Encouragement in the Desert

Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer , the Holy One of Israel.  Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small , and shalt make the hills as chaff.

Isaiah 41: 14-15 

  While in Seattle with Gussy, a dear friend sent me a book I have come to treasure. A Book that the Lord has used in my life to draw me closer to Him and His Word. "Streams in the Desert" by L.B. Cowman. What a blessing when you are in that desert place. I am so grateful for the people that God sent my way when we were smack dab in the eye of the storm. He really does show His love to us in the darkest hour. He shows His love to us all of the time, we are, generally speaking,  too self  involved to see it. There you sit, on bended knees stripped of all power. Modern technology, comforts, and reasoning can do nothing more for you. Waiting in that desert splace with open Arms, is the love of our Savior. Never failing.

Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
    for our hope is in you alone.

Psalm 33:22 

 I would like to share with you an excerpt from the book. I sat down to read today, February 15th, 2013. Somehow I "accidentally" read March 15th's passage, all the while believing it was today's reading. It was what God had for me after much prayer.

   Please, read it. Be encouraged today....

  "Could any two things be in greater contrast than a worm and a threshing tool with sharp teeth? A worm is delicate and is easily bruised by a stone or crushed beneath a passing wheel. Yet a threshing tool with sharp teeth can cut through rock and not be broken, leaving its mark upon the rock. And Almighty God can covert one into the other. He can take an individual or a nation, who has all the weakness of a worm and through the energizing work of His own Spirit, endow that person or nation with strength enough to make a profound mark upon the history of their time.

   Therefore a "worm" may take heart.  Almighty God can make us stronger than our circumstances and can turn each situation to our good. In God's strength, we can even take the darkest disappointment, break it open, and discover a precious jewel of grace inside. When God gives us an iron will, we can cut through difficulties just as iron plowshare cuts through the hardest soil. As He said in the above verse, "I will make you...." Will He not do it? ~John Henry Jowett~

  Christ is building his kingdom with the broken things of earth. People desire only the strong, successful, victorious, and unbroken things in life to build their kingdoms, but God is the God of the unsuccessful- the God of those who have failed. Heaven is being filled with earth's broken lives, and there is no "bruised reed" (Isa. 42:3) that Christ cannot take and restore to a glorious place of blessing and beauty. He can take a life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it a harp whose music will be total praise. He can lift earth's saddest failure up to heaven's glory.

~ J.R. Miller~

Follow Me, and I will make you... ."

Make you speak My Words with power,

Make you vessels of My mercy,

Make you helpful every hour.

"Follow Me and I will make you..."

Make you what you cannot be-

Make you loving, trustful, godly,

Make you even just like Me.

L.S.P.  "

Living in his Mercy,
Melissa