II Timothy 1:7; Psalm 46:1-3, 91; I Peter 5:7-9; Romans 8 - "Oh Lord, You're Beautiful"

I woke up during the night to the words of Keith Green's song Oh Lord, You're Beautiful going through my head. They are still with me this morning.

Oh Lord, You're Beautiful
Your face is all I seek
For when Your eyes are on this child
Your grace abounds to me

Oh Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright and clear
Replace the lamp of my first love
That burns with holy fear

I want to live in this manner. I want to seek Him with all I have and live out His grace. I know the way to a life of total obedience to Him comes through staying focused on Him. Sometimes in days like yesterday it is easy to lose my focus. But then He reminds me it is His love that is what gets me through such days. As I walked a little bit while I waited on Doc to finish up chemo the song He gave me yesterday morning kept going through my mind. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in Your love. I don't have to fear anything but instead I just have to stand in His empowerment and love that Paul teaches about in II Timothy 1:7. Fear comes from the enemy...faith comes from God. Last night Nancy said in Bible study that God gives us tests...the enemy gives us temptations. The enemy wants to see us fall. That is why he tempts us. God wants to see us thrive through 'tough' times. That is why He tests us. God knows our faith will grow through trials. He knows we will be refined and molded more into His image through trials. I don't have to fear the future because God has everything under control. What I have to do is press into Him more to allow Him to give me His wisdom. I must stay focused on Him. If I don't, the enemy will have an open door into my life. I cannot allow that. God is always with me. He was with me yesterday as we waited to hear whether Doc's blood work was too low to have chemo and for the preliminary results from my mammogram. I'm thankful for the time He gave me to walk for a little bit on the path behind the infusion center. It was so beautiful. I needed it. Oh how I wish I could go sit at Hunting Island and bask in the sun as the Son shines down on me. I need some 'water therapy'! I do believe I get as much out of this kind of 'water therapy' as I did when I went to the Wellness Center for 'water therapy'! I miss going for walks by the waterfront downtown. Hopefully soon those things can happen again. But I am happy for these days of being self-quarantined with my sweetie. God knew we needed a day like Tuesday to get us through what was coming Wednesday. I wish I wasn't so emotional on such days but He keeps reminding me that He created me just like I am. I am so grateful for the way my parents raised me to live out my faith. I am grateful to be married to a strong godly man who lives out his faith. I am grateful to have friends who encourage me by living out lives of faith. Plain and simple. I am grateful. I will not allow the enemy to steal my joy. Instead I will live out II Timothy 1:7 so God can empower me to not fear but instead love with His love and make decisions based upon Him. I desire to please my Heavenly Daddy and walk in obedience to what He desires of me. I must stay focused on Him so I can live this type of life. He has given me this gift of time during the COVID-19 and I desire to continue opening up this gift every day. I do not want to waste it but instead I want to use it to enhance my marriage, my relationships, and most of all my walk with God. I'm thankful for the time to: be with Doc, be in God's Word; pray more; and love on people more. These are 'different' days but that doesn't mean they are 'bad'! It is all in how one looks at them. I choose to see the cup half full and not half empty. I know the more I do, the more He will bless me with His presence. In His presence is the place I choose to dwell. There is where I feel the closest to Him. It is where I find shelter from the yuckiness of life. It is where I find His strength to carry on. He is my Umbrella when the 'rain' comes pouring down in the storms of life. He protects me, leads me, and covers me from harm. I do not have to do anything in my own strength but instead can stand strong in His. I do not have to make any decisions on my own but instead allow Him to give me His wisdom. I am so grateful for this knowledge. I also am grateful for His Word that reinforces this. Psalm 46:1-3 reads in the Good News Translation:

God is our shelter and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken
    and mountains fall into the ocean depths;
3 even if the seas roar and rage,
    and the hills are shaken by the violence.

Yes! These verses encourage me that God is always with me. Psalm 91 in the New International Version also encourages me.

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

I Peter 5:7-9 also encourages me to live out II Timothy 1:7 every day but especially on 'tough' days. It reads in The Passion Translation:

7 Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you. 8 Be well balanced and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for its prey to devour. 9 Take a decisive stand against him and resist his every attack with strong, vigorous faith. For you know that your believing brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing the same kinds of troubles you endure.

It is key to remember when we give something to God we need to not take it back. Instead we need to allow Him to use it to grow our spiritual beings. We need to remember He already knows the outcome and will see us through whatever lies ahead. I have given Him the situation with the cancer in Doc's pancreas. I continue to pray for a healing for him while on this earth but if that is not what will happen I know He is with me. I know He will see me through whatever lies ahead. Praise His Holy Name! I am grateful for people who pray for us. Sometimes my heart hurts so bad I feel like I can't pray. I am grateful for Paul's words in Romans 8:26-28 in The Message. Earlier in the chapter Paul spoke of the importance of living a life of obedience to God. He will see us through the storms of life in a way that is unlike any other. Paul compares us waiting for a storm to end in life to the birth of a child. It includes pain yet there is joy in the outcome. As a pregnant woman waits, she goes through pain and becomes enlarged. The same happens to believers who are waiting for a storm to pass. There may not be joy on this earth when the storm passes but there is eternal joy for all who believe. 

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Yes! What encouragement I gain from His Word. I am so grateful for the way He brings everything into perspective through writers from years ago.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for being with us yesterday! Thank You for Your Word that encourages me greatly! Thank You for giving us both another day of life! I pray You will cleanse us so we can be Your faithful servants. I pray for Your words, actions, attitude, and thoughts to be ours today. Lord, may today be a better day for Doc physically, mentally, and emotionally. May we both feel Your empowerment throughout this day. As we wait for an appointment for his CT scan and then wait on the results, may You continue to give us Your strength. Lord, thank You for Marlene, Sandy, Melissa, and Mike who encouraged me last night! Thank You for the time I had to 'be with' Noel and his family for worship! May You continue to bless them. I pray for Tracy as they go through 'tough' days to lean into You for strength. I continue to pray for others like David and Lisa who are dealing with cancer. I pray for Sheryl with the death of her brother; Chuck with the death of his father; and the Moya family with Bella's death. May You be close to all. I also pray for those affected by the COVID-19 virus to feel Your presence in their lives. Lord, continue to empower me to keep my focus on You. Today would have been my earthly Daddy's 95th birthday. I know he is rejoicing with You and in turn I am rejoicing with You! Be with my Momma today and empower her to bask on the memories of when he was with her on this earth. Thank You for being My Umbrella! Amen.