I miss my safety nets. I miss my parents who were supportive and my husband who are all deceased. I don’t find supportive people, and when I try to help other people going through loss from death and divorce, it’s a lost cause at times in helping them in their fatalistic attitudes. They remind me of what Jesus said to the man lying at the pool for a long time in that condition, “Would you be made whole.” John 5:6
1. (Philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that all events are predetermined so that man is powerless to alter his destiny
2. (Philosophy) the acceptance of and submission to this doctrine
3. a lack of effort or action in the face of difficulty
A widow all alone, puts her hope and trust in God, because she has no one else to trust in. I find the enemy likes to “taunt” me at times. I was dating someone who took the storm door off my house to fix it, but then he blew off a date, and never called me and left it on the front porch. I just got a home owner’s association letter from an attorney that I need to take that storm door off my front porch.
The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 1 Timothy 5:5
I woke up one morning and I heard this voice say, “You need to take your life by the balls.” Thank you very much Lord, but I rather lack the equipment to understand what that means…it means to take control of your life. A more congenial term is “take the bull by the horns.” What I find at times in dealing with others who have loss and many times I get hit with a rather fatalistic attitude in life. It’s a lack of determination and perseverance under trial, fortitude and that song I like by the Beegees, “Stayin Alive” or better yet, the Bruce Willis movie, “Die Hard with a Vengeance.”
We see that Job “persevered” under the trial of losing his health, children, all his possessions, his wife saying to curse God and die, and then his friends telling him that he sinned against God.
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11
What exactly did Job hold on to? Job held on to his faith and patience. My patience with people and life is getting a great work out lately. Sort of like exercising in the gym, I’m exercising my patience.
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Hebrews 6:12
Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 2 Thess. 1:4
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:3
The greatest thing you can build on your foundation of knowing Jesus is love. For love is the greatest. It says we can give our body to be burned, but if we have not love, it profits us nothing. I meet a lot of men through Christian online dating sites, but I can tell they have a cracked foundation. It’s sort of like fiber optics. The very core or fiber of their belief system is cracked and some of it is their experiences. Experiences can be a bad teacher and corrupt you at times, because experience is in the realm of the senses, what you feel, taste, see, hear and feel. Faith is not in the realm of the senses or reasoning either, faith is part of our belief system.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. 1 Cor. 13:3
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work 1 Cor. 3:11-13
I was talking to someone over the weekend who said, “Mary, we had a great love, but now we just have to work with what is out there as far as moving on.” I know why the Lord gave me this scripture the week before, it was for her. “Be it unto you according to your faith.” Another one Jesus said a lot is “your faith has healed you or made you well.”
Consider your faith – what you put your expectation out for is what you are going to receive. I talk to a man who lost his wife recently and he told me he is believing for nothing. Is it a good idea to believe for nothing? For God not to intervene in your situation? To just keep expecting grief and tormenting thoughts from loss? Seems to be rather a fatalist attitude. That is exactly what he is putting his faith in or do you think it is wiser to put your trust and faith in the goodness of God in your life?
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:6
In my 20’s I had a philosophy that I would “shoot for the moon” and if I ended up on the telephone poll, at least I shot for the moon. Like George Bailey said on the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” what do you want me to do for you Mary? Do you want me to lasso the moon? “Yes George, I want the moon.”
We are not to put our expectation out in man, but put our expectation out for God to do the miraculous what ever miracle you need because “with God all things are possible.” (Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
David said his hope is in God. (Psalm 43:5, 42:11, 42:5 1 Peter 1:21)
Stayin Alive
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