Showing posts with label comfort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comfort. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Cage-Rattling Joy...

John 16:33
I have told you these things,
 so that in me you may have peace. 
In this world you will have trouble. 
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”


1 Thess.4:13-18
3 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, 
concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep,
lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so God will bring with Him those who [b]sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive
 and remain until the coming of the Lord 
will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. 
And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 
And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

***
Imagine if we could not comfort one another with God's words from scripture!
Surely, then life would be a hopelessly fearful undertaking,
each day's impending unknowns dark with dread and discouragement!

SO many tragedies could leave us disillusioned,
 our hearts irreparably broken,
Faith would be crushed with despair,
 but for the treasure of sure hope through the shed blood of Christ!

2 Cor.4:7-9 (read the whole tender chapter HERE)
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay 
to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 
8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed;
 perplexed, but not in despair;
 9persecuted, but not forsaken; 
struck down, but not destroyed.

Where flowers bloom midst dire tides of doom and gloom forecasters spew
Where God's unfailing Word abides; each morning His mercy is new...




Before a fresh burst of unknowns rattles the cage of Time and Place
Where, praise the Lord, faith's stepping stones are set in sands of hope and grace

Where flowers bloom midst dire tides of doom and gloom forecasters spew
Where God's unfailing Word abides; each morning His mercy is new

Where justice will prevail some day so we do not need to despair
Where good or ill, come what yet may, God helps us through each creature-care

Where God, who cares for you and me is greater than faith's crooning foe 
A Very Present Help to we who need His truth and comfort so 

Where we would be deceived without His Word to guide, correct and cheer
And save us from pitfalls of doubt, pride, ignorance, folly and fear 

Where many who have ears are deaf it seems, to thund'ring wonder-storms 
And many who have eyes profess no knowledge of works God performs 

Where all will someday give account to He whose breath of life we draw 
While drinking from a glorious fount of favours that pray, authors awe 

...and courage, to fight the Good Fight, strong, pure and faithful to the end
Armed with the power of God's might and peace thought cannot comprehend

Where, praise the Lord, faith's steppingstones are set in sands of hope and grace
Where joy transcends bursts of unknowns rattling cages of Time and Place

Janet Martin




Thursday, June 5, 2025

Our Sorrow Comes As No Surprise...

 

The benchmark of obedience reveals the hallmark of faith~

Prov.3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.[a]


Today's post is inspired in part as I am reading the book of Job
and in part by a recent devotion...





Our sorrow comes as no surprise to He who works for our good
What appears is a brief disguise for purposes misunderstood
To trust the Lord with all our heart rather than lean on mortal ken
Requires yielding every part; heart, soul and mind to Him. Amen

God does not fret when faith is vexed with logic stripped of theory
Our well-laid plan is oft perplexed, if but to test humility
Woe’s merit oft veiled at first glance; the pain of loss oft misconstrued
As passion earns faith’s meeker stance and learns love’s deeper gratitude

This world is full of trouble sore; some barely touched, some crushed, it seems
Without fail, death levels the score of life’s temporal field of dreams
It cuts position down to size where no disguise can thwart its ways
And often takes us by surprise but not to God who numbers days

He has prepared a dwelling place for every person that repents
He cheers faith onward as we face the learning/leaning curves of Providence
He helps us as we suffer long, obeying without compromise 
‘When I am weak then am I strong' at last pride's broken spirit cries 

The thoroughfare for faith is forged from broken pieces held to God
When sight is no longer engorged with this world's promiscuous laud
But content with God's no or yes, faith does not fret with futile whys
But focuses on promises no circumstance takes by surprise 

© Janet Martin


Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, 
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,


Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
 through Him who loved us.



 Lyrics

By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight
By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign
We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
'Til the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight
By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the pow'r to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave
By faith the church was called to go
In the pow'r of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth
We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
'Til the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight
By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name
We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
'Til the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight
Oh, we will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
'Til the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight
We'll walk by faith and not by sight
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Keith Getty / Stuart Townend / Kristyn Getty

Friday, May 23, 2025

Sometimes, Only When We're Broken...

