Pressed On All Sides....But Not Crushed

When we were in our meeting yesterday, I remembered a blog entry from last year.  I went back into the archives and found it.  One thing I was thinking about after I read it was this:  We know God's word describes us as clay vessels.  We know that He has told us that His light is to shine out of us into the darkness.  We know that we get shattered by things in life which bring us closer to God, which increases His life or light within us.  We also know that He uphold or hold together all things even our shattered pieces.  Think about how visible light shines through cracks in things.  If we had no cracks His light would be hidden inside of us, and He states in Luke that no one hides a light.

Thank you all for allowing me to come in and share your lives with you.  Thank you for always being so real and the trust you extend.  Enjoy your Saturday, it is as beautiful as each of you are to me.

With Love,
Candace

Have you ever had one of those days when you said "God I can not take this one more minute?" I have had one of those days..and it is today!

Here it is the end of the day and guess what.....I am still here! As I sit here hanging my head in shame, moaning, whinning and telling my self to just stop it. I am reminded of Christ and a conversation I had with my daughter one day. She was having one of her own "moments" when being the funny mom that I "think" I am; I was trying to coax her out of it by saying "At least you do not have to die on a cross". Needless to say, she did not like my comedic irony or timing.

All this brings to mind a scripture where Paul was talking to his church. I have knowledge of this passage, but now I am experiencing it. I will just hit the highlights from Chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians vs 8:

We are his servants because the same God who said that light should shine out of darkness has given us light. For that reason we bring to light the knowledge about God's glory which shines from Christ's face. Our bodies are made of clay, yet we have the treasure of the Good News in them. This shows that the superior power of this treasure belongs to God and doesn't come from us.

In every way we're troubled, but we aren't crushed by our troubles. We're frustrated, but we don't give up. We're persecuted, but we're not abandoned. We're captured, but we're not killed.

It goes on to state: The following is written, "I believed; therefore, I spoke, "we have that same spirit of faith. We also believe; therefore, we also speak. We know that the one who brought the Lord Jesus back to life will also bring us back to life through Jesus. Our suffering is light and temporary and is producing for us an eternal glory that is greater than anything we can imagine. We do not look for things that can be seen but for things that can't be seen. Things that can be seen are only temporary. But things that can't be seen last forever.

I can speak of this psalm and sing it from a glad heart:

Who will stand by my side against troublemakers? If the Lord had not come to help me my soul would have quicky fallen silent in death. When I said, " My feet are slipping, " your mercy, O Lord, continued to hold me up. When I worried about many things, your assuring words soothed my soul.

In Psalm 109 King David said, "They surround me with hateful words, they fight against me for no reason. In return for my love, they accuse me, but I pray for them. Help me, O Lord my God. Save me because of your mercy. Then they will know that this is your doing, that you, O Lord , are the one who saved me. With my mouth I will give thanks to the Lord, I will praise him among many people, because he stands beside needy people to save them from those who would condemn them to death."

May we run to God, settle in his wings, rest in his sweet slumber of protection to rise anew in His Mercy each day.
Kisses,
Candace