Being Refined

Thank you all for your prayers! I feel you all lifting me out of this. I am so grateful to have you all in my life!

God has really been speaking to me out of Isaiah..it is every where! It has been so good to find comfort in His word during this season. I read this devotion today...it has been one of many that have spoken directly to my situation this past week.

The verse was, Isaiah 48:10... "I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather I have refined you in the furnace of suffering."

This is the poem that accompanied the verse:

Pain's furnace within me quivers,
God's breath upon the flame does blow;
And all my heart in anguish shivers
And trembles at the fiery glow;
And yet I whisper, "As God will!"
And in the hottest fire hold still.

He comes and lays my heart, all heated,
On the hard anvil, minded so
Into His own fair shape to beat it
With His great hammer, blow on blow,
And yet I whisper, "As God will!"
And at His heaviest blow hold still.

He takes my softened heart and beats it;
The sparks fly off at every blow;
He turns it o'er and o'er and heats it,
And lets is cool and makes it glow;
And yet I whisper, "As God will!"
And in His mighty hand hold still.

Why should I complain? For the sorrow
Then only linger-lived would be;
The end may come, and will tomorrow,
When God has done His work in me;
And yet I whisper, "As God will!"
And trusting to the end, hold still.
-Julius Sturm

If that doesn't describe what I am going through I don't think any words would be able to. And so I have been whispering, "As God will!" And I will trust Him to the very end.

Feeling Forgotten?

It is possible to feel like you have been forgotten by God; however it is impossible to actually be forgotten by Him. You see, Isaiah 49:14-16 says,

“Yet Jerusalem says, ‘The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.’ Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palm of my hands.”

Our feelings change with the wind. Our emotions are ruled by our surroundings. Therefore, we should trust the Word of God above our feelings, above the emotions that try to overtake us.

This is a promise from God.

He will never forget us. He will never leave us. No matter how forgotten you feel. No matter how lonely, tired, isolated, or withdrawn you have been He has your name written on the palms of His hands. The same hands that hold the world.

So be comforted friends, as I have been, by these words. These promises are unchanging. They stand forever…yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Promises of God

The rainbow of God's promises is always above the trials and storms of life.
-Charles Shepson