Sometimes favourable and at other times not what we would choose!
Weather and circumstance are often beyond our control
but we are always in control of our response!
Whether the weather be fine, Or whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Or whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather Whatever the weather, Whether we like it or not!
Today's devotion (shared below) is a timely reminder
that hope is not fixed on something superficial
but on Someone eternal and omnipotently able!
Rom.4:18 NIV
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed
and so became the father of many nations,
just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
As much as we recognize it is not in the good weather/times, but in trying circumstances
we prove the authenticity of Hope (esp. when it is against all hope)
as faith matures we realize we will not stand firm in trying times
if faith is not 'proven steadfast' in 'sunny' weather; weather in which
we may be tempted to lay our armour aside and let down our guard!!
***
When in harsh throes we face faith's foes with deliberate diligence
When we can see the enemy we wield faith's weapons of defense
When rivals rage then faith engages the whole armour of the Lord
His pow'r and might fits us to fight with shield of faith and Spirit's sword
To guard and gird us with God's Word; without which we are doomed to fail
For we know not, then, how we ought to pray in shadows of death's vale
But when the hour is like a bow'r of blossoms and the sun is warm
When breezes dance, then guarded stance is apt to grow lax in its form
And treasure worldly pleasure more than seeking the kingdom of God
When storms subside, beware of pride and feet that are not gospel-shod
For sin sets snares in hasty prayers and beds of roses, fit for kings
Where faith would not enter our thought if we could see and know all things
Trust in the Lord; His faithful Word, no matter what befalls, abides
When in the throes of trouble's woes, remember this; His love provides
All that we need; He does not lead us into battle, unequipped
His pow'r and might will help us fight when Self is of its tactics stripped
Yielding control by faith made whole as we relinquish all but He
Whose High Command will help us stand, no matter what the charge may be
Janet Martin
After we put on the armour detailed in
Eph.6, verse 18 sums up our Christian combat in this;
...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Elisha Hoffman (1839-1929) after graduating from Union Seminary in Pennsylvania was ordained in 1868. As a minister he was appointed to the circuit in Napoleon, Ohio in 1872. He worked with the Evangelical Association's publishing arm in Cleveland for eleven years. He served in many chapels and churches in Cleveland and in Grafton in the 1880s, among them Bethel Home for Sailors and Seamen, Chestnut Ridge Union Chapel, Grace Congregational Church and Rockport Congregational Church. In his lifetime he wrote more than 2,000 gospel songs including"Leaning on the everlasting arms" (1894). The fifty song books he edited include Pentecostal Hymns No. 1 and The Evergreen, 1873.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24“The Lordis my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
Rom.13:11
The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber,...
1 Cor.16:9
For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
A melody of mercy plays where morning is a mist-kissed flow’r...
A melody of mercy plays where morning is a mist-kissed flow’r
Unfolded with a breath of grace from He who orchestrates the hour
God’s loving kindness is enough no matter what today may bring
Goodness and mercy follow us until we dwell at last with Him
He helps us (if we ask) to bear the toll of toil and troubles drills
Faith weeps for joy; from founts of air, God’s unforgetting favor spills
For His compassions never fail, in spite of we who often do
Redemption’s Author rends the veil where mercy’s melody pours through
…where a great and effective door swings wide, where adversaries boast
Thus, we should not advance before we are equipped to face this host