Valley Nights of Tears

Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.  Psalms 30:5

Many of us know what weeping in the night is all about.  Those times of true aloneness, when no other human being is  apart of what we are experiencing. When we lie in our beds and are suffering some great emotional, physical, or  relational time of distress, something which is breaking our hearts. The times of raw pain that are so deep we know that we can not handle them by ourselves.  And we can not!

 Only the Lord Jesus Christ can come and enter into these times of darkness..   Only His death and resurrection, allow His wonderful comforting love and Presence to come along side of us in these times of great sorrow. His Light shines in darkness," for in Him there is NO darkness" and by His Light He can lead us up and out of the pit of despair and grief: bring us above our suffering to His throne, where we find peace comfort and safety.

God created us.  He knows us our beginning  and our end. He alone knows what each of us need at every moment of our lives.  He wants to be with us in our pain and suffering, for He knows all about these emotions.   He, Himself suffered the greatest example of pain ever recorded, flogged, beaten, spit on a thorn of crowns brutal stuck into His head, then  hanging on a cross, nailed by spikes in each hand and through his feet, willingly dying there for my sin so that I might have eternal life through His resurrection, which would come after His death..  Jesus Christ the Son of God knows what it is to feel, pain and sorrow and suffering.  He knows what we feel and can, and does walk us through any dark valleys nights full of tears we may be going through.  We never have to be alone in or grief  or sorrow.  There is One who has bore them for us.

 If we are believers we are promised not to be alone. Jesus tells us in Scripture that, "I will NEVER leave you or forsake you"....Hebrews 13:5

I have been in a dark, dark valley of tearful nights over these past weeks , suffering some of the most profound pain and sorrow I have ever experienced.  Nights of sickness and hurting, that have brought so many tears,  I often wonder how they could keep flow on and on.  Nights when I like Paul could say I could despaired of life it's self.   Death would have been welcome.

But Jesus My Lord and Savior had another plan.  Light into my darkness and  the wiping away my tears. He brought His wonderful, prefect love and comforting light right into my darkness,  when I cried out to Him, bringing me help and hope, because He is hope.  He's is the Light and hope of all mankind and His precious loving Presence in times of adversity is beyond description.

He comes into my valley of tears and says,  "I am with you, you are not alone. You may weeping  during the night but  joy comes with the morning.  My joy,  for those who follow Me."  Our weeping, for whatever reason, is promised to turn to joy if we let Him in and let Him light our darkness.

Jesus has promised to wipe away every tear..Rev.7:17.. And for this daughter of Christ, that is exactly what He has been doing.   We, Jesus and I,  have been passing through the "valley night of tears" and are moving toward the morning and the joy that He will bring. 

Gods ways are not our ways.  Many ,, many times we will not understand the adversities and difficulties of this life. But wether we believe or do not believe in Him doesn't change the fact that He exists.  He Is Alive and resurrected into a new life and we can share it with Him, here on  earth and later in heaven when He calls us home, if we choose to walk with Him.

Everyone travels through the valley nights of tears---sorrow, grief, pain-- The question is do we travel them alone, or do we walk with the One who loves us enough to die for us,  If we walk with the Lord our nights through the valley of tears will be filled with His grace and mercy and He will lead us into mornings of joy.  The joy of the Lord.

Sweet Lord only You know why we must travel in these valley nights of tears.  And only You can walk with us through them, bring your peace, comfort and love when we  " trust in You and  lean not on our own understanding.  Thank You Lord that the suffering You allow, can result in the greatest blessing we can know...Your Marvelous Presence..  We can Praise You, not for the adversity it's self whatever the cause, but that You are therewith us in every step we take and every tear we shed.  I pray Lord Jesus for anyone who may find themselves in this "valley" right now. May they also experience Your peace and light. You Lord Jesus.  Only in You.
In Your very Precious Name I ask Jesus, Giving thanks for all You will, for You are good.

Prodical Sons

And Jesus said, "A man had two sons.  The younger ... said to his father, "Give me the share of the estate that falls to me... So he divided his wealth between the sons....the younger son then gathered everything together and went on a journey.....and squandered his estate .... Now when he had spent everything he began to be impoverished......Luke 15:11-14


Oh how many times I have read this parable and not paid a lot of attention.  Now as I live with the same situation, I begin to hear and see what this says in my heart.

This young man was like many of today's young men.  They too want, then get and then they squander it away on today's ways of living loose.  Those hasn't really changed from Biblical times.
In some cases they may not have financial wealth to squander but time, purpose and future.  They settle for the pleases of the moment, not wanting to think or deal with whatever the consequence's of their choices will be.

