But Without Thy Grace To Sustain Me I Would Fall

Father of Mercies,

Hear me for Jesus' sake.

I am sinful even my closest walk

with thee;

is is of thy mercy I died not long ago;

Thy grace has given me faith in the cross

by which thou has reconciled thyself to me

and me to thee,

drawing me by thy great love,

reckoning me as innocent in Christ though

guilty in myself.

Giver of all graces,

I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me,

for it is hard to practise what I believe.

Strengthen me against temptations.

My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin,

a river of corruption since childhood days,

flowing on in every pattern of behaviour;

Thou has disarmed me of the means

in which I trusted,

and I have no strength but in thee.

Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways,

but without thy grace to sustain me I fall.

Satan's darts quickly inflame me,

and the shield that should quench them

easily drops from my hand:

Empower me against his wiles and assaults.

Keep me sensible of my weakness,

and of my dependence upon thy peace,

more of thy love.

Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces,

and I cannot preserve or improve them

unless he works continually in me.

May he confirm my trust in thy promised help,

and let me walk humbly in dependence

upon thee,

for Jesus' sake.

GRACE IN TRIALS The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions

"Oh poor Job!' My spirit cries as  I drive out of the Trader Joe's parking lot weeping.

I received the inevitable news yesterday that my Dad, who has lived far beyond the doctor's expectations, has only about 3 months to live.

I recollect how Job's entire life was taken from him without a moments notice, yet I have the grace of knowing well ahead of time so that I can have just one more opportunity to tell my Dad how much I love him and share the truth of the gospel with him.

I look at Job's life and I wonder how he did it.  How did he not curse God?  I realize that Job was under the very same grace that I encounter each waking moment.

A grace that is far more powerful than I even know.  "A love that will not let me go", as I woke singing this morning in my heart as I continued in my grief.

I hear in my spirit,

 'I know your grief, I see you Karen, I am aware of your pain.'

As I struggle to write past the tears that invade my face, complicating my vision, flooding the keys,

I am thankful 

Thankful for God's great grace and mercy.

I am thankful that I serve a God who sees me.

El Roi, you are with me in my trials, you are an ever present help in time of need and in You I rest today.

Job's loss was so great but the Lord brought him through.  His family, his health and his wealth were taken from him without notice yet he rested in El Roi.

He declared,

"Though he slay me, I will hope in him"

In realizing his great loss and the sorrow of his soul in Job 19 he responds,

"Oh that my words were written!  

Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

Oh that with an iron pen and lead 

they were engraved in the rock forever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last he will stand upon the 

earth.

And after my skin has been thus destroyed, 

yet in my flesh I shall see God,

whom I shall see for myself,

and my eyes behold, and not

another.

My heart faints within me!

and, 'The root of the matter is found in 

him'....

I am so thankful that God did indeed write Job's words for us!

I cling to the God of all comfort this morning, who in his divine wisdom gave us the cannon of scripture so that we could be comforted by those who have gone before us in pain and suffering.

2 Corinthians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who comforts us in all our affliction, 

so that we may be able to comfort 

those who are in any affliction, 

with the comfort with which we ourselves 

are comforted by God.  

For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, 

so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

The Lord has given me wonderful friends, unlike Job, who have already been such a great source of support and comfort.

I received a message from a dear fried yesterday, whose 4 year old son prayed this for me at dinner:

"And please God, I don't want my Karen to be sad, please don't let her Dad die very soon.  Please God, help her Dad to not die.  My Karen is so sad, and I don't want my Karen to be sad."

As I drove out of that parking lot yesterday, tears streaming down my face, by the grace of God I said:

"I WILL worship You God!"