Encouragement
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"If the devil cannot attack a Christian any other way, he'll use discouragement."
"This morning I awoke feeling so discouraged. I figure that means I should write some letters to encourage others."
"Isn't that just like the dirty devil; he tries to rob us of our joy. Well, just don't let him!"
These long-ago quotes from my dad came to mind as I asked the Lord what I should write about for the next Salt & Light Report. Dad's words reminded me of more, a gospel song that became an anchor for my young teenage heart:
1. I look not back; God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets.
I leave them all with Him who blots the record,
And graciously forgives, and then forgets.
2. I look not forward; God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face with me its ev'ry trial,
And bear for me the burdens that may come.
3. I look not round me; then would fears assail me.
So wild the tumult of earth's restless seas,
So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,
So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.
4. I look not inward; that would make me wretched;
For I have naught on which to stay my trust.
Nothing I see save failures and shortcomings,
And weak endeavors, crumbling into dust.
5. But I look up--into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and ev'ry hope fulfilled.
Source: The New Christian Hymnal #235 [author: Annie Johnson Flint]
Of course, only with our eyes fixed on Jesus are we able to weather all the afflictions the enemy uses to attack us. As one of my nieces joked, given all the evil in the world we wouldn't be normal if we weren't depressed!
Things I realized from my dad's words included the fact that a smiley face can masquerade a heavy heart, or an aching body, soul, and spirit. I've also discovered that precisely where lies our greatest brokenness is the spot where we find our deepest relationship with the Lord. To paraphrase a meme from Facebook: it's where we're cracked that the Light can shine in. That same deep wound, God uses to turn affliction into blessing – for others as well as for myself, as Dad demonstrated in his letter-writing encouragement for others.
And then, as I continued to listen while His Spirit bore witness with my spirit, another memory came to mind. Again, as a teenager, attending a summer tent meeting, I recalled the chorus to the most beautiful of gospel songs I had ever heard and never-before heard. I sat enthralled listening to the young singer with her wonderful voice:
CHORUS
I'm overshadowed by His mighty love
Love eternal, changeless, pure.
Overshadowed by His mighty love
Rest is mine, serene, secure.
He died to ransom me from sin,
He lives to keep me day by day,
I'm overshadowed by his mighty love,
Love that brightens all my way.
[Classic Hymn "Overshadowed" by Ironside and Schuler. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJSheKN9B5w ]
Throughout Scripture we find clues to that everlasting Love: His banner over me is love; underneath are the everlasting arms. Surely, as we hide in the secret place of the Most High, we are overshadowed with good, in spite of whatever storms assail us in the wilderness of this world.
Genesis 50:20 - As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. [ESV]
Romans 8:35, 37-39 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [ESV]
---Edy T Johnson---
Copyright 2016
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