Tag: struggle

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Will we offer up our Greatest Defeat?

This post, in many ways follows on from a past post, Is your Greatest Trophy, just a Foundation Stone?

Quick summary of that post…
The thing where you think that you are the Best at. Will you take it out of the trophy cabinet, where pride could possibly be a snare to you?
Will you offer it up to Our Lord, and be willing to step onto it, in order to step into the new, that is waiting for you to take hold of?
For the full picture, please consider having a read of the post, Is your Greatest Trophy, just a Foundation Stone?

As well as our Greatest Trophy, my eyes have recently been opened up to our greatest defeat. The things that we would rather not look at. The things that we would rather hide away, and not have to deal with.

Sometimes, not looking at our greatest defeat, can be the right course of action to take, if we are lead to do so, by Our Lord God.
If He says to us, “This is not to be dealt with today, but perhaps another time.” Then we should listen to Him.
The enemy may want to pull us down by trying to make us dwell on the wrong things, but Our Lord, leads and guides us, to the things that will bring us a freedom, as we walk through them, at the right time, with Him.

But, if Our Lord God, brings up our greatest defeat, the thing that we would rather run and hide from, will we be willing to place it before, Our Lord God Almighty, and simply ask, “Please, Help me with this Lord! Help to know what to do and where to go with this!”

It maybe a difficult and painful thing to do, but Our Loving Heavenly Father is for us, and wants to see us set free, and made stronger, by working through our greatest defeat, with His help and guidance.
He longs to see us free from the pain and anguish, that Our greatest defeat would try to hold over us.

If we can place our greatest defeat before Our Loving Heavenly Father, will we then find ourselves in a place where we can exchange our shame for Joy?
Will He then change our mourning to dancing?
Will He take our Ugly Rock, and reshape it into an exquisite sculpture, that we will then want to show to all, declaring,
“Look at what The Lord has done for me, He has turned my mourning to dancing!
He has taken my shame away, and given me peace and joy, in it’s place.”

I know that this can be a reality, as I have gone through this process.
I was given a picture, and then I had to walk through the process of the picture. For me, this then lead to a mini series of posts (numbering 5), that I was very happy, that most people just wouldn’t see. (The doors maybe open, but not many people come in to read. 🙂 )
Time has gone on since then, and I can now talk to people about what happened. I can now even point you to the mini series of posts and say, have a read of them if you wish to.
I can now look at it, and say, “This is just something that happened, and it’s not my fault. It is just something that happened and is now just part of my past.”

The first in the series is:
Will you work with Our Lord, to shape, your Ugly Rock?

If you just want the big reveal, then chapter 4 is:
When the wheels fell off.

Our Lord God, IS in the business of setting captives free!
Of turning mourning into dancing!
Of exchanging shame for Joy!

So if Our Lord God asks for your greatest defeat, will you offer it up to Him?
Will you offer it up, to The One who Can set you free?

John 10:7-11
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

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Every Journey, starts with a First Step

Every journey, does indeed start with a first step, even if your not too sure, what that first step is.

I’ve had a recent experience of this thought. Something happened, but I was in denial about the upset, it had caused me. 😦

My go to place, when things go wrong, is to, Accept, Repent and Forgive. I was trying to do this, but, the upset remained. (Unbeknown to me.)

Forgiving was, in some ways, the easy part. What happened, was nobody’s fault. So, it was relatively easy to forgive, as there wasn’t any real fault, by anyone, myself included.

Repenting? Not too sure what I did with this, on this occasion, but it should be easy to want to do better next time. If I can do X,Y and Z, to stop it happening again, then I gladly would. I couldn’t even really go and have a rant at anyone, as no one was to blame for what happened. So, the Repent, was relatively easy.

How about Accepting?

Looking back, I can clearly see, that I was in Denial, about this one.

Denial, if it helps you to get through a situation, can actually be a good thing. If there is something that you need to do, but you are overwhelmed with ….. , then Denial can be helpful, if it allows you to do …… , instead of falling apart, or just stopping at the wrong time.

But, Denial is only going to be helpful, if it is only in play, for the time that it is needed, to actually be helpful.

For me, I possibly kind of knew that I was in denial, on some level, but I had no way of, How to Deal with it? 😦

Thankfully, I was looking to my Heavenly Father, for His help. This was probably the first step of the journey.

I had a thought, to make a phone call, to an organisation, that might be able to offer some advice. I did follow up on this thought.

