One in the morning...

[imperfectchristian]

It's a little after 1 in the morning here and I just woke up and was sitting in the living room and I looked over at a chair that had a white sweater hanging on it thinking..."wouldn't it be nice if that was an angel that God sent to minister to me."

This Sunday afternoon I spent several hours watching my children play and began thinking back at times when I know I missed God's direction in my life and wondering about how many other times I have missed what He was trying to tell me.

Sitting there wishing that sweater was an angel that God had sent maybe just to sit and talk with me for a while and these thoughts of passive regret still fresh in my mind, this Buddy Greene song stirred in my soul.


CHORUS - "I don't belong, and I'm going someday, home to my own native land, I 'don't belong and it seems like I hear, the sound of a welcome home band, I don't belong I'm a foreigner here, singing a sojourner's song, I've always known, this place ain't home and I don't belong."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFLGOBvE_q4

 

[Floatingaxe]

Lately, as I suffer insomnia, I have sat and mused the exact same things---many times.

 

[Elijah2]

It's a little after 1 in the morning here and I just woke up and was sitting in the living room and I looked over at a chair that had a white sweater hanging on it thinking..."wouldn't it be nice if that was an angel that God sent to minister to me."

This Sunday afternoon I spent several hours watching my children play and began thinking back at times when I know I missed God's direction in my life and wondering about how many other times I have missed what He was trying to tell me.

Sitting there wishing that sweater was an angel that God had sent maybe just to sit and talk with me for a while and these thoughts of passive regret still fresh in my mind, this Buddy Greene song stirred in my soul.


CHORUS - "I don't belong, and I'm going someday, home to my own native land, I 'don't belong and it seems like I hear, the sound of a welcome home band, I don't belong I'm a foreigner here, singing a sojourner's song, I've always known, this place ain't home and I don't belong."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFLGOBvE_q4

Your sharing reminds me of my Hidden Treasures of Darkness. This is a portion of what I have shared before. It may not be what you want to hear, but the world is our training ground for better things:

“I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel” (Isa. 45:3)

Many of us have walked in the darkness and perhaps many of are there at this very moment. We could ask: “Lord, is there a secret in this darkness?” We could then ask: “Why Lord, have You chosen me to be led into this darkness?” And then we could ask: “Lord, are their treasures hidden in this darkness to be found by me?”

We know that if we were to stand at the bottom of a deep, and dark well and look up to the sky, we will see the stars shining in the heavens, even when others above us at ground level are in the light, they can’t see them. Can we discover those hidden treasures in the darkness that we may never be able to find in the light?

We could pray:

“Lord Jesus Christ, help me to learn the secret of turning all of my periods of darkness into occasions of delight, the delight of the discovery of Your hidden treasures, in Jesus’ Name!”

Through our sufferings we can learn to be obedient: “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8). Can we grapple with personal issues, problems, and sicknesses day-after-day, and stand at the end of a tunnel and peer into the darkness of our suffering, and realise that the dark tunnel may be the shortest route around our hill or mountain?

When we find ourself surrounded by darkness, we need to look for a meaning that lies within it, and begin to dig, by the light of our faith, for those treasures of meaning that are hidden within the darkness. Only those who dig in faith will find those treasures of darkness. But, in the process we can’t allow the darkness to overcome our body, or soul, nor allow it to drag our spirit down to such a degree that we may lose our faith and belief.

 

[KleinerApfel]

From a fellow-miner - thank you Elijah.

 

[pdudgeon]

This Sunday afternoon I spent several hours watching my children play and began thinking back at times when I know I missed God's direction in my life and wondering about how many other times I have missed what He was trying to tell me.

i think many of us have been there.
but this is the fruit of experience; that we learn how to look for that direction, that we recognize our need for His direction, and that we learn how to submit and follow it.

 

[imperfectchristian]

Your sharing reminds me of my Hidden Treasures of Darkness. This is a portion of what I have shared before. It may not be what you want to hear, but the world is our training ground for better things:

“I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel” (Isa. 45:3)

Many of us have walked in the darkness and perhaps many of are there at this very moment. We could ask: “Lord, is there a secret in this darkness?” We could then ask: “Why Lord, have You chosen me to be led into this darkness?” And then we could ask: “Lord, are their treasures hidden in this darkness to be found by me?”

We know that if we were to stand at the bottom of a deep, and dark well and look up to the sky, we will see the stars shining in the heavens, even when others above us at ground level are in the light, they can’t see them. Can we discover those hidden treasures in the darkness that we may never be able to find in the light?

We could pray:

“Lord Jesus Christ, help me to learn the secret of turning all of my periods of darkness into occasions of delight, the delight of the discovery of Your hidden treasures, in Jesus’ Name!”

Through our sufferings we can learn to be obedient: “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8). Can we grapple with personal issues, problems, and sicknesses day-after-day, and stand at the end of a tunnel and peer into the darkness of our suffering, and realise that the dark tunnel may be the shortest route around our hill or mountain?

