a poem, His word, a comfort today…

“Darkness and doubts had veil’d my mind, and drown’d my eyes in tears, Till, like the sun, my Savior’s face, Dispell’d my gloomy fears.
Oh, what immortal joys I felt, And raptures all divine, When Jesus told me I was his, And my beloved mine!
In vain the tempter frights my soul, And breaks my peace in vain; One glimpse, dear Savior, of thy face Revives my joys again.”  (This poem with power to change one’s mind,  is written by C.H. Spurgeon.)
This is Christmas time, with so much on our plate! How can we set aside time to seek the Lord’s face? He taught me so much when all thought ‘oh, this is ‘bad!’ “A ‘cancer diagnosis’, with chemo-(even during Christmas) oh such dread!” But, now, I can  tell you, God used it ALL for good! In every single bitty part, God used it as He would.
There is a story in God’s word in Luke Chapter 13, of a woman who had been sick 18 long and painful  years. She was ‘bowed down’ in her spine. This poor woman couldn’t stand and hold her head up, her face couldn’t be seen.
But “Jesus saw her, and called her to Him, and said, “Woman, you are loosed from your sickness and pain.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she lifted her spine again.” (Luke 8:11-13, paraphrased by me), but there is only a comma, that wasn’t the end of the sentence, “and she glorified God,” – THEN the sentence was complete!
Let the stories encourage your heart, let the poems bring a hunger deep inside, to draw nearer to Jesus than ever before – even waking and reading His word before you pass out your door:  “Jesus saw her…”
and He sees you too. He knows everything about us, E-V-E-R-Y-THING. So, most likely we are all like this woman, who had suffered many years, and was bowed over, and couldn’t even stand…we all are like this woman in Luke 8, but Jesus saw her, and called her to Him.
And that is what He does, time and time again. We are not all physical, we have emotions and a mind.They each need a touch from the Lord, each has hunger and sickness, each need healing, each in its own time. Body, mind and soul…each find themselves at different times bowed down very low – ‘But Jesus saw, and called her to Him,’ and He graciously touched her with His beautiful hand and immediately healed her, so she now could stand! Stand and give glory, give glory to God because He had touched her with His righteous right hand.
Oh, that we hear His call of love and compassion. Oh, that we would look up to see His grace-filled eyes. Oh, that we would stop and breathe in His presence and be loosed from sickness and pain. Oh that, having faith to believe He is right here! This is how He immediately ‘loosens’ our bonds, this is how He eases the pain.
Our gracious Jesus, He heals everything!
“In vain the tempter frights my soul, And breaks my peace in vain; One glimpse, dear Savior, of thy face Revives my joys again.
Oh, what immortal joys I felt, And raptures all divine, When Jesus told me I was his, And my beloved mine!
In vain the tempter frights my soul, And breaks my peace in vain; One glimpse, dear Savior, of thy face Revives my joys again.”  (What a wonderful encouragement, from CH Spurgeon).