God's "linky" party

I love that God's Word is so perfect; that it links together so beautifully.  For my quiet times I have been doing a couple different things depending on the day.  Some days I will work on some summer "homework" from a Mom's Bible study I attend during the school year.  Other days I will read thru a chapter in the book "Be Satisfied" by Warren Wiersbe and on other days I will simply choose a Bible passage to read.

The summer homework consists of reading a magazine put out by Insight for Living which profiles 20 women that Jesus ministered to during his time here on earth.  The other day I did the profile for the Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17)  she was a widow whose only son had died and as they were carrying him to be buried Jesus entered Nain, was so moved with compassion for this widow that He raised her son from the dead.  The theme for this profile focused on Jesus' compassion but also on how we handle when God closes a door on a dream.  The question was asked "Now what?  What do you do with your faith now?"  Do I rest in God and His perfect wisdom or do I set my shoulder and keep pushing against the door thinking I know better?

That particular morning I had a bit of extra time so I decided to read in "Be Satisfied"  the title to the next section was "Wisdom helps us see life clearly (Ecc. 7:11-18)"  More on God's wisdom!  The opening paragraph in this section ended with this statement "When you have God's wisdom, you will be able to accept and deal with the changing experiences of life."  My immediate thought was that once again I was being challenged in how I deal with "slammed doors", with changes in my life that I never anticipated.  The following is another quote that really spoke to my heart that morning:

"We don't fully understand all the works of God, but we do 

know that "He hath made everything beautiful in it's 

time" (Ecc. 3:11).  This includes the things we may think are

twisted and ugly."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" Proverbs 9:10

Often those rough days, that I spoke of in an earlier post, are opportunities for us to see God make the twisted and ugly beautiful and to build a deeper reverance for Him in our hearts.  Yet how often, in my selfishness & sinfulness, I miss that opportunity.

I wanted to close with a glimpse of not just God's wisdom but of who God is!  By what authority He can grant such wisdom and strength, for everything we might face.  Tuesday night I attended a Bible Study and one of the women shared a few verses from Isaiah 40.  This morning I decided to read thru this chapter.  Many people have memorized and often quote Isaiah 40:31 but I would challenge you to read thru this entire chapter to get a bigger picture of Who the God is that can give us such strength.  

Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

(40:26)

 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.

(40:28-29)

And the most "miraculous" link for me this morning was that God brought all of these lessons full circle in my thinking about needing His wisdom in parenting when, in verses 10-11 He says

  

Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

God is ready, willing and more than able to carry my family and gently lead us with our children!!!