03302019 Job

Dear Missionary Lady,

Warm greetings to you, my beloved sisters. While my prayers for you are not as frequent as I would like, I do pray for you and your ministries, and especially when I am aware of special needs. I receive email or Facebook updates from several of you, but I would love to get others if you have such a resource available. If you are in the habit of sending out email updates, would you kindly add me to your lists? Or if you have a Facebook group or updating system, I would be happy to hear from you there also.

Life is not always easy. It has different kinds of trials. Some are simple and short. Others are intense and lengthy. Some seem insupportable and never-ending.

Trials are not a surprise to us, at least not in the fact that they happen. They are part of life. As we grow in faith and maturity, we become better able to handle the ordinary bumps of life. There are times, however, when we are faced with a trial of faith that is especially challenging.

The difficulty is not the circumstance itself - the health issue or financial situation or relationship struggle. The most difficult thing is that God doesn't fix it in the manner or timing we think He should. We know what Scripture says, and it doesn't seem to match up with what is happening in our lives. It seems like God isn't doing what He says. For example, He is supposed to take care of us. He is supposed to care about us. He is supposed to bear our burdens. He is supposed to meet our needs. He is supposed to give blessings to those who try to follow Him. He is supposed to answer prayer. When we give freely to Him, He is supposed to respond by providing for us. When we give ourselves to Him, try to trust Him, try to follow Him, try to seek His Word for truth, and all those related earnest spiritual desires, He is supposed to reward and bless us.

But that isn't always what we see. If anyone understands the frustration, confusion, and disillusionment of deferred answers from God, it would be Job. The conversations of Job and his friends clearly showed that they saw a disparity between their belief system and Job's reality, and they didn't understand it. Job went through a lot of deep water before he saw the answers. He had to wait a long time until things finally came together.

Before Job saw the answers, while he was still in the midst of his struggle, he made some powerful statements. Consider the significance of these statements in the midst of what Job was enduring.

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (1:21).

"What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (2:10).

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (13:15).

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:" (19:25-26).

"I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee" (42:2).

"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (23:10).

"Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. ... I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (42:3, 5-6).

"Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth" (40:4).

Job’s Responses

Oh God, although it hurts, I know You’re just;
For each thing taken, You were first the source.
Your work’s not wrong, and worship You I must.
I take the good and bad, each in its course.

Oh God, undying trust is due Your hand.
My hope is firm, though You bring me to death.
I know one day I’ll see You take Your stand,
Though worms destroy my skin and I’ve no breath.

Oh God, You are a source of wondrous might;
There’s not a man can thwart Your purpose bold.
You know my way; You can do all things right.
Your cleansing work can make me shine as gold.

Oh God, You are too big for me to know.
I spoke of things so wonderful and vast,
But now I realize that they’re really so.
I’m humbled to observe my God at last.

Oh God, I realize now that You are God.
I would not dare to change what You decide,
For what am I but just an earthly clod?
I will be mute, and lay all words aside.

Our experience doesn't have to look like our expectations in order for God to be right. When we don't understand the disparity between reality and what we think God should be doing, that doesn't mean God is wrong. It means our understanding and vision are limited. God sees and knows more, and He is always right.

Recently, it seems that an unusual number of my friends are going through times of great difficulty. That realization, coupled with my own needs, led me to do a Bible study on God the Rock. I found it to be powerful truth, especially suited for those in times of trouble. If you are interested in this Bible study, you can find it at https://pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com/2019/03/god-rock.html. The introduction, 28 sections, and conclusion would make a good devotional for a month.

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

03222019 God Will Take Care of You

Dear Missionary Lady,

Songs in the night. I know you've had them just like I have. This one by Civilla Martin came to me one night this week, and I wanted to share it with you.

Be not dismayed whate'er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Though every day, o'er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

The second stanza assures of God's care in these settings: "through days of toil when heart doth fail," and "when dangers fierce your path assail."

The truth of God's care is precious, and thankfully, these are not merely nice-sounding, made-up words by a hymnwriter who just wanted people to feel better. God really does take care of His children.

God will take care of you because He has promised to do so. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). This isn't limited just to financial needs. God gives needed protection and necessary wisdom. God supplies needed buildings, co-laborers, and visas. God meets needs that are financial, physical, emotional, and every other kind of need. God is faithful.

God will take care of you because He knows your needs. "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:31-32). God knows your needs before you ask Him. He even knows about needs that you don't know about yet. There is no danger that God will fail to meet a need because He is unaware of it. God is omniscient.

God will take care of you because He cares deeply about you. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (I Peter 2:9). "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). You are precious to God, and His heart overflows toward you; He desires to give you all that you need. God is loving.

God will take care of you because He knows how to do it. "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33). God can figure out solutions to problems that baffle everyone else. There is no situation so difficult or impossible that He cannot devise a solution. God is wise.

