His Strong Hand
I rose at dawn to read the Lord's Word, and I was directed to read in Isaiah chapter 8. "Behold the Lord bringeth upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the King of Assyria and all of his glory ... and he shall pass through Judah. Take counsel together, but it shall come to nothing, for the Lord spoke this to me with a strong hand."
I felt like I had been hit over the head with a sledge hammer! Should I prepare myself for battle? Or for a catastrophe! Wasn't my husband's sentence a catastrophe enough? [Her husband, a pastor, had just been sentenced by the Romanian communist authorities to 22 years in prison.] As I pondered all of this, it suddenly dawned on me. The Lord was about to teach me, and he was going to do it with a strong hand.
I quickly asked the Lord to be taught without His strong hand. Although I know deep down that the Prophet had heard God's Word through His strong hand on him. No prophet had an easy life, not Isaiah or Jeremiah. That is why the Lord was guiding me through a hard way.
I knew that I needed to learn, but how can one learn without discipline and severity? A pupil who is not treated severely, does not take his studies seriously. I asked myself, what kind of a student am I? The lesson I was learning now was verses 11-14 of Isaiah 8. I was not to follow in the ways of these people and He should be my sanctuary, my Holy Place. The Lord did not want me to carry all of my burdens and problems with me in my heart. I was to leave them outside of the Holy Place He was to be for me.
A holy place remains holy from the inside, and all of the impurity remains outside. It is warmth, love and security that are found in this Holy Place. The Holy Place protects me from all impurity and plots of the enemy. It is only in Him, Christ Jesus the Rock, our Holy Place, that we find our protection. There is none in ourselves, and we of ourselves will stumble and fall.
I had learned this lesson through much pain and difficulty. I had felt so humiliated at what had happened to our family [her husband's imprisonment]. It seemed as though everywhere we went, people talked to us of what had happened. Some with compassion, and some with accusations.
I took this all on myself for quite some time. Finally I realized that the blows were not intended for me, but were to hit the Rock, and no matter how many or how hard the blows are, it would never leave its place of being our strength and protection. The Cross is everlasting, unlike everything else which can be destroyed so easily. An old song came to my mind, "The victory took place, and still is today, I shall wait for Him and put my trust in Him. His coming is as sure as the coming of the morning, and those who wait for Him shall not be ashamed, and their faces shall be lightened".
[JF (c)1989]
I felt like I had been hit over the head with a sledge hammer! Should I prepare myself for battle? Or for a catastrophe! Wasn't my husband's sentence a catastrophe enough? [Her husband, a pastor, had just been sentenced by the Romanian communist authorities to 22 years in prison.] As I pondered all of this, it suddenly dawned on me. The Lord was about to teach me, and he was going to do it with a strong hand.
I quickly asked the Lord to be taught without His strong hand. Although I know deep down that the Prophet had heard God's Word through His strong hand on him. No prophet had an easy life, not Isaiah or Jeremiah. That is why the Lord was guiding me through a hard way.
I knew that I needed to learn, but how can one learn without discipline and severity? A pupil who is not treated severely, does not take his studies seriously. I asked myself, what kind of a student am I? The lesson I was learning now was verses 11-14 of Isaiah 8. I was not to follow in the ways of these people and He should be my sanctuary, my Holy Place. The Lord did not want me to carry all of my burdens and problems with me in my heart. I was to leave them outside of the Holy Place He was to be for me.
A holy place remains holy from the inside, and all of the impurity remains outside. It is warmth, love and security that are found in this Holy Place. The Holy Place protects me from all impurity and plots of the enemy. It is only in Him, Christ Jesus the Rock, our Holy Place, that we find our protection. There is none in ourselves, and we of ourselves will stumble and fall.
I had learned this lesson through much pain and difficulty. I had felt so humiliated at what had happened to our family [her husband's imprisonment]. It seemed as though everywhere we went, people talked to us of what had happened. Some with compassion, and some with accusations.
I took this all on myself for quite some time. Finally I realized that the blows were not intended for me, but were to hit the Rock, and no matter how many or how hard the blows are, it would never leave its place of being our strength and protection. The Cross is everlasting, unlike everything else which can be destroyed so easily. An old song came to my mind, "The victory took place, and still is today, I shall wait for Him and put my trust in Him. His coming is as sure as the coming of the morning, and those who wait for Him shall not be ashamed, and their faces shall be lightened".
[JF (c)1989]
posted by CS at 2:25 PM
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