Good morning, Dear friends and Prayer Partners! Happy May Day! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! I remember when our boys were little we would make up little baskets of flowers and take them to the neighbors every May first. I hope they remember that. (The boys, not the neighbors.)
Yesterday, I walked out to the tower and watched the two little striped gators right beside the log they like to catch some rays on. They seemed to be looking at the people looking at them.
After that, we watched Ma and Pa hawk flying back and forth with food for the yellow, fuzzy babe that showed its head and flapped its wings over the nest. They are so protective of the baby! God is awesome!
From the Promise Bible:
Shouldn't those who believe in God be free from crisis?
John 16:33 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
Crisis should not surprise us. We expect crisis and difficulty because we live in a fallen world. Jesus' warning keeps us from panic, and his promise of victory keeps us from discouragement.
Psalm 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!"
Nothing in the world is stable or safe. We can find no lasting shelter apart from the Lord. When we rely on him, though everything else is shaken, our faith never will be.
What happens to us through times of crisis?
Romans 5:3-4 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us-they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us. and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. "
God's transforming power often touches us most deeply in times of crisis. Times of crisis can strengthen our character.
Times of crisis are like a fire that refines, like a knife that prunes, like a wind that sifts the wheat from the chaff. Ask God for the strength to hold on and for the strength to let go of ungodly things. Look to the joy that awaits on the other side of the trial.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