It was when I was speaking with a complete stranger, that I came face to face with my upset. Ok, I got a bit emotional. (Thankfully it was with a complete stranger, who I’ll probably never come into contact with again, who was sympathetic.)
For me, it was the start of a release, that I was needing. A need to Accept, that I was upset, by what had happened.
The phone call itself, was just a confirmation that the actions that I’d taken were the actions to take, and that nothing much more was needed to be done.
From the other person’s point of view, it may have been a bit of a nothing conversation. It was a kind of, you’ve done all you can, so there’s not much more to do.

But, for me, it was coming face to face with the denial, about the upset, that I was trying to push to the side.
Once I realised this, I could then start talking to my Heavenly Father about my upset, properly. The next step of the process. (Which then probably led to another, more fuller, round of … Accept, Repent, and Forgive.)

If you are struggling with anything, then my advice would be to take the first step of, take it to your Heavenly Father and ask for His guidance for what you should do next.
Then be willing to give the answer, that He gives to you, a go.

Sometimes, we may even think, “But I’ve done that already!”
Some first steps, are worth doing, time, and time….. and time, again. 🙂

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Try to not pick up the wrong end of the Stick.

Have you ever tried to pick up a red hot poker stick by the wrong end?

Hopefully, the answer to the above question is a resounding “no!” But how many times have we picked up the wrong end of something, for it to then cause some pain and damage of some kind?

It can be painful to pick anything up by the wrong end, but are we ever able to recognise, when we have done such a thing?

In the case of the red hot poker, it would be painful, from the moment that it was touched. Pain can influence our decisions, but unfortunately, in a bad way.

If we are finding ourselves in a painful situation, could it possibly be, because we have picked up a red hot poker, by the wrong end? If we have, then could we try to put it down and sooth our hand, before picking it up by the right end.

When held in the right way, it can be wielded in a better way, for a better purpose. That purpose could be to quench the heat, and then defuse a tense situation, that then leads to a more comfortable environment for all. The purpose could also possibly be to wield the red hot poker, in such a way, that brings about a positive change, that is good for all.

Whatever the true purpose of the red hot poker, we will never realise it, if we are holding onto it, by the wrong end. We could only end up experiencing the pain and anguish from doing such a thing. (Along with everyone else who comes near us.)

It will be so much better for all, if we can put the red hot poker down. Then sooth our hand, and try again. Only this time, pick it up, by the right end. 🙂

If we can’t pick it up by the right end, then would we be better to leave it on the ground, and wait for some instructions of what to do next? Or could we even just wait for someone else, who is better equipped to handle the red hot poker, to come along???

If we are finding ourselves at a loss, and not knowing what to do next, then could we seek Our Heavenly Father, and ask Him for His guidance and direction, for the way we should go? He is there, and able to lead and guide us, if we will seek Him, and His way to go.

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How do you cope when, the wheels fall off?

I had hoped that my ugly rock posts, had finished last week. But it appears that I have at least one more.

This week’s post follows on from last week’s post of, When the Wheels Fell Off.

Those of you who read last week’s post will know that I was in a situation where I could only see two options, neither of which, I liked. The simple way of looking at those options was, endure the hardship, or run away from it.
There was actually a third option, but I never saw it.
The third option could be called, highlight the problem in such a way, so that a release can be found.

How do we tap into option three, when we don’t even know, that it is an option?

The short answer to this question, has to be, “Hear what your Heavenly Father is speaking to you, about the way you should go.”

Unfortunately, this is not an easy thing to do, when you are in a stressful situation. Because the stress, can just seem to take over.
It can sometimes feel like, “You have TWO Options, THIS or THAT!
CHOOSE ONE!”

Even the thought that there is a third option, can seem like an impossibility. So how can we see the very thing, that we don’t even know about?

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

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It’s great to read a passage, like the above (and it is a truth for those who seek The Lord God Almighty.) But how do we tap into the help, when we need it most?

I now know that I should have called for an ambulance when my wife was on a hospital ward, not getting the care that she should have. (My third option, that I didn’t see.) But just how do we see, the something else, that we could do?

Could we possibly try to seek help from outside the situation?
To hear or see the extra option, that is just outside of our grasp?

Sometimes, these things can happen so easily, that it just amazes us.
I was recently trying to make a purchase, dealing with a salesman. The deal had been made when a different person came over (without introducing himself), whilst the salesman was away, and told me that there was a problem.
As such there were two options, of this or that. I didn’t like either option, and was feeling pressured to make a choice between the two options.
Then out of my mouth came the words, “Could we have a moment to think about this, and then we can discuss this with the salesman.”
The person in front of me, agreed to this, and then walked away.
The issue was then dealt with in a better way, with the salesman (who was much friendlier).