God will take care of you because He has the ability to do so. "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). The Bible is filled with accounts of God's intervention in situations that seemed to have no possible resolution. God can defeat the greatest odds, slay the biggest giants, move the tallest mountains, and humble the largest armies. He can do anything He needs to do in order to work out His plans. God is omnipotent.

Yes, God will take care of you. Always. Trust Him and rest in Him.

No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (I Peter 5:7).

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

03162019 Finish Line

Dear Missionary Lady,

Thank God for keeping each of you this week and for doing His work through you. You know, according to the calendar, each week has just seven days. Doesn't it seem, however, that some weeks stretch on forever (and about three or four of those days are Mondays)?

Just like those long and challenging weeks, there are seasons of life that seem to stretch on in unending trial. Some unwelcome situation drags on and on with no end in sight. In my opinion, the undetermined length is what makes the trials especially hard to face.

If we only knew when the trial would end, we could hold on. Every difficult winter will end in a few months, as winter gives way to spring. A woman might have a very difficult pregnancy, but she knows that in nine months, it will be over, and she will have the joy of her precious baby. A college student might struggle through the combined burden of studies and work, but he can look forward to graduation in four years. It is the hope of those finishing lines that helps us through the race.

But what about when we can't see any end? When the suffering seems interminable and the situation irresolvable? What about when we wait and wait ... and wait, and there is still no answer? Hope can be squelched, and the spirit can be crushed. We want to give up in despair, believing that no action or belief on our part can make any difference, and that God is apparently not doing anything either.

The good news for the Christian is that there is always a finish line. Every trial will end. Every sorrow will be relieved. Every burden will be lifted. Every difficult circumstance will give way to joy.

In most cases, this will happen here on this earth. Even if a sickness or family struggle or ministry challenge lasts for months or years, most of the time it does come to an end within our lifetime. The Bible talks about the temporary nature of trials, and the relief that follows them.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).

"Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place" (Psalm 66:12).

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations" (I Peter 1:6).

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (II Corinthians 4:17).

God knows that these difficult spells are hard, but He is doing His work through them, and He will bring them to an end. Even some non-Christians are clear-thinking enough to take hope in the knowledge that most trials will end, (although they can't rejoice in God's design and work in the meanwhile). There is a point, though, at which those without Christ lose hope; this is when there is no apparent likelihood of the situation ever changing. Even when a trial will last until death, the Christian has hope. He knows that eternity is coming, when all lingering trials will finally meet their end.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

In whatever situation you are facing, and regardless of how long it has been already, and in spite of the fact that there are no answers in sight, the truth is that the trial will end. God, in His ultimate wisdom, will reveal His solution when He knows the time is right; or, He will end this life of wretchedness with the glories of heaven. Whichever way it happens, there is a finish line.

Noah remained cramped in the unpleasant conditions of the ark for a year, but then he walked on dry land again. Abraham waited twenty-five years for his promised son, but then he had the joy of holding him in his arms. Joseph spent decades in exile, slavery, and prison, but then he was reunited with his family and raised to great importance. Job's illness lasted (probably) for months, but then he was healed and his riches restored. The Bible is filled with many such examples. It also contains the stories of men like Paul who walked from prison into glory, and of the prophets who faced rejection until the time God accepted them.

Take heart. The trial you are currently in - the one that has already stretched on for ages - the one that feels like it will never end - it will end. Probably in this lifetime. Certainly in heaven. There is a finish line, and God knows exactly when that will be. Trust Him, and just keep walking day by day.

"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" (Psalm 27:13-14).

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

03092019 Jacob's Recognition

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in our Savior's name. Thanks to God for the ways in which He worked through you this week. God is doing His work, and what you do today matters for eternity.

Today I want to share one verse with you. As I read it recently, it stood out to me as a powerfully expressed recognition of God's intervention. Jacob had returned from his years of exile and had survived his fearful reunion with Esau. As Jacob began to reestablish himself in Canaan, God directed him to go to Bethel.

Jacob told his family, "And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went" (Genesis 35:3). Jacob shared two wonderful things about God in this verse, and they are both things that are very common in God's dealings with His people.

The first is that God answered him in the day of his distress. The Bible is filled with similar verses and similar testimonies. "The LORD will hear when I call unto him" (Psalm 4:3). "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:4). "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 34:17). "I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry" (Psalm 40:1).

Yes, God answers in the day of distress. There is another whole collection of verses about God's hearing of His children. They contain phrases like, "His ears are open unto them," "He inclined His ear toward me," "He heard me when I cried," and so on. But God doesn't just hear and then ignore. When God hears the cries of His needy children, He answers them.

