Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
It was our 25th wedding anniversary and we woke up to smoke and soon realized our home was on fire. Our youngest son was asleep in his downstairs bedroom.
I ran down the hallway and shouted to him, "FIRE! Get up and get out of the house!" As soon as I heard him stirring, I shouted it once more, then my husband and I met him at the front of the house.
We watched along with our neighbors who had gathered, as the fire fighters attempted to put the fire out. We were safe, but what the fire didn't burn, the smoke and water managed to make a total loss of all our belongings.
It all went up in fire, smoke and water damage. My wedding dress, baby clothes that I had saved, photographs and various items that money could never replace.
After the fire was out, the fire chief allowed us back into the home to salvage whatever we could. I remember going into the kitchen, it didn't even look like the same room I had spent so many hours in making meals, birthday cakes and holiday preparations.
But, then I saw it, the lone magnet that was left on the refrigerator. It was the only one of about thirty magnets that I had kept stuck to the major appliance and it had survived the fire, smoke and water damage.
It read, "Pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks!" I knew right away God had allowed that magnet to survive, but I wasn't quite ready to give thanks.
Still, I took the magnet off the refrigerator and kept it near me as we went through the process of "starting over!" Whenever I got discouraged, I just pulled it out and read the verse that God had so lovingly left for me. Years later I was even able to share it with a friend who was going through tough times.
When we are going through "fiery trials" we don't always see things so clearly. The smoke has a way of blinding and choking us as we stand still in our distress.
How do I stress to you, that these are the times we must trust the Lord and press on! We must rejoice, take time to pray and give thanks to our Father in heaven.
Life isn't always easy but that is not a reason to quit or give up!! It is not a reason to wallow and flounder in our disappointments or heartaches!
We commit our ways to God, then with hope and confidence we move forward through our rejoicing, our prayers and our giving thanks!
It becomes easier the more we learn to do these things. Rejoicing is just praising God, praying is just talking to Him, and giving thanks is just knowing He will make a way!
Where ever you are my friend, I urge you to give it a try. Once you do, you will find it gets easier with every adversity you face.
Will you trust the Lord to help you today?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
It was our 25th wedding anniversary and we woke up to smoke and soon realized our home was on fire. Our youngest son was asleep in his downstairs bedroom.
I ran down the hallway and shouted to him, "FIRE! Get up and get out of the house!" As soon as I heard him stirring, I shouted it once more, then my husband and I met him at the front of the house.
We watched along with our neighbors who had gathered, as the fire fighters attempted to put the fire out. We were safe, but what the fire didn't burn, the smoke and water managed to make a total loss of all our belongings.
It all went up in fire, smoke and water damage. My wedding dress, baby clothes that I had saved, photographs and various items that money could never replace.
After the fire was out, the fire chief allowed us back into the home to salvage whatever we could. I remember going into the kitchen, it didn't even look like the same room I had spent so many hours in making meals, birthday cakes and holiday preparations.
But, then I saw it, the lone magnet that was left on the refrigerator. It was the only one of about thirty magnets that I had kept stuck to the major appliance and it had survived the fire, smoke and water damage.
It read, "Pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks!" I knew right away God had allowed that magnet to survive, but I wasn't quite ready to give thanks.
Still, I took the magnet off the refrigerator and kept it near me as we went through the process of "starting over!" Whenever I got discouraged, I just pulled it out and read the verse that God had so lovingly left for me. Years later I was even able to share it with a friend who was going through tough times.
When we are going through "fiery trials" we don't always see things so clearly. The smoke has a way of blinding and choking us as we stand still in our distress.
How do I stress to you, that these are the times we must trust the Lord and press on! We must rejoice, take time to pray and give thanks to our Father in heaven.
Life isn't always easy but that is not a reason to quit or give up!! It is not a reason to wallow and flounder in our disappointments or heartaches!
We commit our ways to God, then with hope and confidence we move forward through our rejoicing, our prayers and our giving thanks!
It becomes easier the more we learn to do these things. Rejoicing is just praising God, praying is just talking to Him, and giving thanks is just knowing He will make a way!
Where ever you are my friend, I urge you to give it a try. Once you do, you will find it gets easier with every adversity you face.
Will you trust the Lord to help you today?
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