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May you be encouraged ...
... by the Word of the Lord.
Right now Vicki and I are going through some very uncertain times. We just buried her mother and, though she is now in glory with Jesus, the sadness lingers. Now Vicki's dad is in hospital with what may be the final stage of multiple myeloma. He has ALL of the symptoms. We are waiting for the test results. He is unsaved.
And as of Friday I am unemployed. I am also experiencing some serious health issues and facing the fact that I will soon know whether indeed I have prostate cancer; and, if so, how bad it is. Yet I am conscious that whether I can see the end of the storm or not, whether I can feel His presence or not, His Word assures my hope. He is my shield and my portion. My Rock and my Protector. My source and my supply.
There is an awesome exhortation in Isaiah that few refer to, yet it is of crucial importance to ALL of God's people. It reads:
"Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." —Isaiah 50:10 NASB
What a blessed instruction! Speaking to God's people, the prophet says if you are His and fear Him and obey His Word yet you find yourself in a time of darkness and you can see no light anywhere you look, then the answer is to continue to trust in the Lord. Set yourself upon that Rock and do not move from it.
I particularly love the KJV translation of this verse, for I think its choice of words for "rely" is inspired. The word in Hebrew is שָׁעַן and means "rely on", "lean on", "trust in". And the KJV captures ALL of that with its use of the archaic verb "to stay".
"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."
In earlier English "to stay" meant "to stand firm", "to remain anchored upon". And standing firm and being anchored on God is what relying, leaning and trusting are all about. Ephesians 6:15 tells us that the piece of spiritual armor upon which we stand is the Gospel of Peace ... the Word of God. Having our feet shod by being prepared with that gospel gives us the security of a firm and unshakable foundation. It means we stand on Jesus Christ and on nothing else. That is our ground and we must never move from it; for when we are on it we are secure. And when combined with all the rest of the armor—ALL of which springs from that basis of the gospel of Jesus Christ—we are promised that we "will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11 NASB) For the ground we stand on in Christ is secure!
A little later (Ephesians 6:27) we are told to give no place to the devil. The word translated "place" is the Greek word τόπος (topos, pronounced TOP-oss) from which we get our English word topography and topographical. Topos refers to a specific location, a piece of ground, a concrete physical place (though it may not necessarily be a place in the physical sphere but in the spiritual). Thus topography is the study of the physical surface of the earth. We stand on a physical place in the spiritual world— the Rock that is Christ. Satan endeavors constantly to move us off that Rock. He does that either by trying to lure us off it; pull us off it; push us off it; or squeeze us off it by moving closer and closer to us and slowly and and subtly trying to push us to the edge of it. But Christ says, "Give him no place!" Give him no ground on which to stand.
This can only be done by putting your faith exclusively in the Word of God. Job in his trials did that. His faith was beautifully and sublimely expressed when he said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." —Job 1:21 NASB
And again:
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." —Job 13:5a
And no less sublime is Habakkuk's expression of total trust in the Lord:
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." —Habakkuk 3:17-19
These were written by men who did not have the full canon of Scripture that we have, who had not seen as much prophecy fulfilled as we have, who saw the promise of Messiah only vaguely and indistinctly in the distance. Yet WE who have the full revelation of God';s plan, who have seen and accepted the truth of Jesus Christ the Messiah, who are born again and made new creatures with the Holy Spirit indwelling us—which those Old Testament saints could not even imagine; how can we not have even the same faith as they?
Yes, trials are hard. I know this because I am right down there shoulder to shoulder with everybody else in this Body. I have buried a loved and loving wife; and am now facing the future with absolutely no certainty in sight. Yet I can say to you that God is good. That He never changes. That He cares for us in love more than we can ever know. And all that befalls us is just to bring us closer to Him and to make us more pliable in His hands in order to be able to identify with, pray for, and help those to whom He is calling.
Pastor Donnie McClurkin has a beautiful song that I heard this morning. It is entitled: "I Will Trust You, Lord. The words are as follows:
I know that faith is easy when everything is going well
But can you still believe in Me when your life's a living hell?
And when all the things around you seem to quickly fade away
There's just one thing I really want to know
Will you let go? (I'll trust you, Lord)
Will you stand on My word? (I'll trust you, Lord)
Against all odds will you believe what I have said? (I'll trust You, Lord)
What seems impossible... (I'll trust You, Lord)
Will you believe? (I'll trust You, Lord)
Every promise that I made will you receive? (Yes, I will trust You, Lord)
I know how bad it hurt you when that loved one's life came to an end
And when they had to leave you, you said you'd never love again
But will you trust that I can help you and I'll never turn away?
Will you trust Me, child, no matter, come what may?
What if it hurts? (I'll trust You, Lord)
What if you cry? (I'll trust You, Lord)
What if it doesn't work out the first time that you try? (I'll trust You, Lord)
What if you call My name ... (I'll trust You, lord)
And you don't feel Me near? (I'll trust You, Lord)
Will you believe in Me or will you fear? Oh, my child? (Yes, I will trust, You Lord)
I will trust
I will trust
I will trust
I pray this all ministers to someone in need. You are not alone. Yes, your brothers and sisters in the Lord are here for you. But greater than that: the Lord God Himself is with you ... and IN you ... ALWAYS!
Stay upon Him.
In Christ,
Your brother Matt.
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Originally Posted by mattfivefour
You are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
!!!!
Thank you, Meg!
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