Thanks for sharing, Tasha. I'm the same way about talking about my deeper feelings. That poem is such a great encouragement! What a wonderful Lord and life we have :)
Never Give Up
7 Comments - 19461 Views
Trust in the Lord
Submitted By edith on 09/05/11
Inner Beauty, edith, Documents, Poems, thoughts, growing
This Document originally posted in the "Day by Day" Group
I was leafing through the book Daughters of Destiny (looking for poems about mothers:), when this poem by Fanny Crosby caught my eye...
NEVER GIVE UP
Never be sad or desponding,
If thou has faith to believe,
Grace, for the duties before thee,
Ask of thy God and receive.
Never give up, never give up,
Never give up to thy sorrows,
Jesus will bid them depart,
Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord,
Sing when your trials are greatest,
Trust in the Lord and take heart!
- FANNY CROSBY
When I read that poem, I realized that I have not been asking God to help me, or trusting in Him for my strength. I also realized that I've been giving into self-pity quite frequently lately. God has a plan for my life, and He knows what is best for me, and what "trials" I need to conform me more into the image of Christ. He will not give me more than I can bear.
If you've been feeling overwhelmed, sad, or despondent, ask the Lord for help, and never give up.
~Tasha~
P.S. I don't usually talk about my inmost feelings, so if this sounds a bit stilted, that's probably why:) I'm sure I'll get used to sharing my feelings on my blog as time goes on...
Re: Never Give Up
Abbie
5 days - 9,041v
Posted 2009/05/12 - 21:29 GMT
Re: Never Give Up
Yes, we have wonderful Lord and life :) I don't know what people who aren't Christians do when they're feeling blue, but it must be awful.
Re: Never Give Up
Tasha - You know that feeling you get when you discover a new author, and you realize that there's a whole new vein of wonderful reading waiting for you? That's the feeling I have in exploring your blog site.
Your comments about the poem and how it resonated with your own experience were lovely--and in no way imaginable were they stilted.
I have to get on a conference call in about 180 seconds, but after I'm done with that I have some comments about this post I want to make. Lots of love - UJ
Re: Never Give Up
Thank you, Uncle John:) That's one of the highest compliments I've ever received!=)
I'll reply to your other comments later - I want to think about it before I say anything.
Love you!
~Tasha~
Re: Never Give Up
Ok. Boy that was a long conference call!
Here's a thought. Maybe you are already more in the image of Christ than you realize.
Regarding trials: My own personal belief is this: (YMMV*) I think there is enough hard, painful and evil stuff in the world that God does not need to design and send us special trials or pain to make us more like him. But when hardship does come to us, God can use those things for his purpose along the lines of Rom 8:28--if we let him. I don't think he forces himself on us.
For example: I would like to believe that God did not sit up on his throne saying: "hmmm. I need to mess with John a bit. Besides, he's overdue for some punishment. I think I'll make his son Zach autistic--there, that ought to do it." But I know that having Zach has made me a better and more compassionate human being. On the other hand I've also seen people with autistic children become angry and bitter. So often we don't get to choose what befalls us, but we always get to choose how we react to it: Either from a worldly perspective, or believing that Rom 8:28 is true.
(* Your Mileage May Vary)
-UJ
Re: Never Give Up
My experience with conference calls, is that they usually take a long time, and I have to be really quiet when dad gets one:)
I sincerely hope so!
I definitely agree - God uses the trials and troubles of life to help us grow closer to Him, and to make us more like Him, if we let Him. God is not the author of evil.
I think a good example of this is Job.
"And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man,
one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for
nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house,
and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his
hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and
he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in
thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from
the presence of the LORD." Job 1:7-12
God has a hedge of protection around His children. Satan had to ask for God’s permission to torment Job. He had no power to do it otherwise. God allowed Satan to torment and trouble Job, for His ultimate glory.
I think 1 Corinthians 10:13 applies nicely to this, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
God knew that Job was able to bear anything Satan could throw at him.
With regard to God punishing you, I think what Jesus said in John 9:1-3 says it all:
"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man
which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this
man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:
but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
You may never know what works of God will be made manifest in Zach, but God does.
Although we might not always understand why God allows us to have trials and troubles in our lives, we do know that, like Romans 8:28 says, "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Discipline and pruning often feel the same, because they’re bother very painful, and they often accomplish the same goal. But, God needs to prune us sometimes, so we will be more fruitful in our lives.
"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." John 15:2
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me, Uncle John.
Love you,
~Tasha~
Re: Never Give Up
Another think that I think is very comforting to think about in a trial is Jesus has born everything we have already. So he knows what it feels like. It's kind of amazing to think that the One who created the universe has already born every trial we have.
(I'm not very good at telling my feeling either Tasha, that is something I have recently realized and need to work on. This blog might help me as well as you :) )