This problem isn't just for young men.  Many, many people are lie of the devil.  Men, women, and children even.  As a society we want and we want now.  What happens later doesn't fit in anywhere.

My writing here is for my "Prodigal".  We are both going through the heart wrenching separation and journeying of this process.  My hope and faith is all in the Lord to bring him home both to the Father and to me.  I await the next part of the parable with much prayer and love.

Only the heavenly Father has the true answer for those who find themselves in the most difficult places, dark, lonely, empty, places.  His Son...our Savior.  Jesus is the Light, His Words are Life.  and if we learn then and live them we will have life, maybe not the way the unbelieving world thinks, but a life filled with peace within, no matter the circumstances and joy for my that I am not alone to deal with this world.  His love and care covers me and all I can do is thank Him and LOVE Him back with a poor substitute of the love He gives me.

Lord watch over our "prodigal"; keep him in Your care and return him to those who love him.
You are good and mighty and so tenderly loving only someone who has experienced the presence of Your love can even say it.

Spiritually Single

Then the Lord said, "It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for Him...Genesis 2:18.....For this reason a man shall....be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

"Spiritually single".  Have you heard this term before?  I was introduced to it in a married woman's bible study group.  A group of  wives whose husbands didn't share a spiritual walk with them.  For years I've attended church with women who came  to services and events surrounding "church stuff" alone. They sit Sunday after Sunday in pews by themselves, usually alone, sometimes with children if they have them, but no husbands in sight. Spiritually single describes my own marriage as it was for many years and has been for some of the most wonderful, godly women I've know through my years of my faith journey.

This morning this term came to my mind, and I ask God, "What does this really mean?  How would He explain being single spiritually?  Is it even a valid term?  When I have considered, or used this term in the past, as a label for myself, it meant, not sharing any spiritual life with the husband I am married to.   Married but not joined in the most important relationship of my life, my relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord & Savior. No reading of the Word together, no praying together, no going to church, or sharing fellowship with other believers together, or very little of any of theses. Caring for and managing my spiritual needs, outside of our marriage relationship.

Seems I've been here most of the time, for years, and I really wanted to know what scripture would have to say about it.  Thinking on, it also came to me that those whose spouses had past on, or those who had divorces could fit here too. So I prayerfully asked, "Lord may we go on a journey into Your word and try to make some understanding of what it means being spiritually single and what that means to men and women today.

As I first begin,  because I'm a woman, I of course start by thinking about other woman in the Bible who might fit this term..  Naomi came to my mind as the first single woman I thought of,  because she had been married and lost both her husband and sons. But my next thought was there where men whom this term might have applied to also, thinking of  Hosea with his promiscuous wife, Gomer.
Here were two. Who else can I find that fit in this category? And how does it apply to my life today?

 I am going to see what more the Lord has to show me on this particular subject, because His Word always has what I need.  So I plan to spend some blog time discovering what God has to say about the subject and how it applies.

Follow along  over the next few posts and let's see what we find out.

Lord Jesus, You above all others knew what it was to walk the journey of faith without a married partner.  Some of Your disciples were married, but Your intimacy was with the Father in heaven.  There is a real need for many women--and men-- to understand how to have a spiritual relationship with You and the Father, without the support of those they are , or were, intimately joined to in marriage.  Show me Lord what You want me to hear on this subject for Your Holy Word.   Thank You Jesus there is nothing that can not be learned from in Your Word.

Love and Service What do they show?

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know you are My disciples, if you love one another (emphasis mine).
John 13:34,35


Love.  With Valentines Day just turning the corner there has been a lot of emphasis on love, flowing around us.  Cards to buy, flowers, candy and all types of gifts given to express one persons love to another. It is a wonderfully joyous day for couples and looked forward to by all those in love each year.

During this Valentines day, no longer being part of a couple, I spent some time contemplating this word "love", and another word theme that I've been focusing on, "service" to others.   And then after mulling things around later while reading a devotional this Scripture above spoke volumes to me.

We as believers are commanded by our Lord to love one another.  Commanded! Strong word meaning ordered, do.  He commanded the disciples who were with Him at the time of His ministry to love one another, and by that expressed love, others would know they were His disciples--followers.

So how does this have anything to do with the love expressed at Valentines.   It has to do with what love is; what we perceive it to mean.  There is a huge difference between what the world says is love and what God says is love.   A closer look here reveals the reason,  because the key passage of this Scripture is,"even as I have loved you". So many miss this part.  It is only by the love of Christ shared with us, that we can truly reveal love to others.   Jesus Christ is the epitome of love.  Real love. Genuine love.  The deep down core love that's says "I am with you always, I will not forsake you." "I have your hand".