As I read Jacob's words "in the day of my distress," my mind asks the question, "Which one?" Like us, Jacob had more than one rough day. He had more than one difficult situation. In which of those did God hear him and deliver? Well, I'm pretty sure it was all of them. God is not limited to deliver us just once. He is not impatient to give up on us when the next difficulty comes. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).

Jacob's second statement is that God was with him in the way he went. Now that's pretty amazing, since it would be difficult to argue that Jacob's steps always went the right way. Nevertheless, God was with him. (Which is kind of an understatement. Jacob started out fleeing with only the clothes on his back and maybe what he could carry. He returned with a large family and tremendous wealth.)

Statements like this one are also plentiful in Scripture. God gave this assurance to many, many people: Isaac, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, His disciples, and many similar references to Christians in general. "I will be with him in trouble" (Psalm 91:15). "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).

It is always a comfort to know that God is with us, and His presence is always welcome. That comfort is multiplied, however, when we remember that God is with us in the difficult times - especially then. He doesn't desert us when we need Him most. "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the waters, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" (Isaiah 43:2).

No matter what you face this week, maybe something you have no idea about right now, God will hear you and answer you. No matter what path, perhaps unexpected, that your feet may walk, God will be with you. Call to Him. Lean on His presence. May He uphold you in whatever this week brings, whether the ordinary routine of familiar tasks or through the most unwelcome diversion from the ordinary. He will hear you, and He will be with you. Praise His name for all the times He has proven that in the past and for all the times He will prove it again in the future. God is faithful!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

03022019 Counsel When Alone

Dear Missionary Lady,

Does anyone want some of my snow? We just had our second storm in two days with another one expected tomorrow. Actually, none of them are monstrous snows, and overall the winter hasn't been too bad - numerous small storms, but no huge ones. It is this time of year, however, when we get into March, that I start looking forward to spring with greater hope. Spring will come, as it always does, because of the determination of a faithful God to make it so.

That isn't the only area in which God shows His faithfulness. I have recently been spending time in Psalm 119, and I noted some interesting things in the Gimel stanza (vs. 17-24). As I read through the stanza, I was struck with the impression that the psalmist was alone, and that he was particularly aware of that solitary condition because he was in a position where he wanted help.

I saw his solitude in v. 19. "I am a stranger in the earth." I saw it in his disassociation from other people who lived around him in v. 21. "Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments." I saw it in the opposition he faced from others, from the establishment, actually, in v. 23. "Princes also did sit and speak against me."

This man did not feel loved and accepted. He was not surrounded with people who supported him, shared his values, or thought the same way he thought. The inhabitants of his immediate world were not helping him in his efforts to live for God, and they certainly were not capable of guiding and encouraging him when he needed direction.

This world is not our home. Some of you sense that more acutely than others. Some of you live in situations where the government and the whole of society is adamantly opposed to Christianity. Some of you live in highly secularized societies, in which God is nothing more than an empty tradition. Some of you are constantly surrounded with drugs, violence, and immorality. The situations in which you live and the things you regularly see are a burden, a concern, and a constant reminder that this world is not your home.

Living as a stranger, however, does not free us from the need for support and counsel. We may look around and not find any reliable counselors or faithful sources of wisdom, but that doesn't mean we don't need it. So where do we turn when we need help and can't find any?

We turn just where the psalmist turned. He also needed help, longed for support, and craved good counsel. He found that counsel in the Bible. "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors" (v. 24). This man needed something to guide his steps, and he found it.

This was not an easy answer, however. He had to plead for and search for the counsel. "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (v. 18). "Hide not thy commandments from me" (v. 19). These prayers of petition give the impression that he did not easily or immediately find the answers. He felt lost for a while, not seeing what to do. In that situation, he was a little desperate. After all, the Bible was essentially his only source of counsel; it does not appear that he had anywhere else to turn.

Extended and deliberate time in the Word always leads to guidance, and the psalmist had the right attitude and right dependence on the Word. "My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times" (v. 20). "I have kept thy testimonies" (v. 22). "Thy servant did meditate in thy statutes" (v. 23). "Thy testimonies also are my delight" (v. 24).

You face a variety of challenges every day - with family, direction of ministry, situations with particular individuals, and much more. You may not have any reliable counselors to turn to. Or, those counselors might be so far removed geographically that they can't adequately grasp your situation, and it may not be very convenient to communicate effectively with them. God has the answers for every situation. In a world where Christians are strangers and where the counsel offered by the world falls empty, God can use His Word to guide His earnestly seeking children.

Don't despair. God has answers for you. As you seek Him, He will guide you. Even when you have no other humans to look to for guidance or confirmation, God alone is enough. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

I pray that God will give you guidance and wisdom this week for the decisions you need to make and for dealing with the situations that are too hard for you. May something you have been laboring over and wondering about for a long time finally open up in clear direction. What you do today matters for eternity, and God has every desire to guide you in doing the right things. May He be your faithful and reliable Counselor!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com