It was one of those instances of seeing the extra option, without even really looking for it. I know it’s a bit of a small silly thing, but a tense situation was avoided, by just speaking out, something different, that just came to my mind.

Seeing the extra option, can make a big difference, if we are able to see, or hear it.

I would love to finish this post by giving you a list of helpful advice that would speak directly to you and your personal situation, but I can’t. I’m only a man after all.
But I can point you to One who is Greater than all of us, who DOES have the answers. Who does know your personal circumstances.
Our Lord God is Mighty and is able to help all. It will be so good for us, if we can seek Him and His wisdom for where we should go. He is the one who can point us to the option, that we weren’t even looking for.

If you are directed to, then please consider re-reading Psalm 121. (There is a copy of it, just above in this post.)

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When the wheels fell off.

Even as I’m posting this, I’m still thinking, “Are you sure??”
Posting this, in some ways, feels like lighting a stick of dynamite.
Lord, into Your hands I commit this post.

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My last post ended with, “Will I share my ugly rock?” I still don’t know the answer to that one, at the present moment. I’m still in the, take the next step phase of things, so with that in mind, I’ll just keep trying to write it out. Just as if I’m having a conversation with myself. (Leaving the question of to publish or not, to another day.)

I’m coming to the understanding that my wife’s care, in the early days, was medically negligent.
It’s not nice to think that mistakes were made, but I feel that they were. The full measure of those mistakes, I may not ever even know. A conversation with a family member, just opened my eyes to a few things that I was unaware of, or just forgotten. But I do know that one night, it felt as if I was caught in a Medical Mexican Stand Off, with the hospital staff.

I have previously written about our bad time, but I had mis-written one night in particular.
In the previous post of Something of our Testimony Part 1, I had written about a bad night, and stated that my wife received treatment before I went home. The truth of that night is very different to that fantasy. What follows next is the truthful account of what happened, that night.

My wife was having seizures, and the nurses were following the doctor’s last instruction on how to deal with them. It was, “Let’s just ride this out and let it run its course, it’s only a small one, and let’s not use medication, if it’s not needed.”

That sounds like a good thing to do, if they are small and infrequent, as they were, when that course of action was decided to be taken.

But what about when things change?
When they change slowly, so that the changes, are not so obvious to see?
How long do you keep following that same thinking?

In the nurses case, the answer was all the way to the end of their shift, and then the next nurses, take over, with a hand over of, “This is what has happened.” Then possibly, “We are following the advice of the doctor, which is…. . The relatives have been a bit of trouble, we’ve just stayed out of their way.”

I don’t actually know what was said in the hand over, but the new nurses, didn’t speak too much to us. Even though it was getting late into the night, and visiting time was long gone. And we (at some point in time, my Mum had joined us) were still there, waiting for something to happen, to help my wife. Who by this time, was now having frequent seizures, of a greater magnitude, which the nurses appeared to be not concerned about. (At this point my wife was not on a neurological ward.)

We had asked, insisted, that a doctor be involved and was in a constant state of, “Something has to change soon.” But nothing appeared to be happening.
I can remember seeing someone who looked as if they were a junior doctor, speaking with the nurses, (I can’t remember if it was the new or old shift nurses, but I think it was the new shift nurses) and then they were gone.
Still no change in the treatment (or lack of treatment.)

We had both reached the point of desperation.
I had gone through outright aggression, almost having a full blown row with one of the the original shift nurses. Only averted because I walked out, to get some breathing space. When I came back, it appeared that the nurse was ready and waiting for round two. I believe that I just didn’t engage in round two, but just tried to concentrate on my wife.

Is this part of the reason of, why the staff didn’t engage with me that much?
Is it part of the reason of why we were never asked to leave?
It was well into the sleeping hours of the night, before we left.

The fact that it was into the sleeping hours of the night, also meant that I didn’t want to make a fuss, and then disturb the other patients on the ward, whilst still wanting and waiting for my wife to be seen, and cared for.

With hindsight, I know that I should have called for an ambulance.
There wasn’t an A & E department at the hospital my wife was staying at, so I couldn’t just wheel her down to the A & E department. But I am sure that I should have called for an ambulance, or at least made the threat to do so, and if needed, to then just do it.
But I didn’t, and we are where we are.
Would it have made a difference, if I had called for that ambulance???
I just don’t know.

