God’s ALWAYS In Control & NOTHING Is Too Difficult For Him!
Note From Linda: I wrote this yesterday, but the In Touch Ministries website appears to be having some technical difficulties (wow, can I ever relate to that!) and I still can’t pull up the link I wanted to use with this post. But the same message is being presented as a series this week on www.OnePlace.com, so I’ll link to those for now and keep checking to see when a link to the entire program is available, at which time I’ll change the links, or just add the other one.
Anyone standing for marriage restoration knows all about getting tired and discouraged, and wanting to give up, and some of us even have to confess to the times when we DID give up. But, no matter how we feel, no matter what we think, no matter how much it hurts, and no matter how hopeless and discouraging our situations seem, the Lord ALWAYS manages to bring us back to the conclusion that there’s nothing else to do other than stand for the restoration of our marriages. So, after going through that process so many times, which we ALL do, wouldn’t it be so much better if we could figure out how to stop doing that? It took me a long time to get there, but that’s why it means so much now to encourage other women to find the indescribable place of truly resting in the love and power of our Lord and Savior, with CERTAIN knowledge that He has EVERYTHING under control, and that NOTHING is too difficult or impossible for Him.
The Lord has revealed His infinite faithfulness, mercy and grace to me so personally and intimately over the past two months, that it’s almost overwhelming! And it leaves me in total amazement and awe of how He works, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE TIMES WHEN WE CAN’T SEE IT AND EVEN DOUBT IT!
Just like the email mentioned in my previous post, I couldn’t believe how much Charles Stanley’s TV message this morning confirms so much in my conversations with other women over the past few days! It’s also pretty amazing how much my post yesterday, Trusting & Relying On God…No Matter What, with my “apartment testimony”, is a confirmation of what Dr. Stanley said in his message today. As usual, his messages are packed with loads of scripture, and so much in this one really applies to anyone standing for marriage restoration. So it’s a good one to listen to and save so we can watch again from time to time, especially when we wonder what the Lord is doing, or if He’s doing anything at all. The one thing my “apartment testimony” taught me is that when it really looks like the Lord isn’t working on our circumstances and when it looks like everything is going the WRONG way, that’s when we have to trust Him the most and that’s probably when we should start getting pretty excited, because more than likely He’s just doing what is absolutely necessary to perfect His plan for us. Since I’ve come to rely so much on the awesome promise found in Romans 8:28 (NASB), which says And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose., I now regret all of the tears, energy and emotion I wasted crying and worrying about things that I later came to recognize as blessings, and God at work in my life! When we REALLY believe Romans 8:28, and what seems like the worst possible thing happens in our lives, we can assure ourselves that it has to happen EXACTLY as it is in order for God’s perfect plan for us to be perfected. I rely on that a LOT, and now I always try to look at seemingly bad situations through what I call “kingdom eyes”, which means applying what I know about how the Lord works, and biblical principles which are certain and never changing, to see if I can figure out what the Lord might be doing. After all, that’s what Colossians 4:2 tells us to do, because it says Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And it affirms what Dr. Stanley says is his favorite verse, Isaiah 64:4, which says Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
You can watch Dr. Stanley’s message, Facing Difficulties, here. And here’s the outline for Sunday’s message, and links to the Bible verse references he uses.
And here’s Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcast message, How Does Your Mind and Mouth Affect Your Joy?, from July 26, 2006, which goes right along with so much of Dr. Stanley’s message.