A Time for All Seasons

Hello there! Yes, that would be you. How are you doing this Tuesday morning? I do hope that you are doing well or at least, managing to hang in there until your days get better.

Inspiration

That's what we all have to do from time to time. But you know, just like the title suggests, nothing is permanent. That means sorrow, pain, trouble nor joy lasts always. What we have to remember is that the same God who shepherded us in our joyful time will herd us through the rough times. Sometimes, we tend to forget that, but if we hold on to that thought, we can be happy in the midst of trials and tribulation. If we cannot be completely happy in our times of duress, we can have that underlying assurance that this is but a season of trouble and it will not last always because the Bible says so. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Remember we talked earlier about crying times being but a page in our lives and that we never know when the Lord will decide to turn the page. It is easy enough to have faith when the sun is shining and everything is all rosy, but it is most difficult to maintain a sunny smile and a hopeful interior without much prayer and dependence on God. You know what I have determined? I have determined within my soul to trust the Lord in all things because He knows the plan of my life because He formulated it. Yes, that is a tall order, isn't it? But let's take that seemingly brass statement and think about it for a moment.

• If you go to pieces when your world falls apart, then who gets the glory? Not the Lord, now does He? You become miserable and cause misery to everyone around you and guess what? Your enemies get to laugh and say, "See, I told you he/she was not all they were purported to be." You have given God's enemy something to crow about.
• Now, on the other hand, if your keep that fixed smile, though tremulous, upon your face, you will be making your enemy scratch his head in bewilderment. Yes, he will probably come at you with something worse, but if you maintain, God will be glorified. None of us have had to go through what Job of the Bible went through. Let me share something of a personal nature with you. When I had my first real taste of heartache, sorrow, disappointment, etc. my famous thought to myself was, "But I ain't no Job!" Guess what I say about that sentence now? I say that if you are not a Job, you will be by the time trouble lets go of you. You will learn to take whatever and to leave the whole shebang in the hands of the Lord. I mean, after all, He made you and orchestrated the various scenarios of your life. He said that He is faithful and I have come to realize that there are times and seasons when we will have to lay at His feet and whimper our prayers to Him because that is all we have the strength to do. Yet, we whimper in faith.
• But, here is what I like about that scenario that I just painted for you. When the troubles are done and blessed peace begins to reign, how sweet it is, that sereneness that passes all understanding. I like to think that that is the time when you have felt the Master's touch upon your life and all troubling circumstances succumbed to His will and scooted back out of your way!
• When that happens, if you have been faithful in your adherence to Him, them He will get the glory and your enemies will become wary of you, frightened to bother you, or more determined. But, by that time, the word will have gotten around and most folks will not willingly trouble you. For those that do, they will find out the same thing that Pharoah learned too late in His life. "It does not pay to trifle with the people of God. He is not always going to turn a deaf ear to their cries and when He decides to move, too late, too late!" (I still can't figure out what makes folks think that the Shepherd no longer cares for or guards His sheep. He is faithful because He said that He would be and He has not accomplished the task of getting the sheep safely home to the place that He has prepared for them.)

Writing

Stet

Poetry

I understand that the two pictured posted on my blog yesterday may not show on all devices. In order for some of you to see the pictures, you may have to use a desktop computer.  What I had posted were two Christmas trees, one from an opulent mansion and one in a kitchen with the barest amenities. When you visualize the two trees then the caption for the pictures make complete sense. 

Quips/Quotes

"There is a time appointed to all things." Wait for your change.

Upcoming Events

Inspirational Speaker for Ladies Day – Church of Christ at Thirteenth and Lee, Mayfield, KY, October 15, 2016, 10 am.