grief some times about all the drama it can cause; but so many times, God uses it to give me what I need, just when I need it. Take this morning for example.  This status update on the Joyce Meyer Ministries Facebook page was just what I needed...

 

"Galatians 6:9 encourages us to keep doing what's right, for in time we shall reap God's blessings. There is a right time for all things in our lives, and there is safety in being in God's perfect timing. Being frustrated will not make Him hurry. Enjoy today."

 

    Some days, I do get frustrated. Yesterday was one of those days. I met with my surgeon to discuss the results of flex sigmoidoscopy, a procedure I had to have to make sure the resection of my colon and rectum was successful before we could proceed with taking down my temporary ileostomy.

 

    The results were not what I wanted to hear. I have a fistula, a hole, between my rectum and vagina. Also, the resection site is non-patent due to stricture and scar tissue. While Dr. D. feels he could take care of the latter, he believes the fistula is non-repairable.  The fistula, most likely caused from the radiation treatment, would allow stool to pass in to the vagina. This would result in infections, inflammation and possible abscesses if we were to go through with the takedown. Not to mention the hygiene problems it would cause. Can you say, "YUCK?!"

 

    Dr. D. did give me the option of keeping my ileostomy or converting back to a colostomy. I keep trying to focus on the good, the positive: the colostomy was easier to manage, it leaked less often and had less skin irritation. Hey, I'll be able to eat salads again! But then the negatives start.

 

    I mean really, would you want to walk around all day, every day, for the rest of your life with a pouch full of stool adhered to your stomach? Constantly worried about it filling up with gas like a balloon and people being able to see it under your clothes? Fearful that it is going to start leaking and you don't have supplies with you or a change of clothes? Having to take into consideration how every article of clothing you try on or purchase is going to camouflage the bag? Or, true story here, if while leaning over a patient doing an assessment, is your ostomy going to "fart" and embarrass you? And trying to decide if a simple "excuse me" or "Oops, sorry." will suffice or is a full blown explanation needed judging by the look of horror on her face? (By the way, thank you to the my awesome co-workers who helped me laugh about it until I cried afterwards!)

 

    So, yes, it is easy to get frustrated, even angry, at times. To wonder when is God going to heal me. Why hasn't He healed me yet. Lord, would You just hurry up and do this thing already. Any day  now, Lord. I'm ready. But what glory would there be in that? If, like an indulgent parent, God gave us every thing we wanted, right when we wanted it -- what would we gain? What would we become? The spoilt child that was never grateful and never appreciated the things we do have.

 

    I know God has a plan for me, for my life. He has told He is going to see me through this. I know where my help comes from. I will continue to cast my cares upon Him whom cares for me. I will trust Him for His perfect timing, for His will. I will learn the lessons He is trying to teach me, to grow in the areas He is wanting me to mature in, and to work on the areas He shows me I need to change. I will continue to do good and when I grow weary, instead of giving up, I will turn to the source of my strength. I will wait upon the Lord and praise Him, thank Him, for my many blessings.

 

    Thank You, Father, for giving me what I need, just when I need it. Thank You that when I am at my lowest, my weakest, I can call out to You and know that You will be there to comfort, to strengthen, and see me through. Thank you for the peace of mind that while I do not know what is going to happen tomorrow or next week, You do, and you have a plan for me, a plan for my good, my future.  In Your Son's name, Amen.

 

~Delta