Gateway to Joy

Every experience that God 

    allows to happen to us, 

that God gives to us 

    as the bountiful gifts 

      of his love and his mercy 

         and his grace;

Every single experience 

    without exception

         can be a Gateway to Joy

IF we Accept it from His hands,

    Thank Him for it,

         and Offer it Back to Him.

                                     - Elisabeth Elliot 

Obedience to the plan of God

    leads to Joy.

                                     - Elisabeth Elliot 

A Prayer for Joy in Hard Times

Joy does not deny the hard; 

  it declares God is still good 

    in the midst of it.

Father, thank You that joy in You 

  is always available, 

    even when life feels

      anything but easy. 

Remind me that Your joy 

  is not about my circumstances 

    but about Your unchanging 

      character. 

Help me see glimpses of Your 

  goodness today. 

Give me strength to choose praise 

    over pity, 

  truth over fear, 

    and hope over despair. 

Anchor me in You. 

Let my life reflect Your light 

   even in the dark.

       In Jesus' name, Amen.

                                        - (in)courage 

                  ♥️ 

GLIMMERS  OF  JOY

                  ♥️ 

  

Safe in the Arms of God

The eternal God is your refuge,  

  and underneath are 

    the everlasting arms.

                               - Deuteronomy 33:27

So do not fear, for I am with you;

    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

For I am the LORD, your God,

    who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear;

    I will help you.

                                      - Isaiah 41:10,13

When Jesus takes your hand, 

  He holds you tight. 

When Jesus holds you tight, 

  He leads you through your whole life. 

When Jesus leads you through 

  your whole life, 

    He brings you safely Home.

                                      - Corrie ten Boom

In the valley, no matter how 

  treacherous and painful and difficult, 

nobody can take your hand 

  out of the hand of the Good Shepherd.

*

Because in the valley, 

  we are not holding onto Him 

    for dear life. 

It’s the Good Shepherd who has 

  taken us by the hand! 

It doesn’t make any difference 

  if we let go.

Thank God, He will never let go.

*

The wisest thing you can do 

  is immerse yourself in the Bible.

 Scriptural truths establish you 

  so that, when you get into the valley, 

the Lord Jesus Christ, 

  who holds your  hand 

    every step of the way, 

  will keep reminding you of them.

                                      - Charles Stanley

Even though I walk through the valley 

    of the shadow of death  

Your perfect love is casting out fear  

And even when I'm caught in the middle 

    of the storms of this life  

I won't turn back  

I know You are near

… And I will fear no evil  

For my God is with me  

And if my God is with me  

Whom then shall I fear?  

Whom then shall I fear?

… Oh no, You never let go  

Through the calm and 

    through the storm  

Oh no, You never let go  

In every high and every low  

Oh no, You never let go  

Lord, You never let go of

… Yes, I can see a light that is coming 

    for the heart that holds on  

And there will be an end 

    to these troubles  

But until that day comes  

Still I will praise You, 

    still I will praise You

    

                                       - Matt Redman

Thus Far The Lord Has Helped Us

Ebenezer ~ 

    Stone of Help

Then Samuel took a stone 

  and set it up between Mizpah 

     and Shen. 

He named it Ebenezer, saying, 

“Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

                                            - 1 Samuel 7:12

“He who hath helped thee hitherto

    will help thee all thy journey 

        through.”

When read in Heaven’s light, 

  how glorious and 

      marvelous a prospect 

  will Thy “hitherto” unfold 

      to thy grateful eye.  

                                       - C. H. Spurgeon

O Thou of little faith,

God hath not failed thee yet!

When all looks dark and gloomy,

Thou dost so soon forget—

Forget that He has led thee,

And gently cleared thy way;

On clouds has poured His sunshine,

And turned thy night to day.

And if He’s helped thee hitherto,

He will not fail thee now;

How it must wound His loving heart

To see thy anxious brow!

Oh! doubt not any longer,

To Him commit thy way,

Whom in the past thou trusted,

And is “just the same today.”

                              - Streams in the Desert

The Will Must Bow

The quiet song of gratitude,

    eucharisteo, 

lures humility out of the shadows 

  because to receive a gift, 

    the knees must bend humble 

     and the hand must lie 

        vulnerably open 

  and the will must bow 

    to accept whatever the Giver

      chooses to give.

                                      - Ann Voskamp

On The Journey

Help along the way,

  Strength for the day.

Journey

An act of traveling 

    from one place to another; 

  an adventure; an expedition; 

    a pilgrimage; 

      a passage or progress 

        from one stage to another.

Life is a Journey

The Lord will watch over 

  your coming and going

    both now and forevermore. 

                                         - Psalm 121:8

Blessed are those whose

  strength is in you,

    whose hearts are set

      on pilgrimage.

                                      - Psalm 84:5

All these people were still 

  living by faith when they died. 

They did not receive 

  the things promised; 

they only saw them and 

  welcomed them from a distance, 

    admitting that they were foreigners 

      and strangers on earth. 

People who say such things 

  show that they are looking 

    for a country of their own. 

                                      - Hebrews 12:13-14

Wait, My Daughter

Wait, My daughter,

    until you find out what happens.

                               – Ruth 3:18

Watch and pray

Stay the course

Whatever you do, 

    do it unto the Lord

I Will Not Be Afraid

I will trust God and 

    not be afraid

I will not be afraid

I will look upward and 

    travel onward

        and not be afraid

                   - quoted by Elisabeth Elliot 

Trust In The Living God

The care that is filling your mind 

    at this moment, 

or but waiting till you lay the book aside 

    to leap upon you --

that need which is no need, 

    is a demon sucking at the spring

        of your life. 

"No; mine is a reasonable care -- 

    an unavoidable care, indeed."