Until we come to God without any agenda but  'Thy will be done',
comfort cannot begin...

There is nothing like assembling at a graveside
to stir hearts to set priorities into proper perspective...

Much prayerful reflection and contemplation today,
following Cliff's funeral yesterday...
Cliff mentioned HERE



Sometimes sad failure tries to fool me into thinking all is lost
Sometimes love's sorrow comes to school me in lessons I do not want
Sometimes unknowns could make me tremble like a little leaf, wind-tossed
Because impending storms assemble; till I hear above fear's taunt
'Come'

Sometimes, when looking back at struggles, at 'faith's substance' scarred and bent  
Sometimes its weathered tears and troubles forge a gladder countenance 
Because the heart has grown more tender through love's groaning lessons lent
Wakening a once Thoughtless/thankless Spender to Mercy's extravagance 
'Come' 

Fresh courage commits to be braver in the aftermath of loss
Desire's goals seem to grow graver in the shadow of Time's lease 
And dread, that Noose to joy and laughter pales beneath love's suffered cross
 The gentle, scarred Hands of the Grafter, entitles His Masterpiece
'Come' 

Sometimes a tempest-ravaged garden seems a picture of despair 
Where painful pruning veils the guerdon; because such is faith's veneer 
Hark! a sweet, sweet word is spoken like an answer to all prayer
And sometimes, only when we're broken are we still enough to hear 
'Come'

Sometimes, then in the bowed beholding, at a graveside's solemn pose 
As we witness the final folding of dust-to-dust's snuffed façade 
Sometimes then, far from the mad hunger for plunder that death foregoes  
We can hear the silence thunder with the loving voice of God 
'Come' 

Janet Martin 💔🙏

Matt.11:28-29
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; 
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
 
Matt.14:22-33
And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship,
 and to go before him unto the other side, 
while he sent the multitudes away.
  23And when he had sent the multitudes away, 
he went up into a mountain apart to pray: 
and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
  24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: 
for the wind was contrary.
  25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, 
walking on the sea.
  26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,
 they were troubled, saying,
 It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 
27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,
  Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28And Peter answered him and said,
 Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 
29And he said, Come
And when Peter was come down out of the ship,
 he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 
30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid;
 and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 
31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him,
  O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 
33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, 
Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
















Monday, February 24, 2025

Behold The Comforter



John 14:18
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.




Grief is not all that it appears
Beyond the part we see
Of loss and farewell’s flowing tears
And mourning’s misery
Beyond the appearance of gloom
Sorrow holds out a key
For a Door to an Inner Room
Where Divine Sympathy
Unveils the fulfilled promise of
Mankind’s Deliverer
Behold, God’s outstretched arms of love
Behold, the Comforter

© Janet Martin

Rev.3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, 
I will come in to him and dine with him,
 and he with Me.

Friday, January 17, 2025

Sorrow's Sweet Surprise

I came across this photo of us sisters in much care-freer childhood days...
From left to right...
Marlene, Carolyn, Cheryl, Lucy and Janet 💝

Because today marks four months since Lucy's death,
it also marks four months of God's abiding comfort and strength,
and four months of being drawn ever nearer to His
everlasting love...

I'm sharing today and tomorrow's devotion 
because they minister profoundly to all who are traveling
through trouble and sorrow...




I shared the verses below on yesterday's post but I didn't 'unpack' them...

Matt. 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.


Often in ways we would not choose
When love unfolds grief's solemn hues
We find, in sorrow's somber length
The God of all comfort and strength

Often, when disappointments test
The hopes and dreams now laid to rest
We find in sorrow's bitter tear
The God of all comfort is near

And often when (lest we despair)
We pour out broken hearts in prayer 
We find to sorrow's sweet surprise
The God of all comfort replies

We find  'no longer I, but Christ'
As hopes and dreams are sacrificed
We find, as sorrow bows the head 
The God of all comfort instead 

Whose compassion is new each morn
Who comforts mourners, sorrow-worn
Through troubles we would never choose
God ministers with Heaven's hues

© Janet Martin 

And a BIG P.S.

