He is their strength in times of trouble.
And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.
Psalm 37:39,40
Just recently, due to the news of the ethnic riots in Xin Jiang between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese, I have taken an interest in Chinese political history. So, whenever I have pockets of time at work, I read articles on Wikipedia about Chinese politicians, Deng Xiao Ping, Chiang Kai Shek, Sun Yat Sen, Zhou YiYang and other prominent events that happened in China like the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the persecution of Fa-Lun Gong practitioners.
That led me to think about persecution A lot, and Martyrdom and suffering for the sake of Christ's Name. While Michael and I were talking about the persecution that may happen, ( or is already happening to missionaries and other people that governments hate ), I was pretty troubled and for awhile, in my arrogance, thought, 'I can do this, it'll only be awhile'. In my pride I forgot that it is the Lord that determines our days and that He cares about us. I was chastized when Michael mentioned that God takes care of His people. my heart was moved to realize that it is not MY righteous sacrifice when I go through pain; I can do NOTHING in order to please God. It's all His grace!
This morning, I read Psalm 37, and it talks about not worrying about evildoers and comparing the "blessings" on the righteous and the wicked. The Lord keeps count of each man(and woman).
God's got really funny timing.. I think He gave me this word to sober and wake me up from my constant pessimism and my skeptism. I always doubt whether people will change for the better, or the world will ever become a better place, my friends (who are SO close to my heart) EVER repenting and (re)turning to Christ, or my own self, ever unfaithful and sinful. whether I will ever stop being stupid and surrender all to God. I guess was projecting my disappointment on God and inadverdantly blaming Him for whatever logic/reason I don't know.. Humans are a magnet for trouble.. We jump into so many complicating problems on our own. I wonder How God can stay patient with us. But, He forgives those who ask for forgiveness, and He always HOPES, Always is Patient, Kind, Always perseveres,and Endures all things. He is Love. and Love NEVER FAILS..
I am VERY thankful that God decided to pull me out of my pit and set my feet on a rock, I intentionally make that rock slippery for myself frequently. Sometimes, I get self-righteous and think I'm better than all my friends that I know have backslidden.
Boy am I Wrong.
It is only by His grace that He pulled me out of the Sh**Hole I purposely jumped into, and He in His love, cleaned me up and adorned me with beautiful new clothes, and a new identity ~ A Child of the King. When I am unfaithful and lavish attention on my idols, and think of myself as deserving of Salvation, I am always reminded that I am starting to look more and more like the woman depicted in Ezekiel 16. an unfaithful bride/ like Hosea's wife.
He's Soooo faithful, and HE is indefinitely Mighty to Save!
Song of the week: Hosea's Wife ( Brooke Fraser )
Currently Obsessed with :
Artist John Waterhouse:
Lady of Shalott
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