In the end, out of sheer desperation, me and my Mum just left.
We were thinking, “If we are not here, creating a screen that the nurses can’t see through, then perhaps they will see her, and then give her the care that she needs???”
I now firmly believe that this was a mistake, and that we should have called for an ambulance, but at the time, we could only see the two options. Remain, waiting and hoping that something will happen, while wondering, are we part of the problem, by being a screen that is stopping the nurses from seeing what is going on.
Or just go, and hope that they then actually see my wife, and then do something to help her.

As I have said, looking back it feels as if it was a Medical Mexican Stand Off. A stalemate, nowhere to go, with no good options.
Option 3, of call the ambulance, was just not in our minds.

Why would it be?
My wife was in a hospital, under medical care of people who should have known what they were doing. Who would think that calling for an ambulance, whilst someone is on a hospital ward, would even be an option.
It shouldn’t be an option.
You should be receiving the care, that you need, if you are on a hospital ward. Not just left to get on with it.
If she had been at home, we would have called for an ambulance, and then been taken to the A & E department, and then been cared for. But instead, she was on a ward, by and large, being ignored.

Did our life changing consequences occur because of that night?
Or had they already happened?
Or were they even just waiting to happen?
… I just don’t know the answers to these questions.

What I do know, is that as I left that night, I didn’t know if my wife would be with me, or not, the following morning?
I didn’t know if she would survive the night?
In some respects, I said goodbye to her, as I left.
Not knowing if we were doing the right thing or the wrong thing. But also not knowing what else to do?
Both me and my Mum where at our wits end, just hoping that they they would now just see her, and give my wife the care that she needed.

Did she receive any help or care, after we left, or was she just left to, “ride it out”, all night long … ???
Again, I just don’t have the answer to this question.

The next time I heard about my wife, was from my wife’s Mum. She had called the hospital, and had been told, “She is sleeping peacefully.” (My wife’s parents were a two hour journey away.)
Was she actually sleeping peacefully, or was she slowly edging closer to disaster day, when she was just a step away from just going, unseen by the staff, because they thought that she was just, “sleeping peacefully”?

I was completely wiped out by this point. A walking zombie.
Along with everything written above, we were still coming to grips with a miscarriage, which was the very start of the misadventure. With everything that was going on, the miscarriage was now low down on my list of concerns.

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It’s been a few days since I wrote the above.
After I wrote it, I was thinking, “What good can come from this?” I’m still partly wondering that.
But as time is going by, I’m starting to find that it’s not quite so raw, anymore. In some ways, this feels a little bit weird. I know what happened, and I am kind of aware that I should be outraged by all that had gone on, but a strange, dare I say it, sense of peace seems to be taking the place of the hurt. … ???
I would like to say that I’ve got a complete sense of peace, but that would be a lie. But I’m not as agitated as I think I should be?
Am I heading towards that greater sense of peace???

Is this journey towards peace because of three little words that I have been trying to apply into lots of situations?
Am I now able to apply them to my ugly rock, and then see a difference happen?

I would like to say that it had been easy, but it hasn’t been.
I would like to say that it all done in one sitting, but it wasn’t. Some moments were maybe 30 seconds of thinking something, then accepting it. Another moment could have been letting go of something by forgiving ones who came to my mind, myself included.
I’m struggling to think if I have repented of anything, but it may have been in there???

The three little words that I’m thinking of are, Accept, Repent and Forgive, There be Power Here!
It seems to be more evident to me that applying three little words, can lead to a release and a freedom from pain.

I would like to think that I am fully cured from the effects of what has happened to me and my wife, but I do think that could be a bit of wishful thinking. We are still currently living with the consequences of what has happened, although we are waiting for my wife to be completely healed. But I do believe that a large chunk of the pain and hurt has gone. Hopefully, that will continue as time goes on.

To publish or not?
I’m now leaning towards publishing. (If you are reading this, then the answer is evident.)
I will still seek guidance from my Lord God Almighty for the answer to that one. He does have the Power of Veto over me, after all.
I do have the small comforting thought that most of what I write, only gets seen by a very small number of people. So it will more than likely, only be a small something, seen by a few. 🙂

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This post was the latest from a series of posts.
For reference, the previous posts are listed below.

Will you work with Our Lord, to shape, your Ugly Rock?

It seems that I have my own Ugly Rock.

Will I share, What my Ugly Rock is?

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I thought that this post was going to be the end of the mini series, but there was one more.
The last post in this series is…
How do you cope when, the wheels fall off??