Prayer updates!
Remember the people you prayed for HERE
and HERE?

Our friends had a wonderful trip in spite of the initial disappointment;
not as originally planned but in place of original plans 💖🙏

...and thanks be to God,
 the family who was looking for a home has found one!
Thank-you all for your help and prayers!




Thursday, January 16, 2025

Like Raindrops on a Garden

Roses in waiting...




A few glimpses at today's inspiration
Thanks to devotions from the book Consolation
 mentioned HERE


Matt. 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.


2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
 the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 
 who comforts us in all our troubles, 
so that we can comfort those in any trouble 
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

***

Forbid sorrow's tears should harden the plot where thought's power flows
But like raindrops on a garden, let it grow compassion's rose
Let their sacred torrent soften the places not tender yet
Let it seep to deeps that often we ignore, secrete, forget 

Forbid grief to blind perception as love's bitter dregs we taste
Or to wallow in depression like a garden laid to waste
But to shoulder sorrow's anguish like a soldier of the cross
Rather than flounder or languish in a labyrinth of loss

Forbid sorrow's reason reckons, only earth-side's view, so dim
Never hearing He who beckons mourners to call/fall upon Him
Never growing in Grief's Garden anything but hopeless gloom
Letting sorrow's teardrops harden the plot where roses would/could/should bloom 

Our Father, up in Heaven, hallowed be Thy perfect Name
Pray, through sorrow we are driven to the One from whence we came
Pray, through grief our eyes are opened to Time's Very Fleeting Nod
Till our grip on earth is loosened by a tighter hold on God 

Who can understand our suff'ring better than God, rich in love 
He who through Sin's Final off'ring left no merit yet to prove 
 He who purchased our pardon and bore sorrow's climax knows
Tears, like raindrops on a garden, are but watering Love's Rose  

© Janet Martin 

Also inspired by today's Daily Bread devotion HERE 









Monday, January 13, 2025

When the Cares of Life/Love Encumber...

The word 'hope' unless it is anchored
firm and secure in God's promises
is nothing but a puff of air as it passes
through our lips...





Isa.26:3-4
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord,
 is [b]everlasting strength.

Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!


Job 4:3-4
Surely you have instructed many, 
and have strengthened their feeble hands. 
 Your words have steadied those who stumbled; 
you have braced the knees that were buckling.

***

When the cares of life encumber
When we know not how to cope
He who keeps us does not slumber
But anoints each breath with hope

When a sense of Want oppresses
When faith's enemies accrue
He who satisfies and blesses 
Abides, trustworthy and true

When the brunt of circumstances
Comminutes faith's mustard seed
Our God, rich in mercy grants us
Grace, sufficient for the need

When the Red/Dread Sea rolls before us
And behind, evil hordes prey 
He whose gaze does not ignore us
Will not fail to make a way

When our prayer is but a stammer
  From lips, stripped of eloquence
God, our gracious Interpreter 
Hears the tear and understands 

When the cares of love encumber
When earth's best is bound to fail
He who never sleeps or slumbers
Anchors Hope within the gale

Janet Martin






Ps. 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.


Saturday, January 4, 2025

Chariots of Fire

Ps.139:1-6

O LORD, You have searched me

and known me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

You understand my thoughts from afar.

3You search out my path and my lying down;

You are aware of all my ways.

4Even before a word is on my tongue,

You know all about it, O LORD.

5You hem me in behind and before;

You have laid Your hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.


Daylight rolled across the earth
like chariots of fire...






... before clouds obliterated the gold with gray


...but, gold or gray, the Giver of Today is The Same; good!