The world offers a type of love that most of us look to today, to mean real love; but much to freqently this love, is  more an emotional "me" directed kind of  love.  What am "I" going to get out of this relationship, this gift, this special day?

As I have come to experience  the love of Christ, I am starting to understand more about what Scripture calls, "love".  Gods love is a patient love, a gentle, love, a kind love, (Gal. 5:22) and above all a sacrificial love.  This is the kind  of love God has for us.  This is the love Jesus is talking to His disciples to show toward each other, the love He has shown them.

It is this quality, sacrificially loving others, I believe that sets true followers of Christ apart from those who do not know Him in a personal relationship.  For myself I never really knew what real love was until I met Jesus.  I also never fully experienced real love directed toward me, until I experienced His love.    Believers loving others in specific ways reflects the love we have for Him.  We also know it, and show it, when we  serve others,-- hence title.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,  the world is watching how we love each other on a daily basis.  Do they see the love of Jesus reflected in what they see from us?  The love of Christ is service to others, not just expecting something for ourselves.  Can we each ask of ourselves, "Am I loving as Christ loves, so that, all men will know I am His disciple"?

O' precious Lord, how I so often I express and show  the worlds example of love, rather than Your perfect love, which is available if I only ask.  Can I love my brothers and sisters, and all Your creations with the love that You show me and I show then as Your disciple?  I pray so Lord!    And only by Your mercy and love for me is it even possible.
Thank You that You came from the Father to reveal to us what Gods love for us really looks like.  Your goodness is beyond anything words can say.  Your life says it all.

Love and Fear... Can you feel both at the same time?

 And there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.     1 John 4:18

As I was reading the blog of another dear friend from whom I find a wealth of experiential and spiritual wisdom,  I came away with a gem she had gleaned from a book she was reading.  The subject was on reactive attachment disorder and the gem that had my attention was a concept that love and fear can not be felt at the same time.
This caught my attention because FEAR, is a subject I am dealing with in my own life.  Seeing exactly how fear, deep rooted and buried within until recent years has ruled my life and kept me from experiencing what real love is.

Fear has colored many of the  choices I have made from a very early age. Fear that hid down deep in  inner thoughts and feelings that I tried to cover with business, or distractions  or the surface things of this world.  Fear for me was deep in my core and I didn't  want anyone else to know about it. Much of the time I didn't want to know about it.   It was covered heavily with the facade that I was in control, I had it altogether; I could handle anything, even when I knew I could not.

The facade was my protective shield. Or so I thought-more later on this.  In this world of broken souls and minds and bodies there are many of us who live or have lived our lives in fear, and there is an answer.

The perfect love of Jesus Christ.  He is perfect love and when you come to know Him in a personal and intimate relationship He truly gives you perfect love. The kind of love that sets you free from the bondage of fear. The kind of love that let's you love others without the need of covering your inner self protectively.
The kind of love that says: "Therefore there is now no condemnation--punishment--for those who are in Christ Jesus...the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free...Romans 8:1-2   We are free IN the Lord.

When He is at the center of our lives we no longer have to fear anything; mentally, emotionally, even physically (with wisdom) because God is Sovereign,  He has established His throne in the heavens and rules over all. God is in control even if we choose not to believe it so.  Unbelief doesn't change this fact.  We as humans get into trouble simple because we choose to disbelieve what His Word says.  Either in unbelief or simply not knowing what His Words says we do not hear the precious truths that sets us free.

Jesus proved His love for us at Calvary.  He gave up His very own life so that we would be free of eternal condemnation.  He took upon Himself the punishment I  deserved but no longer have to be afraid of as Gods  child.  Oh how long it has taken me to understand that I am now free and do not have to let fear reign within.

I am free in Jesus love and then free to love others as He loves me.  When I love, I do not feel fear.  When I fear I do not feel love.  So the answer to my title is no, we can not feel love and fear at the same time. One or the other is in control of how we feel.

Does this mean I do not feel fear at all.  No! Believe me when I say this is still a daily battle of my mind and emotions.  But what is different now is that I can choose to believe what Scripture tells me or let my fear rule.
God speaks many times throughout the Scripture for His children to not be afraid, He is with them.  Isa. 41:10  When I choose to trust this truth when I am experiencing fear,  His love pours in and the fear goes away.
Oh how I desire others to know this freedom they too can experience....it's not for a few "spiritually elite".  It's for each and every person who want's to except this love Christ offers us.   My prayer is that any one reading this may also come to know that same Perfect Love, my precious, precious Jesus Christ.