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It seems that I have my own Ugly Rock.

Sometimes, I write something, and then I have to do, or go through the very thing, that I’ve just written about. Recently I wrote, Will you work with Our Lord, to shape your Ugly Rock? To then, … well, This week’s post was the start of me working through something.

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Recently something has come back to my mind. Something that happened a long while back, that I had just buried. I’ve been trying to re-bury it, but now that it has resurfaced, it won’t go back down.
I’m now left with replays, and all the “what if” questions.

The “what if” questions do me no good!
I know this, I’ve even written a previous post about this of,
Cut away the Veil of What If’s.
I know that I need to focus on “what is”, instead of “what if”. But knowing this and doing this are two very different things.

I’ve had the nagging thought of, “just write it out”, but I don’t want to. I’d rather just bury it again, and not look at it, but I can’t seem to do that.
So here is my first look at writing it out.

I write it, with the full knowledge that, because it’s written, it doesn’t mean that it has to be published. Some things can be written out, and then never shared. It is OK to do this!
If I do change my mind at a latter date, then that is a decision for a tomorrow. For today, I will just take the next step and just write what I write.

The Lords prayer does say, “Give us Today, our Daily Bread.”
So I shall, just try to do today, that which I need to do today, and let tomorrow deal with itself, when it comes around.

(Verse 34 is the bit that came to my mind, but a quick search found the whole passage below.)

Matthew 6:25-34
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

You maybe asking, “What is this rock that you have then?”

That is something for me to try and write out tomorrow (possibly), which might or might not be published.
One step at a time, is the way to try and work through this.
I’ll just keep trying to take it to My Lord, and ask, “What do I do with THIS?”

If you have your own ugly rock, then I can only suggest that you try to do the same. Take it to The Lord Your God, and ask Him, “Help me with this Lord.”

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(Just a heads up, next weeks post is already written, and will follow on from here. I have worked through most of the process by now.)
The next post is,
Will I share, What my Ugly Rock is?

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When the darkness comes, Seek The Light!

When the darkness comes, it can be all consuming, Seek the Light.
When the darkness comes, it can keep you on a constant replay of things gone and done wrong. Seek the Light.
When the darkness comes, it can accuse you of all that you have done wrong, trying to tie you up in knots of shame. Seek the Light.
When the darkness comes, it can try to convince you to just run and hide, to just bury your head in the sand and wait for it to pass over. Seek the Light!

The Light is Our Lord God Almighty!
He does not come to condemn, but to set Free, those who are held captive in chains.
He is LOVE, and He Loves ALL. Even those who have gone astray and made mistakes.
He comes to make Good, that which has gone wrong.

Stepping into the light can be a painful thing to do.
Push past the pain. Press on into the Light.
As you do, you will start to see the truth, and The Truth will set you Free.
Who The Son sets free, will be free indeed.

John 10:10-11

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Heavenly Father,
Please help all who are struggling.
Help them to seek Your Light.
Open eyes and ears, so that Your Light is easy to find.
Help them to step into Your Light, which sets captives free.
Please let Your Love and Peace fill everything.
Our Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

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While the Glue is Setting, the Clamps are Needed.

I needed to glue two bits of wood together recently.

It was an easy enough task to do. Apply the wood glue. Bring the wood together, then apply the clamps, making sure the wood is correctly lined up. After any excess glue is wiped away, then leave alone, for the glue to set.

As I looked at the wood with the clamps on them, the thought,
“While the glue is setting the clamps are needed.” came to my mind.

For the two pieces of wood to become one piece, the the clamps are needed. The clamps apply a strong pressure, that then means that the bond the glue makes will be better, because of them and the pressure that they bring.

It made me think, “Are there times when we are feeling that we are caught in a clamp that we would rather not be in?”

I dare say that we can all go through difficult times at some point in our lives. But is it that sometimes the difficult times, can be the things that make us who we are?

Now it may not be that Our Lord God has brought the clamps to our lives, (or He might even be the One to bring them,) but regardless of how they came, what if He is using the clamps to allow a glue to set within us?

If there is any truth to this idea, then, can we try to see these clamps (situation we are in) in a different light?

Instead of just fighting it, could we try to ask, “Lord, is there something that You are trying to teach me through this?”

If there is a lesson to be learned, then could it be the sooner we learn the lesson, the sooner the clamps can be removed???
Or even if the clamps do remain, will we be able to come to a place where we are no longer bothered by them, even if we continue to not want them?

