Providence 365: Week 11

This is Barbara, here with Week 11 in our year of Providence 365.

Did you know that your days are numbered?  Literally? 
Psalm 139:16 says:

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And, in your book they were all written,

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

I hope that is an anchor for you, a source of courage.  It has been for me.  Knowing that I was going to live every single day that I was meant to live helped me to overcome a near-debilitating fear of flying.

It is a comfort to me at the loss of friends.  This past year, a dear sister in Christ passed away at a very young 56 years from colon cancer.  She left behind a loving husband, six children, and several grandchildren.  It seems so wrong; she was so loved and needed.  But, if I trust God's Word, I must assent that she did indeed live every day of the life she was given.

Today, I am attending the memorial service of a dear brother in Christ, a long-time member of our church.  He suffered greatly in the last years of his life, with a string of ailments that seems like a badly-written tragedy.  But, he clung to Christ as a drowning man would cling to his rescuer.  And, as his pain piled up, he never took the advice of Job's wife and cursed God.  No, he spoke well of his Savior and Creator, giving joy and encouragement to those around him.  Dan knew to Whom he belonged and rested in that knowledge.

Today, with the photos of the horrible devastation in Japan, it might seem natural to begin to fear ourselves.  "What if that happens here?"  "What if the reactor in my state melts down?"  "What if...?" After all, if the very ground under our feet, which seems so solid, really isn't, then what CAN we trust?  Aren't our fears reasonable?

For me, the only anchor in the confusion and uncertainty (as we perceive it) of life has to be God's unchanging, faithful word.  I must always view everything through that filter.  We know from His Word that He is good; we know that He cares for us; we know that He is always there for us.  He is not caught unaware, He never sleeps nor slumbers, and He does all His holy will.  That, my sisters, is a Rock that will not be swept away.

So, as you go about your daily life this coming week, be looking for the areas in your life where you are fearful, and then rest in the knowledge that you are in the care of your loving Savior.

I hope you will stop by our forum and our gallery.  Please feel free to comment; we want to rejoice with you as God shows Himself to you this year.

 

You can download this week's word art HERE.

"When darkness seems to hide His face, 

I rest on His unchanging grace. 

In every high and stormy gale, 

my anchor holds within the veil. 

On Christ the solid Rock I stand, 

all other ground is sinking sand." 

-Edward Mote