Oh Lord, so many of this world know so little truth about you The Son of God the Father. How much You love them, each one.  How you have a plan and  purpose for their lives and want to lavish Your  love on Your children.  And who doesn't want to be loved.  All of us seek it so and only truly find it in You.  May You reveal Yourself to fearful hearts and set them free with Your love.

God's Silence in the Darkness?

My soul waits in silence for the Lord God only; from Him is my salvation.  He is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.....Psalms 62:1-2


What do we do when we feel God is  silent when we are in the midst of darkness or adversity?  As His children we cry out to Him to help us because we want escape or relief from whatever circumstances we are in at that moment.  I have found myself here so many times, darkness surrounding me and wondering why the Lord didn't hear me when I cried out; why wasn't He answering  me.

It is only of late I have begun to see that it isn't He who isn't listening but I who may not be hearing.  Scripture tells us that God hears the cry's of His children, the afflicted and needed,  (Ps???)  It also tells us He is sovereign...(   ) and all things are in His control,  He even uses evil to His purposes.

Recently I went through what I can only describe as a time of pure chaos and total neediness due to my illness.  Alone and unable to reach anyone, I suddenly needed help I could not find.  I should have been totally panicked, yet all through the hours it took to get the help I needed, I knew the Lord was with me, working out all the circumstances for my good. His presences was the most peaceful and calming thing I have ever experienced.  When God says He is our peace and our strength and our shield. He does what He says.   He was for me that night.

Most of us wonder, at times, when adversity strikes, why God doesn't seem to  "help" us when we are calling out to Him. When we are asking, Where are You God? Don't you see what's happening to me?   What I've come to know is He knows exactly what's happening to me and why, even if I don't at the time.

As I have come to know the Lord Presence in my daily life and His ways through Scriptures, one truth stands out to me,  I have been learning  He does hear His children ... always.   What we don't understand is what His purpose and plan is for what's happening.  He answers many times very differently than I think or expect He should.   One of the most difficult lessons I've had to learn, next to learning to listen to Him, is surrendering to His sovereign will.  Accepting as His daughter, that as long as I am not walking in willful disobedience, He will not allow anything into my life that is not His will.  He has promised this is so.

Gods Word says, "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all ... Psalms 103:19...Whether one chooses to believe this, or not, doesn't make it any less true.  And I for one am so glad it is true.  If God is for me, who can be against me?  Absolutely nothing can separate me from His love and He will work all things to my good...sometime, someway, somehow....I just have to make sure my relationship is right with Him.  Then I will hear what He wants to speak to me at His appointed time and I can trust in His sovereignty while I wait.

Oh Lord, You are so loving and wonderful.  I can not image my life without You by my side. Without Your wonderful peace that You give especially when darkness assails me..  I never want to  lose the experience of Your Presence and pray that through me others may come to know Your wonderful love as well.  Thank You Lord. Thank You!

The heavens speak  the glory of God; and their expanse declares the work of His hands. Psalms 19:1

How can anyone declare there is no God.  Our earth and the entire Universe, shouts there is a God; a Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth.

The Lord is good to all He has made and His lovingkindness is everlasting.  Oh how He wants us to know Him.  And to love Him and worship Him.  Every man, woman, and child created has a place within them that can only be filled by Him.  Nothing else in this life can satisfy that place except Jesus Christ, God's Son, who purchased our redemption, our way to a relationship with the God who created us.

That redemption, what was the plan, since man had been separated from a holy God because the resulting sin from the Fall, how did He plan to bring this redemption plan about?  Through the most ordinary circumstances man has ever known.  The birth of a Baby Boy, a Savior, a King,  in a lowly stable,  to a young couple committed to obeying God, even when they most likely didn't understand every thing which was happening. From the very beginning of time, God knew man would sin against Him and He had a perfect plan already in place.   A Perfect Man coming to show the world how much the Father loves His creation.

The God of Heaven wants us to know His love for us; to know that we can be accepted by Him just as we are when we accept the gift He offered in that manger the night the angels sang from heaven at the birth of Gods Son, come to save His people.  Christ alone is our way to the Father.  Our only way to fill the void that so many live with day in and day out.  He gives life and light and peace and joy that can never be satisfied another way.


Oh Lord how wonderful You are to me.  How You fill my life with Your love and Your peace and Light my path.  I could never image life without You at the center now.  Scripture says many are invited, but few are chosen.  Thank You, thank You, thank You for choosing me as one of Your children, my blessed Redeemer.