When we find ourself surrounded by darkness, we need to look for a meaning that lies within it, and begin to dig, by the light of our faith, for those treasures of meaning that are hidden within the darkness. Only those who dig in faith will find those treasures of darkness. But, in the process we can’t allow the darkness to overcome our body, or soul, nor allow it to drag our spirit down to such a degree that we may lose our faith and belief.

Good Post!

 

[Lotuspetal_uk]

Your sharing reminds me of my Hidden Treasures of Darkness. This is a portion of what I have shared before. It may not be what you want to hear, but the world is our training ground for better things:

“I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel” (Isa. 45:3)

Many of us have walked in the darkness and perhaps many of are there at this very moment. We could ask: “Lord, is there a secret in this darkness?” We could then ask: “Why Lord, have You chosen me to be led into this darkness?” And then we could ask: “Lord, are their treasures hidden in this darkness to be found by me?”

We know that if we were to stand at the bottom of a deep, and dark well and look up to the sky, we will see the stars shining in the heavens, even when others above us at ground level are in the light, they can’t see them. Can we discover those hidden treasures in the darkness that we may never be able to find in the light?

We could pray:

“Lord Jesus Christ, help me to learn the secret of turning all of my periods of darkness into occasions of delight, the delight of the discovery of Your hidden treasures, in Jesus’ Name!”

Through our sufferings we can learn to be obedient: “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8). Can we grapple with personal issues, problems, and sicknesses day-after-day, and stand at the end of a tunnel and peer into the darkness of our suffering, and realise that the dark tunnel may be the shortest route around our hill or mountain?

When we find ourself surrounded by darkness, we need to look for a meaning that lies within it, and begin to dig, by the light of our faith, for those treasures of meaning that are hidden within the darkness. Only those who dig in faith will find those treasures of darkness. But, in the process we can’t allow the darkness to overcome our body, or soul, nor allow it to drag our spirit down to such a degree that we may lose our faith and belief.

Thanks brother,

I needed this reminder today.

God bless

 

[Elijah2]

Thanks fellows, we need to remind ourselves of this every day. We live in his world of darkness, and we just can't pull ourself back into our "turtle shell" and believe that what we view around us is all nice and rosy.

There are some very mean people out there, and as sad as it is, many of them are Christians. They only think of "self".

We act the same as our Lord Jesus Christ, we forgive them and remember no more, but at the same time we "expose them", and by the "manifestationof the light", we can "awake those who sleep, and rise them up from the dead, as our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the light as we walk in wisdom.

Ephesian 5:8-18: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spiritis in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”

 

[geetrue]

When we find ourself surrounded by darkness, we need to look for a meaning that lies within it, and begin to dig, by the light of our faith, for those treasures of meaning that are hidden within the darkness. Only those who dig in faith will find those treasures of darkness. But, in the process we can’t allow the darkness to overcome our body, or soul, nor allow it to drag our spirit down to such a degree that we may lose our faith and belief.

I had a rare cold that lasted for two weeks, talk about darkness I thought it was the end of the world (my little spirit world that is). I was taking store bought meds and everything, but that flim and flam kept coming up with every cough till I would somehow mercifully fall asleep. The Lord didn't heal me, but He sure did comfort me. I must have been coughing so hard that one of my neighbors must have heard me coughing in this small rural trailer park.

In hindsight all I can think is
that this nameless person prayed for me in my affliction and a very strong light showed up surrounded me and comforted me surpressing my coughing in the process. I slept good that night. Slowly, but surely I got my health back.

God loves me even if He didn't keep me from
having to go through that terrible experience back in September. He still loves me and adds to my faith everyday.

 

[Cassidy]

Twiggy - I have this to say to you. He is here for you always. The messages he has can sometimes be lost on you, but he will try again and again until you receive it. I don't think you've missed anything...maybe delayed but never missed. If he wants you to know something....you're going to know it, one way or the other, he'll make sure of that.

Regret has no place in the children of God...but rather a determination that we will open ourselves up more to what God has to say. Don't look back...look straight ahead to the cross...there's your answer to everything you want to know ALWAYS!

 

[imperfectchristian]

Twiggy - I have this to say to you. He is here for you always. The messages he has can sometimes be lost on you, but he will try again and again until you receive it. I don't think you've missed anything...maybe delayed but never missed. If he wants you to know something....you're going to know it, one way or the other, he'll make sure of that.

Regret has no place in the children of God...but rather a determination that we will open ourselves up more to what God has to say. Don't look back...look straight ahead to the cross...there's your answer to everything you want to know ALWAYS!

Thank you Cassidy...very encouraging! One of the things I have realized over time is that God deals with us where we are. He is not waiting for us to arrive at some point spiritually to communicate some truth to us, instead He is there with us every step of the way.

Thanks Cas