God is Good... ALL the Time

I'm sorry that I've been so gloomy lately. Most of you know that isn't my personality... to dwell on the negative and sulk around like that. I'm sorry. Because as we know, God IS good... ALL the time. In the hard times, He's still there. He's still sovereign.

I've had a rough weekend with my stomach... I've been sick to my stomach a lot and also had lots of stomach aches. (Jeff did say to me "I hope you don't feel like this when we're on vacation." Thanks, Honey. Me too... since, um, I kinda have no choice. LOL.) I missed a chance to go have dinner with friends on Friday night. Then, Saturday night I was up with pains. I didn't think I'd make it to church on Sunday, but God allowed me to! And guess what? IT WAS AMAZING!

The songs really spoke to me... Forever, His Strength is Perfect, Good to Me, and You Are My All in All. See below for these powerful lyrics that truly touched me. The sermon was wonderful too. We're doing a sermon series about Special Verses; Pastor Elliott encourages us to memorizes three verses each week. And it always seems like those verses hit me and are just what I need. Here they are:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow tired, they will walk and not become weary.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

On top of that, my small Bible study is going through Genesis right now. I read Genesis 16 today, and wow! I know this may seem strange, but listen to what I got from it...

Sarai and Abram were not having children and they were feeling frustrated about this. (ahem... I think I know of somebody in a similar situation.) But do you remember in chapter 15, God promised Abram that as many stars are in the sky, so would be his descendants? He promised Abram that they would have a child. About ten years later (Yes, ten years! That feels like an eternity sometimes!) they still had no children. Guess what? Sarai decided to take matters into her own hands. God had promised them a family, and she was going to be sure that she got one. So she had her maidservant conceive a child with Abram. Hello!?! Sarai! What are doing??? You need to trust God! God promised He'd take care of this for you, and yes, although 10 yrs seems like a really long time to wait, it doesn't mean that He forgot!

How many times I feel like Sarai... "Don't worry, God... just let me help you with this." Or "I know you're so super busy, God... let me take care of this one." God's promises are so deep and so strong and they are for each of us. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

Of course, I know what happens later in the story... but if only Sarai could stop and wait on God... He had wonderful things in store for her.

Little M and I got some Hermie and Friends DVDs from the library. One of them was called "Milo, the Mantis Who Wouldn't Pray." I know this might sound mean, but I grabbed that one because Little M refuses to pray. I mean- she's been here long enough that I know she feels comfortable enough... but she won't even say "Come Lord Jesus..." with us or "God is great..." with us. She insists that Jeff or I pray. And we do. We never make her feel bad. But I do wish she knew that she, too, could talk to God.

In the movie, Milo is very selfish and he doesn't know how to pray. He wants to find answers for his problems on his own. Hermie (the Caterpillar) tries to explain that just because God doesn't answer obviously and right away, doesn't mean that He didn't hear you or that He's not listening. It doesn't mean that He answered "no" to your request. Sometimes God's answer is "Wait for my timing" or "Not right now." Eventually, Milo learns this. But wow... I feel like Milo sometimes. If I don't hear a loud voice telling me yes or no, or if I don't see a quick answer to prayer, sometimes I feel like God abandoned me. (Feel free to laugh... I think that's funny too... God? Abandoning one of His children? I don't think so.)

Anyway; those songs... I'm going to put the lyrics to them below. Feel free to look them up on playlist.com or pandora.

FOREVER
Give thanks to the Lord
Our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

With a mighty hand and outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the life that's been reborn
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever Forever
From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God We will carry on
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever Forever

HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength,
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me;
No great success to show,
No glory on my own,
Yet in my weakness
He is there to let me know . . .
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.
We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes;
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end.
He hears our humble cry and proves again . . .


GOOD TO ME
I cry out
For your hand of mercy to heal me
I am weak I need your love to free me
O Lord, my rock
My strength in weakness
Come rescue me oh Lord
You are my hope
Your promise never fails me
And my desire Is to follow You forever
For You are good
For You are good
For You are good to me
For You are good
For You are good
For You are good to me

YOU ARE MY ALL IN ALL
You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again I bless Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name