UP
When the going gets tough
Tender hearts look UP
Up to where the eagles fly
Up to the Lord on high
When the road gets hard
Humble hearts keep climbing
Up to where the Spirit lives
Up to where the angels sing
When the future looks bleak
Hopeful hearts press on
Up to the Cross that promises life
Up to where our Savior died
When heaven's skies are dark
Faithful saints rest in God's love
Assured in their redeemed hearts
The only way to look is UP
JEFF
2011
Eternal Perspective
When you begin to see heaven as your true home, you can develop an eternal perspective that sees all sorrows as passing.
"It is possible to trust God in all things," says Dr. Joseph Stowell. "You may have a hard time getting there, but you won't get there unless you believe in the world to come. If this is all you have, if it's just this world, then bitterness is your only option.
"But if you believe that there is a God who is higher than you are and wiser than you are, and He has a world prepared for you where all Christians will be together again and be with Him in absolute joy and bliss, then that brings strength to your sorrow."
Place your trust in God and in His preparations and plans for you.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:1-3).
Lord and Savior, I trust that You will someday bring me home to live in heaven with You. For now, I need to try and look at my sorrows in light of eternity. The things of this world are much clearer when I have a higher perspective. Amen.
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Suggested reading from the GriefShare
Shadow of the Almighty
Elisabeth Elliot
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UP
When the going gets tough
The tender heart looks UP
Up to where the eagles fly
Up to the Lord on high
When the road is hard
The humble keep climbing
Up to where the Spirit lives
Up to where the angels sing
When the future looks bleak
The hopeful heart presses on
Up to the Cross that promises life
Up to where our Savior died
When heaven's skies are dark
Believers trust in God's love
Assured in their born-again hearts
The only one to look is JESUS
JEFF
2011
When the going gets tough
The tender heart looks UP
Up to where the eagles fly
Up to the Lord on high
When the road is hard
The humble keep climbing
Up to where the Spirit lives
Up to where the angels sing
When the future looks bleak
The hopeful heart presses on
Up to the Cross that promises life
Up to where our Savior died
When heaven's skies are dark
Believers trust in God's love
Assured in their born-again hearts
The only one to look is JESUS
JEFF
2011
May 20, 2011
Shortcuts to Futility
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Exodus 6:2–29
So many times you and I miss the opportunity to watch the Lord work in mighty and miraculous ways. Why? Because instead of "standing still" and watching Him pull off our deliverance, we seek out the carnal alternative. We look for the back-door escape, a fleshly shortcut.
Notice how God handled His man, Moses. Without rebuke, the Lord gave Moses two pieces of counsel. One related to His person; the other related to His work. He told Moses who He was, and then He told him what He was going to do. And the order in the Lord's response is as important as the facts themselves.
Right off the top, He repeated the message from the burning bush, saying, "I am" five different times in Exodus chapter 6.
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 2)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 6)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 7)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 8)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 29)
Time after time He punctuated His message to Moses by saying, "Look, Moses, your eyes are in the wrong place (again). Get your eyes back on Me (again). Remember who I am (again)."
Who is the Lord? Ask the prophet Isaiah. Troubled and sick at heart over the moral condition of his nation, Isaiah glanced toward the sky one day and "saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1 NKJV). That's all he needed to see. He fixed his eyes on the Lord, and, suddenly, his whole perspective changed.
If you have been a believer for any length of time, you will have heard these words over and over. But that's all right; here they are again. Until your eyes are fixed on the Lord, you will not be able to endure those days that go from bad to worse.
Shortcuts to Futility
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Exodus 6:2–29
So many times you and I miss the opportunity to watch the Lord work in mighty and miraculous ways. Why? Because instead of "standing still" and watching Him pull off our deliverance, we seek out the carnal alternative. We look for the back-door escape, a fleshly shortcut.
Notice how God handled His man, Moses. Without rebuke, the Lord gave Moses two pieces of counsel. One related to His person; the other related to His work. He told Moses who He was, and then He told him what He was going to do. And the order in the Lord's response is as important as the facts themselves.
Right off the top, He repeated the message from the burning bush, saying, "I am" five different times in Exodus chapter 6.
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 2)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 6)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 7)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 8)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 29)
Time after time He punctuated His message to Moses by saying, "Look, Moses, your eyes are in the wrong place (again). Get your eyes back on Me (again). Remember who I am (again)."
Who is the Lord? Ask the prophet Isaiah. Troubled and sick at heart over the moral condition of his nation, Isaiah glanced toward the sky one day and "saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1 NKJV). That's all he needed to see. He fixed his eyes on the Lord, and, suddenly, his whole perspective changed.
If you have been a believer for any length of time, you will have heard these words over and over. But that's all right; here they are again. Until your eyes are fixed on the Lord, you will not be able to endure those days that go from bad to worse.
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