There are so many messages out there. Some of doubt, some of despair, some of hope. It is easy to be swept into the thoughts of the world, to let our minds be carried by mindsets that are not the ones we should hold fast to. This morning I have so many thoughts swimming through my head that I decided to turn on some praise music and dive into the Word. That is the mindset that I want.
As I was flipping through some pages my eyes were caught on the subheadings. I know that these have been added into the Bible, but they summarize the chapter(s) to follow.
The times of the Bible were rough. They were filled with death, plagues, rule by horrific kings, slaughter of innocent children, and so many things that we can't even comprehend in our day.
Just look:
A Rebellious Nation
Judgement on Jerusalem and Judah
Woes and Judgments
The Lord's Anger Against Israel
A Prophecy Against Babylon
A Prophesy Against Assyria
A Prophesy Against Moab
The Lord's Devastation of the Earth
Woe to David's City
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
This is only a small taste of tough times in the Bible. But the greater knowledge is this: Jesus is our redemption. He came to save us, as Christians from things such as these. It doesn't mean that we won't have to walk through hard time. Goodness knows our eyes are blind if we think that, but it does mean that we will not walk alone.
Just look:
The Branch of the Lord
The Day of the Lord
To Us A Child is Born
Song of Praise
Deliverance of Israel
Joy of the Redeemed
Comfort for God's People
The Helper of Israel
Israel's Only Savior
God's Mercy and israel's Unfaithfulness
I cling to that God. To the God who pours out mercy even in the face of our unfaithfulness. The God who blesses us though we glance at the blessing with no more than an acknowledgement of it and continue on in our selfish doubt.
I will not allow myself to get caught up in the worry of the world. I will be thankful each and every day that He has given us MORE THAN ENOUGH. That's right, MORE THAN ENOUGH! So even when we are facing pay cuts, time off work without pay, smaller and smaller budgets...HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH!
I cannot count my blessings for they are far too many to be counted. Each day something different stands out to me as a blessing that I am thankful for. The following list is in no way complete. It is not necessarily all of the things that are most important although some of the most important things will be listed. It is a mere reminder to myself when I look back at the things that stand out right now, in this moment...
~My God loves me.
~I have a husband who cherishes me.
~I have two beautiful, healthy children.
~My parents and in-laws love me and would do anything for me.
~Based on the above, I do not have a dreaded mother-in-law. Instead I have another mother and words cannot express my love for her.
~I have a house. It is warm. It is filled.
~I have a church that I love.
~I love all of my family. I do not want to make it seem like I love anyone more than another, but right now I have an aunt and uncle who are blessing my socks off with their love, and I don't even know that they know how much it means to me.
~I work for an amazing Christian woman. I am blessed to be getting to know her more.
~God has healed the eczema on my hands. Healing for my legs is coming.
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