Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Strength to Strength

Ummm... I guess God wasn't done with my fingers yet! Yesterday I was convinced that he was moving me toward a different endeavor, and while I do feel that he is directing most of my energies for a new thing, it doesn't mean that He doesn't still want me, on occasion to continue to share the hopes He shares with me.

Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca [depth of tears], they make it a source of springwater; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion [heaven]. Psalm 84:5-7

I finished my Beth Moore bible study today (Stepping Up) and she ended with this verse. I have come to love this verse in the past few months because it is my proof that I am not insane! From the moment that I lost my daughter, I have felt a strength and a joy that at first I thought must be due to shock or dilusion. But here it is, penned centuries before, proof that those who trust in the Lord will have strength and will walk from strength to strength on their pilgrimage to Zion.

Being visual, I picture a video game... here I am, Ms. SuperMario Sister, hopping from toadstool to toadstool above a merky pit of goo. I am going from strength to strength! And to add faith to the picture, sometimes I have to hop to the next toadstool before I can even see it. But God is faithful and continues to provide toadstools - rocks of salvation - to keep me above the death of this life.

One thing Beth Moore emphasized in her teaching today is hugely relevant as I write - we are only give the strength and grace necessary to live life one day at a time. That is why we go from strength to strength - from day to day. Many of my friends have expressed that they could never handle the things I have been given to handle in my life, but I can only handle what I have been given because God has provided an appropriate amount of grace for each trial I endure. Do not be afraid of what the Lord may have ordained for your life! God will always supply the strength and grace for each new task, we just simply have to choose to receive it and use it!

Lord thank You that You apportion to us for each day exactly what we need to be strong and victorious in You. Thank You Lord that You do not leave us to flounder in the midst of our suffering. Thank You that with each day You provide a firm place for us to plant our feet on the broken and twisting road of our pilgrimage. Lord I pray that today, for those who are enduring sufferings they could never imagine, I pray that You and Your strength would be abundant and real. Thank You Lord that You came to Earth as a simple human, weak like us, in need of strength like us. Jesus, you lived day to day, strength to strength on the bread of the Word and on the fellowship of prayer with the Father. Help me today to live like You - depending only on the strength of God.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was thinking of you today as the video was playing and asking myself that question "LORD could I walk through what she has?" I have gone through hard things even to the point of possibly losing my husband to death by fire and amazingly have felt that strength without even asking for it - He just graced me with it. I know the answer to my question but I am glad that you can articulate it so well in words. Love you !