The Lord is my strength and shield

 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him."  -Psalm 28:7

 I want to thank everyone for their love and concern in regards to our recent discovery of Melery's cancer.  Your support during this time is greatly appreciated and we give thanks to God for putting us with such wonderful people.

 When we were first told the news of Melery's cancer the Lord immediately impressed upon me the above verse.  He made His presence and grace known to me through His wonderful Word.  The Holy Spirit quickened my heart and mind to immediately look to The One - the only One - who could carry us through this time and through whatever lies ahead.  I was filled with such wonderful peace and assurance of His all-sufficient grace to help in time of need.

 I know that through this time God has good in store for all of our lives and that He will be glorified through this situation no matter what.  I know that God allows things like this because of His undying commitment to conform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-30), and I am convinced that God will (and is) using this to conform Melery, myself, our children, and the church family more into the image of Christ.  God uses times like these to remind us of that our life doesn't consist of the things we have but that real life is in our eternal hope (2 Corinthians 1:9; 4:16-18; Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 6:19).  During this time, and everyday that we have here on earth, we must get our eyes (the eyes of our hearts) focused to where they need to be (Ephesians 1:18; Colossians 3:1-4) - on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

 In my time alone with our Lord this morning I was pouring my heart out to Him.  I was sharing with Him my concerns and my desires for the situation at hand.  While praying, I was reminded of Jesus' supplication the night before His crucifixion.  He had His wishes and desires but He knew that which was best - the Father's will. "Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done"  (Luke 22:42).  Immediately I found myself surrendering to the Father's will (whatever that might be) because His will alone is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2).  If I truly believe that God is sovereign and that He does cause all things to work together for good, then I must pray that His will would be done, not mine, because His will is what is best.

Some may read this and accuse me of not believing.  All I can say to that is "Far from it!"  I do believe that His will is good, acceptable, and perfect.  I do believe, as the Apostle Paul did, that God is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him (1 Timothy 1:12).  I do believe that only His perfect will is what is best and that only when I accept it will His peace be realized.

 Others may accuse me of giving up and surrendering to the situation.  Again, I must reply, "Far from it!"  I am not giving up to the cancer, and we will do whatever we need to (humanly speaking) to get rid of it.  I refuse to surrender to the situation but I willingly surrender to our Lord.  I surrender to God's will in this situation, resting in His perfect plan, whatever that might be.  My hope is not in my will, wishes, or desires; it is in Him.  May He be glorified through it all. 

Many people have offered their support and concern.  Many have asked how they can help us during this time.  Again, I greatly appreciate this and am touched by everyone's love.  I know that as we proceed in the days ahead there will be many opportunities to serve and we will make sure that everyone knows how.  At the present moment, however, the thing that we need is for people to trust God and to know that His will is good, acceptable, and perfect.  We don't need positive thinking and man-made promises; we don't need people to project their fears and emotions onto us.  We need the church family to be strong with us and look to the God who holds all things together and who does what He will for His glory.  We need people who will come to know that His will is good, acceptable, and perfect, and to realize that His grace IS sufficient and abundant through this time. We believe this; will you believe it with us?

Do we need you to pray?  We sure do! We need your prayers for wisdom and discernment in making the right decisions.  We need your prayers that God's grace would continue to fill our faith and keep our eyes on Him.  We need you to pray as the Lord taught us to, saying, "Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven…For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

Do we need words of encouragement?  We sure do!  (See Proverbs 25:11)  We need words that remind us that our hope is in Him no matter what happens. Words of faith, love, and hope, based on the truth, not on our own desire or needs. We need His Word to be spoken to us through you - His words of life in Christ Jesus.

 Sing them over again to me, Wonderful words of Life;

Let me more of their beauties see, Wonderful Words of Life.

Words of life and beauty, Teach me faith and duty:

Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of Life.

(from the hymn, Wonderful Words of Life) 

Again, thank you for your love and support. I thank God for all of you and I look forward to all the good that He has in store for all of us through this.  Let us always remember that He is our strength and our shield - He sustains us and protects us.  It is my prayer that we would all realize this in greater ways in the days ahead as we fix our hope on Him.

 By God's Grace ~ Through God's Word ~ For God's Glory!

Chuck Long

©God’sGWG
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do NOT alter the wording in any way, and you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction.  
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Chuck Long. ©God’sGWG. Website: www.Godsgwg.com. Email: Godsgwg@juno.com

 Below are all the Scriptures that I referenced above for your reading and encouragement.

 Romans 8:28-30

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

 2 Corinthians 1:9

"…we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead." 

 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 

Colossians 1:27

"Christ in you, the hope of glory"

1 Timothy 6:19

"…take hold of that which is life indeed." 

Ephesians 1:18

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" 

Colossians 3:1-4

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." 

Hebrews 12:2

"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

Romans 12:1-2

"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."  

2 Timothy 1:12

"…I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."   

Proverbs 25:11

"Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances." 

Matthew 6:9-13

"Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

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