So as we plodded along under gray wet skies, with only our own discomfort to comfort us.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Palouse)
“‘Comfort, yes, comfort My people!’ Says your God.”
–Isaiah 40:1 (NKJV)
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I promised myself at the beginning of the year, to do more serious reading this year, especially that of biographies. I noticed on one of my shelves a book I had started, but with all of the moving it had been placed back on the shelf. Upon retrieving it I glanced at the notes I had taken, and there were many. The book–Five Years to Freedom, by James N. Rowe. It is the story of one of the first POWs of the Vietnam War. The man went through severe torture along with dysentery and infected fungus, add to that the psychological pressures he was forced to endure. There was one point where he was forced to sleep without clothing or netting and the mosquitoes almost drove him mad. He was completely covered with welts from the vicious insects and Rowe cried, “O Lord, please give me strength to make it through today. I hurt, Lord, and I don’t know what to do about it. Please give me strength.”
Most of the time he was alone, sleeping outside in a cage. Now, we are crying about staying in a comfortable house–quarantined to an extent–and we complain, weep, and murmur. This book brought back to mind the senseless and useless teaching of socialism. It brought to my mind a cartoon I saw: “Those who don’t remember history are condemned to repeat it; those who taught history are forced to watch it happen.”
“If I say, ‘I won’t mention Him or speak any longer in His name, His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,
shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail. For I have heard the gossip of many people,
‘Terror is on every side! Report him; let’s report him! Everyone I trusted watches for my fall. Perhaps he will be deceived
so that we might prevail against him and take our vengeance on him. But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior….”
–Jeremiah 20:9-11 (HCSB)
How long can you be silent if you know the Lord? Do you desire to feel His presence? In these times of uncertainty, more and more, we need the assurance that the Lord is with us. I came across this little note in my weekly reading:
“I desire God’s presence. To feel Jesus, with all my senses. I desire the rare moments when Jehovah manifests Himself and it overwhelms you. We are unsure whether to speak or be silent. Touched by the flame of God and let His still small voice touch the ear. To be moved by the Holy Ghost in awe. To be inspired of His person. To have the light cast over me making even the shadows of darkness flee. To be flooded by the love warming me to my bones. To be where God is revealing Himself.”
–Russell Snoddy
The key–to be where God is.
Let me mention one more thing: We walk by faith. We do not seek an emotional experience to know that God is there. However, the value of our experience is something that is given to us, something that we cannot doubt. If ever the devil comes and tells you that you are not saved, you stand on the Word of God and remember those times when you experienced the presence of the Almighty.