A Humble Prayer

"O Lord, by all thy dealings with us, whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness, let us be brought to thee. Let us value no treatment of thy grace simply because it makes us happy or sad, or because it gives us or denies what we want; but may all thou sendest us bring us to thee, that knowing thy perfectness we may be sure in every disappointment that thou art still loving us, and in every enforced idleness that thou art still using us; yea in every death that thou art giving us life, as in His death thou didst give to thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen."

~ Phillips Brooks

Be Like Children

I've developed a love for reading my sermon journals. I tend to be thorough in my note-taking , so in a way it's like hearing the sermons all over again. Here is a quote about a passage that is very dear to me as it was this passage I heard when Jesus came to me. (Mark 10:13-16)

"We must come to Jesus like little children... Wholly dependent on the Father. We must say everyday, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross of Christ I cling."

~ Dr Derek Thomas

Comfort for the Brokenhearted...

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." 

~ Psalm 147:3, ESV

I'm learning that when Scripture says God does something, it's a promise. He does not need to say "I promise" in order for it to be so. If he says he does it, you can count on it. I don't always understand the ways in which God accomplishes those things (most of the time I don't), but they are promises nonetheless.

Here it is said that God heals the brokenhearted. This is not something we are called to do for ourselves. Not that we are not responsible for our feelings, our actions, or our re-actions, but ultimately the Father is the healer of our broken hearts. 

He not only heals, but he does it in a very personal way: "he binds up our wounds".  I can see it now. Jesus bent over someone's broken frame, gently wrapping every wound in order to stop the bleeding, in order to hold together what's broken, in order to protect the wounds from infection... in order to heal. 

Some wounds take longer to heal than others. They get bumped and bruised and torn back open or re-fractured. These are the kind that tend to scar. Some scars are nothing more than a visible reminder of the wound that had been and they no longer cause pain. Yet, some scars will forever be tender when touched, bumped, poked, prodded. Healing doesn't always mean every ounce of pain will be taken away. Some wounds will hurt until the day Jesus takes us home where the ultimate healing takes place.

I know these things in my head. To a large degree, my heart understands and knows the truth of it. However, sometimes the pain is too great to feel the truth. That's when I must go back to the promises of God's love and faithfulness, of his tender mercies. He will heal my brokenness. Your brokenness. Whether gently or aggressively, our Father will thoroughly, tenderly, lovingly bind every wound and heal our broken hearts. It's a promise! Do you believe it?