Cry – Page 3 – Praying Pint

Counted as Loss

d“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

Psalms 40:16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!” As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Isaiah 65:13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

Psalms 22:26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

Psalms 35:27 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

Psalms 68:3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

Psalms 119:166 I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments. My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.

Psalms 105:3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!

Psalms 119:111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

Luke 14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

I wonder if some of the lack of joy in our life comes from the fact we do not forsake all we have in this world. Are we attached to things this world has to offer and missing out in having gladness and joy in our heart that comes from a closeness to God, a dependency on Him, and eyes of our heart, soul and mind focused on humbly serving Him in the short time we have this side of eternity. Attachment to things this world has to offer is to believe the lie “it will satisfy”. It is always very short in delivering satisfaction and is very good at sugar coating this false promise. True and lasting joy can only be found in God, humbly serving, willingly obeying, and always seeking Him. What does it profit man to gain the world and lose their soul?

Not Crushed

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed”

Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

Psalms 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Isaiah 65:24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Hebrews 11:33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. God is ever present in the lives of those who seek Him. He hears their cry for help. He heals their broken heart. He delivers them out of their troubles. Know how much God loves us and how much He wants to direct our path and how His path is perfect for us, why do we keep Him at arms length. Why do we keep our focus on only what we can see in this world? Why is our heart, eyes and ears so easily turned away from God? If His word is not present in our lives everyday it is easy to lose connection. It is like having a new puppy that every shinny thing captures it’s attention. We seem to find the shinny things of our busy lives more important than the peace, rest, joy, hope, love, strength, and power of God. Spend time in His word today for 5 minutes. Spend 5 more minutes thinking about what you just read. I think you will find that God will call these into your mind through out the day as your focus turns from temporary to that which is eternal.

Out of Darkness

“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man”

Judges 3:8
But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan- rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan- rishathaim. So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

1 Samuel 12:10
And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.

Psalms 106:44
Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love

Psalms 107:13
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man

These scriptures tell of His abundant steadfast love. Does God’s love change? Definitely not. We find ourselves in times of trouble and wonder how did we get there. It seems we have a desire to serve things that please us. If our heart desire is to find satisfaction outside of God and His purpose for our life, this path will lead us to false hope and illusions. It is sad to see how easy it is to drift away from God into places of unrest for our soul. We can easily follow our sinful nature and the culture we live in but the fact remains that we were created by the one true triune God. Doesn’t it seem strange that we choose to live apart from His love and purpose for our lives. We are not immune to this. I think this is why He has created a body of believers who help each other when trials and trouble comes our way. We are to encourage each other with our faith, worship, and love. We demonstrate this through our actions which point to God the purpose of our being. Be an encouragement to someone today. Speak God into their life.