Isaiah 35:10 (KJV) And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
We all go through difficult times in this world. Quite often it is hard to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. But trust me, or should I say trust the Lord. He will be there with you all the way through the journey of your trial.
YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A BAD DAY WHEN....
* You wake up face down on the pavement.
* You call suicide prevention and they put you on hold.
* You see a 60 Minutes news team waiting in your office.
* Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
* You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes out of the city.
* Your twin sister forgets your birthday.
* You wake up to discover that your waterbed broke and then realized you don't have a waterbed.
* Your horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell's Angels on the freeway.
Sorrow (grief, regret) and sighing (disappointment) will always flee when you return to God; then, in place of “grief, regret and sighing”, there will be singing, joy and gladness.
We Christians have great joy and hope for the future,
but make no mistake, there are troubles in this life.
QUOTE: Pressure can burst a pipe, or pressure can make a diamond – Robert Horry NBA forward.
AGAINST THE ODDS Heaven Bound Living, Knofel Stanton, Standard, 1989, pp. 43
• Johnny Fulton was run over by a car at the age of three. He suffered crushed hips, broken ribs, a fractured skull, and compound fractures in his legs. It did not look as if he would live. But he would not give up. In fact, he later ran the half-mile in less than two minutes.
• Walt Davis was totally paralyzed by polio when he was nine years old, but he did not give up. He became the Olympic high jump champion in 1952.
• Shelly Mann was paralyzed by polio when she was five years old, but she would not give up. She eventually claimed eight different swimming records for the U.S. and won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
• In 1938, Karoly Takacs, a member of Hungary’s world-champion pistol shooting team and sergeant in the army, lost his right hand when a grenade he was holding exploded. But Takacs did not give up. He learned to shoot left-handed and won gold medals in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.
• Lou Gehrig was such a clumsy ball player that the boys in his neighborhood would not let him play on their team. But he was committed. He did not give up. Eventually, his name was entered into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
QUOTE: At times you may feel it's the end of the world. Just remember that what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. Martha Beck (Life coach).
Christ promised you…
John 16:20 (KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
The third verse of “Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners” expresses this well.
Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows o’er me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.
Psalms 34:18 (KJV) The LORD is nigh (near) unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed) spirit.
Poem: IT COULD’VE BEEN WORSE
From the day of your birth
‘Til you ride in a hearse
There’s nothing that’s happened
That couldn’t have been worse.
QUOTE: A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
You are “built” for better things!
God didn’t bring us this far to let us down
God didn’t lift us up so we can fall
Our text in Isaiah shows that even when Israel was about to be captured and exiled,
Isaiah still anticipated their return and ultimate victory.
Isaiah 51:11 (KJV) Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
QUOTE: Pain comes like the weather, but joy is a choice. ~ Rodney Crowell, Singer, Songwriter
Choose joy! - Don’t choose despair!
Choose happiness! – Don’t choose misery!
Choose light! – Don’t choose darkness!
Choose truth! – Don’t choose deceit
Choose life! – Don’t choose death!
Choose God! – Don’t choose the world!
Choose Victory!
In this life He has not left us without comfort, for Christ promised His disciples,
John 14:27 (KJV) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
QUOTE: Peace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is the presence of God.
God cannot lie!
God said He would be with you always…He meant it.
Matthew 28:20 …and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Even when death and separation are imminent,
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (KJV) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Separation in this life is not permanent for the Christian.
We have a hope that the world cannot and does not have
HE KNOWS! poem, author unknown.
He knows the bitter, weary way
The endless striving day by day,
The souls that weep, the souls that pray, -He knows.
He knows how hard the way has been,
The clouds that come our lives between,
The wounds the world has ever seen, -He knows.
God knows you!
God knows your name!
God knows your heart
God knows your likes & dislikes
God knows what makes you smile
God knows you!
We have the “forever” life,
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
SUFFERING - Poem by Sper
The sun that hardens clay to brick
Can soften wax to shape and mold;
So too life’s trials will harden some,
While others purify as gold.
Lord, make me as gold!
