"Praise Him In The Blessings"

"He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings." (Psalms 107:35)

 Beyond the areas where our lives might feel tested or corrected, we find blessing; blessing in the pain and anguish that cannot be explained or expressed, it can only be experienced by living in it and knowing that God is in the middle of every last bit of it. Can we really feel blessed in our adversity? You better believe it! Words cannot express what my heart feels in caring for my wife. There is more fulfillment in giving yourself away than there is in holding back or trying to give up. Believe me when I say this, God is more than able to supply all you need and more than you ever imagined; just when you think you cannot go any further, He gives you someone who comes along to tell you how much your life has blessed theirs, or a simple glimpse of what serving others really is all about. These are the things that keep us going; besides the fact that the Holy Spirit provides the peace, we need the encouragement that what you are doing makes a difference, even if it just a little one. I will tell you this: If you want to give up, the world is right there to help you do it; if you want to stop the blessing, the world will gladly provide a curse. This is not a curse! A curse would be for me to let my wife die and to no longer be able to hold and care for her the way that I do. Just the thought of it makes my heart hurt, especially as I remember the suffering Terri went through, as she dried up from the inside out. I truly believe that God allowed me to witness that tragedy in order to take a stand for commitment in marriage. The world will be quick to tell us that we need to move on; even the church can be a little blind to the purposes God can use in this, because it is easy to overlook. I look at the lives of people who have made a difference, when everyone else thought that there lives had nothing left to offer, and that they were probably better off dead because they really have no more use in this world. God can use whoever and whatever He wants, whenever and wherever He wants to; He can use a bronze serpent lifted up on a pole, a valley of dead bones, a giant fish, a donkey; God can do whatever He wants, because He is God, and with God, all things are possible...

""But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. The LORD who made you and helps you says: Do not be afraid, O Jacob my servant. O dear Israel, my chosen one. For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. They will thrive like watered grass, like meadows on a riverbank. Some will proudly claim, 'I belong to the LORD.' Others will say, 'I am a descendant of Jacob.' Some will write the LORD'S name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own."" (Isaiah 44:1-5) NLT