2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Many of you may know that 7:30 PM on March 2nd 2011 my only sibling, a 22 yr old brother, lost his battle with Cystic Fibrosis. Through the three days he spent in ICU before he died, and through the time after his death, there has been one thing we have needed more than anything. That is God’s sustaining grace. I have dealt with many deaths in the family, but none so hard as losing my only brother. The first day in ICU I felt like I had plenty of grace, and was doing well, all things considered. But that second day, and from then on, it was constantly asking, and begging the Lord for His grace. I have not always handled this well, but it is something I am learning. I have had plenty of discouragement, and plenty of sadness…but again, I was not looking to the Lord as I should have been.
Every time we go through a trial, God has given me a song for that trial. I had two songs this time, “He Giveth More Grace, When the Burdens Grow Greater” and “Rejoice In The Lord, He Makes No Mistake” I had to accept that grace, still, and submit to that He really is in control. I miss Guy, but God has a purpose. God never makes a mistake, and He never does anything that should not be done, so whatever reason He took Guy, it was the best thing to be done.
I got to thinking about this, though. The grace He gave Paul in our verse is the same grace He gave my family, and the same grace He gave Ron Hamilton when he had his eye removed for cancer. No matter what trial we are going through, He always will give us the grace we need. This is His sustaining grace. I had a friend tell me that He will carry me through this, and she is right. Each day may be a struggle, but He gives the strength, and the grace we need. He will carry us, that is what it means to rest in His arms. Oh the trials hurt, the pain is real, the emotions are there. I grew up believing that crying is showing how weak you are, but I have had to cry. This is my brother, for Pete’s sake, he meant the world to me. I don’t know as I loved any human more than I loved him. We did everything together, growing up. He was a special person in my life. God knows that, and God understands the hurts, and the pain I am dealing with. I haven’t had to bear this alone, God is there for me, and so are so many of His people. I have been so blessed to have so many people tell me that they are praying, and that if I need someone to talk to, just call. I have a particular friend that, though she is at college, she has spent a lot of time on the phone with me through this, and she has been more than willing to text with me. She doesn’t have a lot of time, but yet she is willing to spend much of it with me. I don’t always have an easy time talking to people, in fact, inside turmoil will cause me to pull away from people more, but I do need to be willing to talk about things.
I say all that to say that the trial you are going through, just went through, or are about to go through, God knows about it. He has people in place, ready to help you. He Himself will give you the strength and comfort you need, but then, He will also have people who will help. No matter what we go through, there is a purpose for it. He gives us a song in the night. He does comfort. 2Co 1:3-4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
We are comforted so that we can comfort others. What a thought. Throughout this trial, I have had several needing me to encourage them, for Guy was known by many, and loved very much. He and I are exact opposites, in that he is a people person, I am not. Because of that, though, so many, many people knew him. He had touched many lives. Many people are hurting through this. Many people need the comfort that only God really can give. God, and fellow Christians are comforting me, and I need to turn around and help with comforting others. So many times I have just wanted to pull away. That is my personality; I don’t want to be around very many people for very long. I still have to reach out to people, and you know, it does help. It is hard, believe me, but the Christian life is not “Sunshine and Roses, only a thorn now and then” It is a struggle. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” This doesn’t mean just from the world, Satan wants to persecute us, he wants to destroy us. He doesn’t look for the strongest Christian, he looks for one that is weaker. When Job was doing well, did his friends complain that he must be sinning? No, it was when he was weakened by trials. When we are weakened by trials, Satan will try to destroy us. By comforting others, and by encouraging others, often we will comfort and encourage ourselves in the process. So no matter what you are going through, remember that He will give you the grace you need, and with the comfort He provides, comfort others.
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies 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.
