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First Friday Prayers: Pain Awareness Month

September 1, 2023 by Lauren 14 Comments

You may have deduced by the title of this post that September is Pain Awareness Month.  Pain has been my companion for many years now and if statistics hold up, many of you struggle with pain too.  We live in a broken world; and sickness, injury and pain touch us all, whether it’s short and temporary or a long battle with no end in sight.

 

But we have a Savior who walked on this imperfect earth and sympathizes with our suffering.  And we know that He can and will heal in His perfect timing.  And He doesn’t waste our hardships.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB says:

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

Today I want to pray for myself, and those of you who are physically hurting.  My heart especially goes out to those who are longsuffering and those who seemingly have no hope for an earthly cure.  Our God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

 

I’m praying for you in this. If you are in pain – physical or otherwise, please comment below or send me a personal message by clicking on the Contact link above.  It would be an honor to offer prayers on your behalf.  Don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a First Friday Prayers post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Boy could I learn a thing or two about not taking offense from Lisa Blair!  Anyone else need a lesson?

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

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Where Can I Go From Your Spirit? A One Word Meditation

August 18, 2023 by Lauren 4 Comments

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.”  Psalm 139:7-12 NIV

 

I listened to a podcast recently that looked at some of the original language of this passage.  Particularly the word “darkness” and I immediately knew I wanted to dig into it.  You see, my word for the year is “joy”.  And the truth that God’s presence is always with me brings me an immense amount of joy.  But the word “darkness” stuck out to me.  I’ve seen a lot of it the last few years.  I’ve felt it.  And, by grace, I’ve felt joy in the midst of it.

 

The original Hebrew for the word “darkness” in these scriptures is also found in the beginning.  “ Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”  Genesis 1:2-3 NIV  Darkness has been around since before the world as we know it.  But all our Heavenly Father had to do was speak, and the darkness dispelled.

 

So Where Can I Go From Your Spirit?

 

God controls THE darkness, and He has control of MY darkness. ” You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”  2 Samuel 2:29 NIV.  Same Hebrew word.  No matter the darkness we face, our Lord can redeem it!  And no matter where we go or what we do, He stays with us.  He doesn’t let go of a child and there is nothing we feel, see or experience that escapes Him.  

 

These scriptures and the prayers they elicit bring me joy and comfort that I can’t describe.  So it doesn’t matter if I’m in the highlands or the heartaches (as one of my favorite songs says), He is there.   If you are currently experiencing darkness, I pray you will be comforted by the presence of the Lord.  And remember that “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 NASB God dispels the physical darkness every…single…day.  And He will do the same in your life.  That’s a promise.  

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

My thanks to Lois Flowers for articulating some of what I’m feeling in the same place she’s in.  Read 4 Scriptures Providing Comfort in a Season of Transition.

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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Recent Posts

  • Joy as an Active Pursuit: My Word of the Year
  • Speaking the Truth in Love
  • What Does it Mean that the Word of God is “Living and Active”?
  • First Friday Prayers: Pain Awareness Month
  • All Over the Place in August

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