Now I will praise the LORD

“And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Now I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore, she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.” Gen. 29:35 NKJV

She was a woman locked in a struggle.

Or at least that is how she is responding.

She and her sister are married to the same man, because of trickery on her father’s part.

We never hear if she wanted to be married to him.

But we do know she wanted her husband to love her.

Unfortunately, her idea of gaining her husband’s love is by baring sons.

Some how, she forgot the truth with her first three sons.

“So, Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, ‘The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me. Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.’ She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore, his name was called Levi.” Gen. 29:32-34 NKJV

She had forgotten that children are a gift from the Lord.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalm 127:3

Until, Judah was born.

The Bible does not tell us what changed.

But the change is clear.

Leah stopped trying to win the struggle for her husband’s love with this son and simply praised God for her son.

Unfortunately, she returns to the struggle not long afterwards, when she realizes she is no longer having children.

After a time, God again blesses her with another son and lastly a daughter. Gen. 30:20-21

One can only guess what Leah’s life could have been if she had remained praising the Lord instead of returning to the struggle.

Yet, there is hope in this story.

Leah is the only wife Jacob buried in the family tomb with his parents and grandparents.

And that son she praised God for, he became the head of the family.

Through his linage came King David and eventually Jesus.

Perhaps, Leah did return to praising God for all that He had blessed her with.

The Bible doesn’t tell us.

The lesson to us is clear, we need to praise the Lord for His blessings.

No matter what things we might be struggling with; health, family, money, education, it could be anything, we need to see what God has been doing.

We need to recognize His blessings.

We need to praise Him.

He is worthy of all praise and honor.

“I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.” Psalm 7:17 NKJV

“Praise the LORD!
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 106:1 NKJV

“The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” Exodus 15:2 NKJV

Because it is when we look to God, when we realize how great, how good, how able He is, all our struggles suddenly become small.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the many places in scripture which tell us to worship and praise You. Thank You that it is through praise we find the ability to let go of our struggles. Lord, it is not always easy to choose to praise You. At times things seem to be so overwhelming praise is an effort. Lord, in those moments, please remind me that when I praise You, I find strength. When I praise You, I find hope. Lord, when I praise You, I can see past the moment. Lord Jesus, no matter the circumstances, no matter the day or time or schedule, You are always worthy of praise and I want to give You all my worship, all my gratitude, all my praise. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Another Tuesday

Dear Reader, please understand that this post is extremely difficult for me to publish as it is very personal. My prayer time with the Father is not something I like or want to share for so many reasons. However, I must obey the Lord. In no way are my prayers meant to teach any specific theology or to declare a form that works or in anyway be an example. It is simply my time with Jesus and I hope you can respect the privacy that I’m sharing with you. God bless.💗

“Good morning, Lord.”

Good morning, Little one. I know, you are weary.

“Yes, Lord, I am.”

“Jesus, please fix me, my attitude is poor, my body is cranky, my mind is fuzzy. I’m a mess. I need Your strength to do home school, to pray for others, to smile at my family. I’m empty, please fill me up.”

Child, why are you empty? Or are you?

“You’re right. I’m not.”

What you are is Mine.

“Yes, Lord. Please forgive me. I allowed my emotions and my physical to crowd out the truth. Thank You for reminding me.”

I love you. I am with you.

“Yes, Lord. Thank You, so much. Jesus, please guide me as to what Your will is today.”

I will. I am. Don’t forget to praise.

“Yes, Jesus! What a blessing and what joy to glorify Your name! Lord Jesus, You alone are worthy of all praise. You are incredible! You give me breath, life, food, all that I need. You have blessed me with family and friends and a place to live and clothes to wear. Thank You! God, how awesome is Your name! How precious are Your ways! You alone are worthy of all praise! Jesus, I so much want others to be able to enjoy the relationship You are wanting to have with each one. Please open the hearts and minds of those who have yet to know You. Please deepen the walk of those who already know You. Lord, please don’t let us simply know about You, and then go our own way, please let us walk with You in all things.”

“Lord Jesus, there is so much hurt, loss, and fear right now and I know You understand the hurting far better than anyone. You see the heart. You love more than we can ever have the capacity to love. I also know that I can trust You in all of this. I don’t understand all that You are doing, but I know You are.”

Yes child, I know. Trust Me and pray.

