II Timothy 1:7; Philippians 3 - "Oh Come To The Altar"

Every time I was awake during the night I had the words to O Come To The Altar going through my mind. 

Are you hurting and broken within
Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin
Jesus is calling
Have you come to the end of yourself
Do you thirst for a drink from the well
Jesus is calling

O come to the altar
The Father's arms are open wide
Forgiveness was bought with
The precious blood of Jesus Christ

Yes! He is always ready for us to run into His arms and allow Him to love us. He desires to love us so we can love others with His love. There are so many people walking around with heavy burdens in their heart. Some of them are at peace with the burdens because they trust their Heavenly Father. Others are distraught with no peace. I think of that saying:

No God = No Peace

Know God = Know Peace

His peace is unexplainable. There is no explainable reason to having peace in the midst of a storm in life than God. He desires to draw closer to us through such times. He desires to love us through 'tough' days. He doesn't want us to hurt but there are times we have to so our faith can grow. 'Tough' days enable us to see how He can work in and through us. Yesterday was just one of many 'tough' days we are experiencing right now. Doc was miserable with pain. I didn't know until the last minute whether he would be able to preach or if I would need to step in. The pain continued throughout the day until evening came around. Thankfully he was able to not only eat supper but he was the one to grill the steaks. As we ate he kept saying 'this is the best meal I've had in a long time.' It tasted good to him. It isn't easy to find something that does. A lot of times he thinks he wants something only to start eating and not be able to. God blessed us greatly with our dinner. He knew we needed such a time after the day we had experienced. He knows what we need and provides. That is one of the blessings of being a child of the King. Another blessing is the empowerment He gives as we live in His presence. II Timothy 1:7 is on my lips and in my mind every day. Paul wrote these words to share how we are to live. We do not have to live in fear of anything but instead need to live in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit so we can love with His love. As we do, we will have His strength as Paul wrote about in Philippians 4:13 and His peace as he wrote about earlier in the chapter.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Praise His Holy Name! I am so thankful to live in His presence where He is always with me. I am thankful for the way He is my Soothing Balm when the hurts of life become overwhelming. I know there is no decision I have to make on my own. For that I am grateful. I also know He will guide me to where He desires me to go and what He desires me to do. Woo hoo! There is such freedom in living a life in His presence! 

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for Your peace! Thank You for Your empowerment! Thank You for Your strength! Father, cleanse me today so You can fill me with more of You. I so desire to walk in Your will, doing what You desire of me. Father, yesterday was so hard on Doc with the pain he experienced. I pray for His healing while on this earth to happen sooner than later. I pray for Your empowerment to be upon him today and Your soothing balm to start at the top of his head and go to the tip of his toes. May the pain be less. Lord, I do not understand why we have to battle with getting pain medication but go before me today so the refill will go through. Lord, we continue to rejoice in You even in the 'tough' days. We are so thankful he was able to grill last night and then supper tasted good to him. Something so simple yet something that meant so much to us. I'm sorry when we took things such as that for granted. Lord, as we await the appointment with the oncologist on Wednesday we ask for Your peace. It stinks that I can't be with him for it but I understand with the coronavirus why. Lord, use us as we continue on this road. May people see/hear You instead of us in our words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. May people come into relationship with You for the very first time through us. May those who are in relationship already get to the end of themselves and allow You total control. Oh how I pray for people to realize Your love in a new, different way. Father, empower me to be more intentional in sharing You. Thank You for being My Soothing Balm! Amen.