God tells me in His Word that He "gives strength to the weary and to those who lack might, He increases power." Isaiah 40:29
"Yet those who wait for the Lord, will gain new strength.." vs 31
What makes me tired? Weary?
Tamoxifen
Messes
Traveling to town more than once in one day
Poor sleep
I guess you get the general gist.
Lest I fall into whining, I want to tell you that when I depend on God to help me in my day, He is faithful. He provides me the strength I need, whether it is emotional endurance to continue praying for others, or physical strength to travel into town, He helps me.
Steve meets with an oncologist tomorrow morning, the 25th, at 8:30 am. He needs strength, encouragement and action--he needs to get started doing something!
I remember knowing there was cancer in my body--all I could think about was getting it out of me--it seemed like time was against me. I'm sure he feels it even more heavily..
Tim and I were blessed to be able to attend a conference our church held for us. It was on the passage in Ephesians 6--the spiritual armor we have given to us by God.
You know-- the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals shod with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit.
The idea is that as believers in Jesus Christ, we are in a battle against Satan, while living on this earth. We struggle.( Eph 6:12) Satan lobs fiery darts at us but the shield of faith extinguishes them ALL.
Example: I'm anxious. I'm afraid. I cannot sleep...The shield comes into play when I "hold it up" with the Word of God. What does it say about anxiety?
"Be anxious for nothing..." Phil 4:6
"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee." Psalm 56:3
How about Isaiah 41:10?
"Do not fear, for I am with you, do not look anxiously about you for I am your God?"
The picture above depicts shields used in the time Paul wrote. They were huge, heavy and effective! Not only could they deflect enemy arrows, they could be positioned to advance the unit forward, to take ground.
When I use my shield, it works against all the arrows. Not one slips through. Praise God.
Our pastor used two big guys, up on stage holding their pretend shields. Then he knelt in front of them, posing as the defenseless one--maybe a new believer not yet grounded in God's Word or a believer pierced and wounded by lies, discouragement and hard trials...
the two big guys came up, and put their shields around the wounded one and used their shields to protect him until he was able to stand.
I thought that was a very powerful picture of what we can do for my brother right now--
surround him with our shields, the Word of God.
You gotta pick them up though. If I can do it on tamoxifen, you can too.
He is faithful,
Bonnie
1 comment:
My shield is UP, for Steve and for you dear friend!
And on the subject of shields, the Lord led me to this verse just this morning . . . only this time He's holding the shield . . .
Psalm 7:11-12
But let all those rejoice who put their
trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy,
because You DEFEND them;
Let those who also love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O Lord, will bless the
righteous;
With favor You will surround
him with a shield.
The note in my Bible says this:
That God is a shield was first revealed to Abraham (Gen15:1) though here the reference is to a larger one able to guard the WHOLE body.
Thank you Lord for being our "body guarding" shield! Father, as we lift our shields in Steve's defense, would You surround Him with Your mighty shield of protection. Give Him strength Lord, and give the doctors wisdom and quick actions. Lord, we ask that You remove the cancer from His body, completely and for good. In Jesus name, Amen.
Praying.
Love you~
Tina
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