“Lord, thank You for all Your wonderous works. Whether we see them or understand them, I know You are working. Lord Jesus, please heal the hurting and the sick. Lord touch the hearts. Please, soften the bitter. Open those spiritual eyes who have grown dim or blind to truth. Unstop the ears, let Your truth be heard. Shut the mouth of violence. Stop the ways of wickedness. Put an end to harming the innocent. Please strengthen the feeble. Please protect those who are doing what is right. Please guard those who are risking themselves for others. Please put Your hand on those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. God, put an end to hate between people. The only thing we should hate is evil. Lord, please raise up leaders who are people of integrity, honor, and truth. Please let fathers be responsible, loving, kind. Men who do what is right each and every day. Men who love their wives, work hard, provide for their families, lead the home in teaching and worshipping You. Lord, please let the men of this country be Mighty Men of Valor, able in word and deed. Men who love to serve You and those around them. Not vulgar, not addicted, not lazy, not angry, but full of peace, love, integrity, and truth: Your Word. Lord, please let women be praying for their husbands, their children, their communities, their homes. Let us be steadfast in caring for our families and our friends. Lord, let us raise our children to know You, to be honorable, to be humble. Lord, please help us women to be full of virtue, not lazy, not addicted, not bitter, not angry, not depressed, not held down by lies. Lord Jesus, please let us be Women of Worth. Please whatever the task at hand let us do it with all our might, in love, in service, in gentleness and kindness. Lord, raise up women who will speak the truth with love to those around them. Women who lovingly serve no matter the personal cost. Women who support and exhort their husbands and their children. Women who love You more than life itself. Lord, there is so much more. Thank You so much for loving us. Thank You for salvation. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your unwavering support. Jesus, I love You. May Your name be glorified throughout the whole Earth.”

Dealing with pride

It hadn’t seemed like a big deal.

Yet, I knew something was off.

As I prayed the certainty grew.

Something was wrong.

And that something was within.

“Lord, please show me my sin that I might repent. Please cleanse me within.”

Pride.

Yikes!

“Lord, please forgive me! Where have I let pride in?”

And as gently as a mother removing a bandage which has been on too long, the Lord revealed my sin.

Underneath a patch of “doing what is expected” was hiding the real motive.

pride.

Uhg.

With the revealed heart motivation came a clear picture of some other areas.

Off and on for a couple of weeks I’ve been feeling emotionally prickly.

Unable to place it before, I simply tried to ignore it.

Obviously, a poor choice.

It’s a bit embarrassing to look upon one’s sin and to realize it had been left undetected by me.

Yet, I’d rather see my sin than allow it to linger and grow.

Because just like all sin, it begins to taint all areas.

Before long the heart can be overcome with bitterness, envy, strife, unforgiveness, and a host of other things.

All through one spot of sin ignored and therefore allowed.

Praise God for His mercy!

What a blessed gift to be shown the danger within and to have my Savior deal with it!

How great is His loving kindness!

-sigh-

smile

Until the day when my LORD calls me home, I will need to be cleansed by Jesus of the sins I commit.

No, I don’t do it on purpose.

Yes, I study His Word that I might be aware of His commandments and do my best to follow them.

No, I’m not able to make it even a single day without falling into sin.

Yes, I keep as short account of those things as possible.

Yes, He truly does love me enough to forgive me and continue to hone my heart that I might not sin against Him.

It’s a beautiful daily walk with Christ.

My Lord and Savior who cleanses me.

As I seek Him this morning, I’m so very thankful for His dealing with my heart yesterday.

For each of us, who are called by His name, may we never walk with hidden sin, but instead confess and become cleansed daily.

1 John 1:9 KJV — If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for loving me so deeply. Thank You for freeing my heart from the pride I had allowed. Lord Jesus, I don’t want to do that again and I am ashamed for doing it, thank You for forgiving me. Please protect me from that in the future. Protect my eyes, my heart, and my mind that I might not sin against You. Please keep me from looking at worthless things, but instead let me focus on You. Lord, thank You so much for Your mercy and grace. I am humbled by Your love. Amen.

“Then the LORD turned…”

It was a fairly average day.

Gideon was working in a hidden place to keep the enemy from taking his stuff.

The enemy were the Midianites.

The stuff was wheat, Gideon was threshing.

“Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.” Judges 6:11 NKJV

Gideon didn’t notice, the man sitting under the terebinth tree.

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Judges 6:12 NKJV

Gideon said to Him, “O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Judges 6:13 NKJV

Can you hear it?

The tone of his voice,the frustration, the disbelief, and the discouragement?

Or was Gideon’s tone full of acidity, of the kind who believe God has rejected them and their hopelessness has rotted their soul?

We don’t really know.

God does not tell us what tone or how his heart reacted.

But whatever Gideon had been before, was about to change.

Because the LORD turned to him and spoke.

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Judges 6:14 NKJV

Wow.

Here Gideon was just saying, “…why has all this happened to us?”

“And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about,…”

To the LORD!

He was accusing God to His very face!

And he was completely unaware of it.

Can you imagine what Gideon felt as he realized what he had just done?!

And yet, God doesn’t zap him on the spot for his sin.

Instead, he gives him an incredible calling.

Gideon followed the LORD’s words and the Midianites were defeated.

And God did it in such a way as to make a clear statement to His people.

When they obeyed His commands things went well.

But unfortunately, they did the turning.

The book of Judges is full of the stories of the Israelites turning away from God and then back towards Him and then away from Him and…

But this moment of God turning towards Gideon is a beautiful example of how faithful God is.

And it should serve as a reminder as well.

God isn’t absent in our trials and sufferings.

The problem isn’t Him.

It’s us.

We fail to notice Him and if we are not careful we can accuse God, when He has done all that is required to save us.

He proved it on the cross and the empty grave.

If ones soul is with Jesus, then this life’s struggles and sufferings are temporary.