Once the glue is set, then hopefully we will be a better version of ourselves, as we allow Him, our Loving Heavenly Father, to have His way in our lives.

Father,
No one really likes it when we go through tough times.
Please help us go always look to You for Your help and guidance.
Help us to let You have Your way in us, so that we can then be more like how You see we could be.
Thank you that You are there for us, to help and guide us.
Our Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

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Can we see the Gold that is hidden in the mess?

I had been reading Job, not too long ago. I have to admit that it’s not one of my favourite books to read. It can be a bit sad and depressing.

Job suffers, and then his friends come to comfort him by judging him and telling him to turn back to God. Even though Job never turned away from God, in the first place.

This time as I read Job, I saw that one of Job’s friends actually gives Job a word of prophecy that is good, but it is hidden by the not so nice stuff he speaks to him in the same breath.

Job 8 1-7

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “How long will you say such things?
    Your words are a blustering wind.
3 Does God pervert justice?
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead with the Almighty,
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
    and restore you to your prosperous state.
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous will your future be.

In the above passage we can see that it appears that Bildad has got it so wrong and so right, all in the same breath.

Just re-read verses 5-7 and you can see where he looks to have got it right, with a word of prophecy. Job was rightrighteous and did seek The Lord, and he was more greatly blessed after his time of trials. (We are told this at the end of the book of Job, Job 42:10.)

So, can you see why I think that verses 5-7 are words of prophecy?

I can also see very easily why they were missed by Job, (and me for many readings). They were hidden by the not so good stuff that Bildad said right before he brought the good stuff.
How much better would it have been if Bildad didn’t say verses 1-4 but only brought 5-7 instead?

So Bildad seems to have got it wrong by bringing verses 1-4, but did Job get it wrong by missing verses 5-7?

I do think that this is a harsh thing to ask, as I missed it for so many times, even though I knew the final outcome. But it is still actually there.

When you are suffering, your thinking can go a bit wrong, because you are suffering. And Job was suffering in the biggest way when the word was spoken to him. So it’s no surprise that Job heard the harsh words Bildad brought instead of the words of prophecy. I think I would have missed them too. (I did miss them, many times.)

Can we learn anything from this?
Are there times when we miss the good stuff that God has for us because it’s wrapped up in with a load of nonsense? Offensive nonsense?
If we try to help someone who is suffering, do we wrap up our good words (words from God) with offensive nonsense words (words from ourselves that are wrong)?

It’s made me stop, think and ponder.

My Heavenly Father,
You do indeed Love me and have Good things for me.
Please help me to see the Good that You have for me and to let go of the nonsense.
Please help to not bring nonsense to others.
Please stop me in some way if I’m about to get it wrong.
Please help me to be someone who will bring Your Good blessings to others.
If a tough word is needed, then please help me to bring it in a way so that it can be seen and recieved as a blessing from You.
My Loving Lord God Almighty.
Amen.

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He Who IS All Powerful, is able to stroke the butterfly wing.

OK, I know that the title of this post sounds a bit funny, but I also think it is very much so true.

Our God is Awesome!
Great and Mighty in Power!
He made the heavens and the earth. All that is seen and not seen. He set the stars in their place. He formed the earth.
The might and power of the volcano, He directed.
We can only start to marvel at how Great Our God is!

Yet this is not the whole picture. For our God also has Great Control!
Our God who Has Absolute Power, also Has Infinite Control.
He can work on the most delicate of things and not crush them.
He is even able to stroke the butterfly wing, and Not damage it.
He can even do one better than that. He can touch the damaged butterfly wing and bring a healing touch!

Our God IS Awesome!
Able to heal the broken hearted, with the most delicate of touches.

We just need to say yes to Him. For He does wait for our permission.
If we say no He will listen to us.
But He yearns for us to say Yes to Him. He’s just waiting to bring a healing touch to where it is needed. His touch might not be what we want, but it will be what we need.

So will we say yes to the One who is able to touch the damaged butterfly wing and bring a healing touch so that we will be able to fly, once more.

Lord God Almighty,
Please, bring Your touch of peace to all who need it.
To the broken hearted, bring Your peace.
To the crushed in spirit, bring Your peace.
To those who don’t know where to turn, please bring Your peace.
For You are able to make the difference.
Amen.

If you need to, then please dwell on the above prayer for as long as Your Lord God directs you to.

_______________________________________

How do you pray, when you feel you just can’t do anything?

I see a vessel
When you are at your weakest, God is there to build you up and make you stronger.

More posts that may help those who are struggling.