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
- Annie Flint
Prayer Requests
Our President
Our Millitary
Pastors
Missionaries
Evangelists
Allen Marshall - cancer
Kim Scherer - Assistant Pastor's wife - Cancer
Johnny V. - Salvation
D and his family - salvation
If you have any prayer requests, feel free to email them to [email protected]
Many of you may know that 7:30 PM on March 2nd 2011 my only sibling, a 22 yr old brother, lost his battle with Cystic Fibrosis. Through the three days he spent in ICU before he died, and through the time after his death, there has been one thing we have needed more than anything. That is God’s sustaining grace. I have dealt with many deaths in the family, but none so hard as losing my only brother. The first day in ICU I felt like I had plenty of grace, and was doing well, all things considered. But that second day, and from then on, it was constantly asking, and begging the Lord for His grace. I have not always handled this well, but it is something I am learning. I have had plenty of discouragement, and plenty of sadness…but again, I was not looking to the Lord as I should have been.
Every time we go through a trial, God has given me a song for that trial. I had two songs this time, “He Giveth More Grace, When the Burdens Grow Greater” and “Rejoice In The Lord, He Makes No Mistake” I had to accept that grace, still, and submit to that He really is in control. I miss Guy, but God has a purpose. God never makes a mistake, and He never does anything that should not be done, so whatever reason He took Guy, it was the best thing to be done.
I got to thinking about this, though. The grace He gave Paul in our verse is the same grace He gave my family, and the same grace He gave Ron Hamilton when he had his eye removed for cancer. No matter what trial we are going through, He always will give us the grace we need. This is His sustaining grace. I had a friend tell me that He will carry me through this, and she is right. Each day may be a struggle, but He gives the strength, and the grace we need. He will carry us, that is what it means to rest in His arms. Oh the trials hurt, the pain is real, the emotions are there. I grew up believing that crying is showing how weak you are, but I have had to cry. This is my brother, for Pete’s sake, he meant the world to me. I don’t know as I loved any human more than I loved him. We did everything together, growing up. He was a special person in my life. God knows that, and God understands the hurts, and the pain I am dealing with. I haven’t had to bear this alone, God is there for me, and so are so many of His people. I have been so blessed to have so many people tell me that they are praying, and that if I need someone to talk to, just call. I have a particular friend that, though she is at college, she has spent a lot of time on the phone with me through this, and she has been more than willing to text with me. She doesn’t have a lot of time, but yet she is willing to spend much of it with me. I don’t always have an easy time talking to people, in fact, inside turmoil will cause me to pull away from people more, but I do need to be willing to talk about things.
I say all that to say that the trial you are going through, just went through, or are about to go through, God knows about it. He has people in place, ready to help you. He Himself will give you the strength and comfort you need, but then, He will also have people who will help. No matter what we go through, there is a purpose for it. He gives us a song in the night. He does comfort. 2Co 1:3-4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
We are comforted so that we can comfort others. What a thought. Throughout this trial, I have had several needing me to encourage them, for Guy was known by many, and loved very much. He and I are exact opposites, in that he is a people person, I am not. Because of that, though, so many, many people knew him. He had touched many lives. Many people are hurting through this. Many people need the comfort that only God really can give. God, and fellow Christians are comforting me, and I need to turn around and help with comforting others. So many times I have just wanted to pull away. That is my personality; I don’t want to be around very many people for very long. I still have to reach out to people, and you know, it does help. It is hard, believe me, but the Christian life is not “Sunshine and Roses, only a thorn now and then” It is a struggle. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” This doesn’t mean just from the world, Satan wants to persecute us, he wants to destroy us. He doesn’t look for the strongest Christian, he looks for one that is weaker. When Job was doing well, did his friends complain that he must be sinning? No, it was when he was weakened by trials. When we are weakened by trials, Satan will try to destroy us. By comforting others, and by encouraging others, often we will comfort and encourage ourselves in the process. So no matter what you are going through, remember that He will give you the grace you need, and with the comfort He provides, comfort others.
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies 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.
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
- Annie Flint
Prayer Requests
Our President
Our Millitary
Pastors
Missionaries
Evangelists
Allen Marshall - cancer
Kim Scherer - Assistant Pastor's wife - Cancer
Johnny V. - Salvation
D and his family - salvation
If you have any prayer requests, feel free to email them to [email protected]