Psalm 121:7 NKJV — The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.

2 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV — For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

What can be better than salvation and eternal life in Christ Jesus?

Truly, there is such hope in this moment of Gideon’s for every heart.

God knows far better than we and His is trustworthy.

Even on these days of uncertainty, if we look, He is not far.

God is still sovereign and He has already saved us from the worst enemy there has ever been.

Praise the Lord!

He is so good!

It’s about to begin!

She’s going to compete in her first college track meet!

I’m so excited.

And a tiny bit nervous.

To realize how God has walked her through everything to reach this moment.

My mind sifts through the past and my heart is filled with wonder.

When she was 13 months old, she stopped growing.

Babies are not supposed to do that.

So, we embarked on a scary journey of blood tests.

13 month old babies don’t like getting their blood drawn.

Everything came back normal and we discovered the issue was teeth.

She broke eight teeth, four molars and four eye teeth.

Then she went back to growing.

I think of the waiting room at the E.R..

We were waiting to find out if she had burst her spleen in a basketball game.

Then later that same season she busted her knee open, requiring stitches.

The final injury of that traumatic season was a concussion.

The moment in the doctor’s office when I realized I hadn’t handled her injury correctly.

I’d actually placed her in danger.

But, praise God, He held her and she recovered.

There are so many more memories.

One of my favorite is when she was seven.

We were working at the church and she’d noticed the sink full of dishes awaiting a washing.

Without comment, she found a stool.

My husband had walked past on his way to retrieve a needed item and found her busily washing dishes.

It wasn’t a one time thing either.

Sometimes after church service, we’d find her with the sweet lady who tidied up, busily washing dishes.

That same year, I was having a terrible day.

Nothing, was going right.

The house was a wreck, my homeschooling wasn’t a success, and it seems like we were expecting company.

That part of the memory is fuzzy.

What I remember clearly is my emotions, I was on the verge of bursting into tears.

She looked at me for a second or two.

Her dark eyes just reading mine.

Then she went to the hall, grabbed out the broom and went to work on the floors.

She never said a thing.

But I’ve never forgotten what her actions spoke so clearly.

Infact, spoken words have never been her thing.

It’s little wonder God is using her actions (she’s attending school on a track scholarship) to propel her into the future.

I’m so amazed at how God is working in her life today.

He’s brought up this beautiful young woman and is giving her a future and a hope.

I have no idea what to expect from the circumstances.

But I do know what to expect from the Lord.

Whatever His plans are for her,

it will be good!

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV — For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Daily miracles

Yesterday, was incredible.

I got more done than I did all the previous week!

This morning, I knew.

The Lord’s gentle voice.

Today, rest.

It was exactly what I needed to hear.

As I sat at the dining table this morning, talking with Anne about my plans for the day.

“I need to take it slower today.”

“Good, Mom. Yesterday, you were moving so fast you couldn’t even hear Jase and I.”

I smiled a bit sheepishly.

“Oh,…really? Sorry,” smiling at her over my cup of tea.

Anne knows that often my day will be a reflection of how much rest I was or wasn’t able to get during the night.

She prays for me and her Dad to get rest.

She also asks me regularly how I slept.

This morning I had to admit, I hadn’t slept well.

When I did finally sleep, my dreams kept me from feeling refreshed.

But I was able to share a praise as well.

“Really early this morning, before I was ready to get up, the Lord spoke so clearly.”

“What did He say? Can you remember?”

“Yes. He said, ‘I have redeemed you.'”

Anne waited for me to continue.

“That’s all He said, but I know He’s telling me to let go and simply trust Him today.”

Although, there are tasks which I want to do, and things which need attention, I’m resting today.

Because it’s a daily miracle: redemption.

Jesus paid the price, once and for all.

Yet, it’s in the day to day where I learn how to walk in this wonderful redemption.

And the Lord knew, I needed a reminder before my day had even begun.

What miracles has He done in your day?

To be remembered

“He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;

The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.” Psalm 111:4 NKJV

Oh, how easy it is to forget.

This life of chore lists, phone messages, texts, emails, appointments, and duties can all sweep away the memory.

But God’s wonderful

(let that adjective and all it’s meaning steep in your soul)

God’s wonderful works were made to be remembered.

Who is to remember these wonderful works?

I am.

You are.

Those who have come before us.

Those who will come after us.

His works are to be remembered so we might better understand

who God is.

Infact the verse continues with two of God’s attributes:

“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.”

The direct effect of the psalmist remembering God’s wonderful works.

Therefore, it’s important that the effort be made.

The purposeful act of recalling to mind God’s works.

The Lord gave the Israelites the monuments of stones to remember crossing the Jordan.

He made it clear why.

It was to tell their children what God had done.

To pass on a moment in history, where God worked in a marvelous way.

They needed to remember what that work was.

The same is true for us.

It’s worth taking the time to stop and recall God’s wonderful works in our own lives.

It’s precious, spending some moments preserving those memories.

It’s valuable to declare to others the wonderful workings of Christ in our lives.

For in the remembrance

we will find

our

Wonderful LORD.