"I lift my hands to you in prayer.
I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.
Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
or I will die.
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to you." Psalm 143:6-8 NLT
There is a friend and she is going through a very dark time right now. I feel for her. She talks to me and I feel her pain. My heart cries for her. But I have come to the realization that I can't physically help her. She needs to want to help herself.
Oh, that may sound cruel, but while I have prayed to the Lord to have me to say some enlightened word that will just wipe all her sadness away, it hasn't happened. If anything it seems to have deepened the mire. And then I realize, it's not up to me. It's not my job.
Do you know why? This is between her and her Lord. Yes, there is some other people involved in this situation, but basically it is between her and her Father. I can keep her uplifted in prayer but she is the only one that can decide when she is tired of this feeling. She is the only one that can decide that instead of looking down into her mire, to look up into the face of her loving Father. To raise up her arms and have Him lovingly pull her out. Do you see what I mean?
Our Father offers each and everyone of us His unfailing love every morning. And while my first response is to spare her--to snatch her out--it would be wrong. It would be like harvesting a crop before it was fully ripen. Picking a rose before it was completely formed.
God has a plan for all of this. He has a plan for all of our muck and mire. But what He doesn't want is for us to stay in it. We need to desire to come out of it. Because, as you know, we are creatures of habit and even miry situations become quite comfortable at times.
If only she could only get to this place again...
"Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to you."
This is where He is trying to take us, don't you agree? Are you there?
Your friend is coming out of it with the love and kindness of The Lord which is being shown to her through The Body of Christ! It may not be your time to say the enlighted word because someone else had to do it. Like Pastor said in "A Sure Thing" I am putting my tust in The Lord and he is surrounding me with his unfailing love. I am also calling on His strength as my shield. God Bless You!
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