Is it something you have to do 

    this very moment? 

"No."

Then you are allowing it to usurp 

    the place of something that is required 

        of you this moment. 

"There is nothing required of me 

    at this moment."

Nay but there is --

    the greatest thing that can be 

        required of a person. 

"Pray, what is it?"

Trust in the living God….

"I do trust Him in spiritual matters."

Everything is an affair of the spirit.

                           - George MacDonald

The Next Hour Is God’s

This hour is mine 

    with its present duty;

the next is God’s,

    and when it comes,

        His presence will come with it.

                                             - Unknown

The Act of Faith

The act of faith 

  is being willing to trust 

    in the wisdom and 

        the will of God 

    without knowing the 

         outcome.  

                              ~ Dr. Charles Stanley

In Acceptance Lieth Peace

A trial won’t do any good 

  to you spiritually 

    unless you accept it.

And it is in just these tiny acts

  of acceptance of situations 

    that we can’t change 

  that we are in the process of 

    growing spiritually.

We regress instead of grow spiritually

  when we reject what God sends. 

                                - Elisabeth Elliot

Providence and Prayer

As we pray we are engaged 

  in an exercise designed 

    to benefit our own souls.

We pray so that we may not lose heart.

When we are engaged in prayer,

  something happens to us.

We are changed by the experience.

Prayer is a vital part of a 

  living relationship we have with God.

In prayer we have the opportunity 

  to learn of the character of the Father.

Indeed, prayer is one of the 

  most effective means we have 

    to discern the invisible hand of Providence. 

                                        - R.C. Sproul

The Cardinal Point of Faith

This is the cardinal point of faith,

  that whatever comes to pass,

    no matter how calamitous it may appear 

      in the moment,

  there is a reason for joy and confidence.

That God is for us

  is the cardinal point of 

    the doctrine of Providence.

One of the most difficult tasks 

  of the practicing Christian 

involves not only believing in God 

  but believing God.

                                        - R.C. Sproul

The Sacrifice of Praise

If we understand the Providence of God 

  and love the God of Providence, 

we are able to worship Him 

  with the sacrifice of praise

    He inherently deserves 

when things occur that bring pain, 

  sorrow, and affliction into our lives.

This understanding of Providence 

  is vital to all who would worship God.

It is a worship of faith 

  that is rooted in trust.

                                        - R.C. Sproul

Surrender, Sovereignty. Suffering, Trust

Surrender  +  Sacrifice

Sovereignty  +  Acceptance 

Suffering  +  Glory

Trust  +  Faith

To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving 

  means to sacrifice our understanding 

    of what is beneficial 

  and thank God for everything 

    because He is benevolent. 

A sacrifice of thanks 

  lays down our perspective 

    and raises hands in praise anyways 

      — always. 

A sacrifice is, by definition, 

  not an easy thing — 

    but it is a sacred thing.

                                     - Ann Voskamp

We bring the sacrifice of praise

into the house of the Lord.  

We bring the sacrifice of praise

into the house of the Lord.

And we offer up to You 

the sacrifices of thanksgiving

And we offer up to You

the sacrifices of joy.

                                       - Kirk Deerman

Provision Has Been Made

It has taken me a good many years 

    to realize that in the school of faith, 

what I am required to do 

    I am enabled to do.

Provision has been made

I am not alone 

    and there is nothing to fear.

                                  - Elisabeth Elliot

The Burden of Tomorrow

Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear

The burden of to-morrow?

Sufficient for to-day, its care,

Its evil and its sorrow;

God imparteth by the way

Strength sufficient for the day.

                                 - J. E. Saxby

No person ever sank 

  under the burden of the day. 

It is when tomorrow’s burden 

  is added to the burden of today

    that the weight is more 

       than a person can bear. 

Never load yourselves so, my friends. 

  if you find yourselves so loaded,

    at least remember this: 

      it is your own doing, not God’s. 

He begs you to leave 

    the future to Him,

       and mind the present. 

                                  - George MacDonald

Many things about tomorrow,

I don't seem to understand;

But I know Who holds tomorrow,

And I know Who holds my hand.

                             - Ira Forest Stanphill

To take on the burdens of tomorrow 

    is to sap the strength needed 

to carry out the work 

    assigned for today.

                                 - Elisabeth Elliot 

Today is mine.

Tomorrow is none of my business.

If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future,

  I will strain my spiritual eyes

    so I will not see clearly

      what is required of me now.

                                 – Elisabeth Elliot

We may bring any difficult situation

  to our Heavenly Father,

laying it before His eyes,

  and asking not for instant escape

but for strength to sustain 

  the burden and to do 

    what we ought to do.

                                - Elisabeth Elliot

It is not for the flock of sheep to know 

   the pasture the Shepherd 

       has in mind.  

It is for them to simply 

    follow Him.

                                  - Elisabeth Elliot 

Surrender to the Will of God

The will of God is not something 

  you add to your life.

It's a course you choose. 

You either line yourself up 

  with the Son of God…

    or you capitulate to the principle 

      which governs the rest of the world.

                               - Elisabeth Elliot 

Not According to Our Expectations

In this world 

    you will have trouble. 

But take heart!

    I have overcome the world.

                              -  John 16:33

God’s Sovereignty – 

    not according to our expectations. 

When “life as it is”

   turns out to be very different 

      then “life as it is supposed to be.”

The world is not created

    for our purposes, but for 

        God’s purposes.

Where do we get the belief 

    that life is supposed to be fair?

It wasn’t supposed to be this way! 

  is the cry of the heart toward God

    when circumstances take an 

       unexpected turn for the worse. 

The heart feels cheated, ripped off 

    and wronged - by God. 

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We live in a fallen world where 

    broken ropes are a fact of life.

                                   - Steve Brown