(Click linked lines for scripture passages)

How much more difficult appears the day
How darker with despair looms the unknown
How readily fresh courage slips away
When we forget that we are not alone

When we forget God's precious promises
But send an Advocate to be your friend

And to the Higher Rock my goodness girds

I am the Lord; the God of all mankind

...too lofty to attain with mortal ken
Dear child of mine, let not dread's thought conspire
As I am with you now, I will be then

© Janet Martin


 Eric Liddell's story inspired the epic piece of music Chariots of Fire!


 

We, followers of God, are all in a race, not so dissimilar to Eric Liddell's;
called to stand for convictions founded in the Word of God,
no matter what the cost.

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Save This...or, Hope's Courage




What inspired today's poem?

A mishap, to a friend/church family member 
who took his family on a long anticipated trip to the other side of the world,
to visit his sister's family for  Christmas, and in the first week broke his leg in two places,
placing him in a hospital four hours away...
please pray that by some miracle he and his wife can join their families for Christmas!

A message of praise from a family in our church-family who has endured
a journey of sickness and the death of a grandchild...

A family in our neighborhood who is learning grueling trust-lessons

SO many sick and suffering in our circle of friends and family...

SO many sorrowing in our neighbourhood and beyond...

So many seeking answers to questions like
'What is truth?'
'God, are you there?'


In deep disappointments that vex well-laid plan
In struggles no mortal evades
In sorrows that teach us to love while we can
Before opportunity fades
In trials we suffer of sickness and pain
Beneath love's long burdens of care
May we find hope's courage we cannot explain
Save this; someone's answer to prayer

Janet 🙏

“Ask and it will be given to you; 
seek and you will find; 
knock and the door will be opened to you.

God is our refuge and strength,
 an ever-present help in trouble.



Thursday, December 5, 2024

When Love's Fresh Waves of Sorrow Roll...

As soon as I shift my gaze from the 'joy still set before', sorrow is too hard to bear.
As soon as I forget the Hope Christ came to earth to restore, Grief would drive me to despair
But as I think upon the goodness and mercy of One who suffered in all ways, as we
Sorrow, hope-stunned becomes the humble partaker of Love's Divine Sympathy 

Seems without trouble, sickness and sorrow
How often would haste the day
Filled with hopes and dreams of tomorrow
With never a thought to (truly, humbly) pray

The other day my friend who also owns this book
Every Moment Holy,  mentioned HERE
drew my attention to these pages...
(I could have highlighted every line!)


So many thoughtful friends send messages of sympathy and prayer,
stunning my broken heart with hope and joy
Thank-you to everyone who has helped introduce my heart
to fresh waves of inexpressible joy...

When love's fresh waves of sorrow roll
With renewed force, through heart and soul
When tug of warring thoughts compete
Between the bitter and the sweet
When worlds of retrospect replay
The words we wish we still could say
When 'missing you' becomes a prayer
Of tears that we can hardly bear
When anguish like a vortex, reels
Through rooms, one cannot see, but feels

When ragged longing dearly yearns
For that which death never returns
When we wonder what we can do
To reconcile love's 'missing you'
God, who is merciful and kind
Bids us to come to Him and find
His comfort for Want, sorrow-torn/worn
His promises bless those who mourn
When love's fresh waves of grief deploy
God's hope alone stuns grief with joy 

He ministers His perfect peace
As humble, fervent prayers increase
As sorrow's searing tempests toll
He counts the teardrops of the soul
And ushers into love's embrace
Hope's hallowed glimpses of His face
Heaven on earth is undeterred
And mountains moved through a kind word
And faith, frayed, wounded is made whole 
When love's fresh waves of sorrow roll 

  © Janet Martin
 

1 Pet.1:3-9 BSB
This first week of advent we meditate on hope...
Re-sharing a treasured passage of scripture

A Living Hope

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
By His great mercy He has given us new birthb into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4and into an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
5who through faith are shielded by God’s power
for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while you may
 have had to suffer grief in various trials
7so that the proven character of your faith—
more precious than gold,
which perishes even though refined by fire—
may result in praise, glory, and honor
 at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8Though you have not seen Him, you love Him;
and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him
and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
9now that you are receiving the goal of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.


(for my dear, sweet sister Lucy)