This summer the ladies in our church have been studying The Attributes of God. It has been extremely encouraging to reflect upon the character of God. He is awesome in so many ways. We had completed lessons on God's Holiness, God's Greatness, the Sovereignty of God, and God's Omniscience and Omnipresence. We were in the midst of the lesson on God's Goodness when our friends were killed in an automobile accident. How gracious God is in His timing. This week our lesson was on the Love of God. As I look back on truths we learned when everything was going well, what a comfort to know that God has not changed. All we have learned about Him is still true.
Exodus 15:11--Who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?
Our dear friends are now in the presence of this awesome, majestic God.
Isaiah 26:4--Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
We have been challenged to trust in the Lord when we are hurting, when we don't understand why things happen, and we have found Him to be an everlasting Rock.
Isaiah 45:6-7--That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.
We know that God was not looking the other way or on vacation when this 'accident' occured. It was part of His sovereign will, and we know He will use it for His glory and the good of His people. We have already seen this displayed in many different ways. Many were encouraged and challenged by the wonderful memorial service. The evening after the service we had about 30 Master's College students here for dinner and fellowship. Toward the end of the evening one of them played the guitar and led songs of worship. It was such a blessing to me to see the Lord lifted high from hearts that were hurting, but not overwhelmed.
Psalm 139:16--Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
We discussed this verse two days before the homegoing of our friends. From our viewpoint it might seem like these four lives were cut short, but not in God's perfect timing.
Psalm 27:13--I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
The lesson said, "It is the certain and absolute goodness of God which allows us to trust Him in times of adversity--times when the circumstances of our lives don't appear 'good'." In my lesson I listed some of the many ways we have seen God demonstrate His goodness in the midst of this adversity.
Romans 8:38-39--For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God's love for us remains constant, and our friends are experiencing that love in all its fulness.
One of the songs we sang the night of the memorial service includes these words:
Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful,
Exodus 15:11--Who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?
Our dear friends are now in the presence of this awesome, majestic God.
Isaiah 26:4--Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
We have been challenged to trust in the Lord when we are hurting, when we don't understand why things happen, and we have found Him to be an everlasting Rock.
Isaiah 45:6-7--That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.
We know that God was not looking the other way or on vacation when this 'accident' occured. It was part of His sovereign will, and we know He will use it for His glory and the good of His people. We have already seen this displayed in many different ways. Many were encouraged and challenged by the wonderful memorial service. The evening after the service we had about 30 Master's College students here for dinner and fellowship. Toward the end of the evening one of them played the guitar and led songs of worship. It was such a blessing to me to see the Lord lifted high from hearts that were hurting, but not overwhelmed.
Psalm 139:16--Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
We discussed this verse two days before the homegoing of our friends. From our viewpoint it might seem like these four lives were cut short, but not in God's perfect timing.
Psalm 27:13--I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
The lesson said, "It is the certain and absolute goodness of God which allows us to trust Him in times of adversity--times when the circumstances of our lives don't appear 'good'." In my lesson I listed some of the many ways we have seen God demonstrate His goodness in the midst of this adversity.
Romans 8:38-39--For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God's love for us remains constant, and our friends are experiencing that love in all its fulness.
One of the songs we sang the night of the memorial service includes these words:
Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful,
where your streams of abundance flow, blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name, when I'm found in the desert place,
though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be your name.
You give and take away, you give and take away,
My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.
In the midst of heartache we can praise the Lord because the character of God remains sure--He is holy, great, sovereign, omniscient, omnipresence, good, and love. Whether our circumstances bring smiles or tears, the reality of God and His Word is still true.
In the midst of heartache we can praise the Lord because the character of God remains sure--He is holy, great, sovereign, omniscient, omnipresence, good, and love. Whether our circumstances bring smiles or tears, the reality of God and His Word is still true.
Praise the Lord!
2 comments:
Mom-
What an encouraging entry! I needed to be reminded to live focused on God's character and not my circumstances. I really liked how you said, "Whether our circumstances bring smiles or tears, the reality of God and His Word is still true." Sounds like a wonderful study, thanks for sharing your thoughts on it...
-Christa
Mom,
Thanks for blogging about what you've been going over in your Bible Study. I think that Blessed Be Your Name is a great song by Matt Redman. The line "My heart will choose to say" really puts it in perspective that our view of God, not our circumstances, should control our outlook on life!
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