Leaning

 

On a recent Saturday morning I awakened with the song, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” rolling around in my head. I have no idea why. It stuck there for several hours. The next day during Sunday School, I knew we would be singing that song. I just knew it! What I didn’t know until later was that my husband requested it since he knew it had been on my mind. I thought surely the Holy Spirit was speaking to me as He sometimes does in unusual ways. My curiosity led me to look up the lyrics and the origin of the song. 

In case you have forgotten, the lyrics go like this (don’t rush, take your time):

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the Everlasting Arms

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the Everlasting Arms

 

Chorus: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarm

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms

 

What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the Everlasting Arms

Chorus

 

O how sweet to walk in the pilgrim way, leaning…

O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning…

Chorus

 

According to hymnal.net, this song is based on Deuteronomy 33:27 (ESV),

 “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Anthony Showalter, a music teacher, received letters from two of his students on the same day. Both of his students shared that they had lost their wives in death. Mr. Showalter’s response to them was short. It was the Scripture verse above, and from this verse he found the inspiration for the first stanza of this song. He sent it to a writer friend, Elisha Hoffman, who wrote the other stanzas.

During some of the darkest hours these students were facing, their teacher had a simple message. Lean on the Everlasting Arms. God is our refuge. The principle was solid many years ago, and it’s solid now.

It’s such a solid principle that even my 6-year-old grandson gets it. He and I were watching a video of the Kentucky tornado that happened recently. It was a bit intense with people whirling around in a car and screaming, so I asked him if it was scaring him. He said no. (Earlier he had told me he was not afraid of something else because God was with him.) I said, “Because God is with you, right?” He said, “Yes, but I guess those people forgot.” Out of the mouth of babes! May I never forget when life whirls me around like crazy! If I do, y’all feel free to remind me!

Now that song will be in my head the rest of the day….and that’s okay.

joyce hague

When Fear Comes

 

When Sherry Poff asked me if I would like to contribute to Cup of Grace, I told her that I was not really a writer. But when I prayed about it, I decided that sharing some of the verses from the Bible that have helped me through my 77 years to trust and live and enjoy my relationship with God might be an encouragement to some of you. So I pray that these verses that I share with you now and then will be hidden in your heart so that the Lord might bring them to mind as the Spirit leads you through all situations.

FEAR: Fear is a very powerful word! It can cause us to feel and do things we should, or it could cause just the opposite reaction in our lives.

I was in Walgreens a while ago when all of a sudden, the lights went out. People just stopped where they were! A woman behind me said out loud, “I’m afraid of the dark; let’s get out of here fast!” A man behind her spoke up right away and said, “Don’t be afraid; God is in charge of my life, and we will all be fine!” Then the lights came back on! We all laughed, but it was great timing. I appreciated tat the man was bold enough in his faith to speak up to others with encouragement.

When I got home, I started thinking about Bible verses that tell us not to be afraid because it is true that God really is in control of our lives. I believe the Bible is the only real truth we have here on earth because it is God’s Word, and so I can trust what it tells me.

I’m going to share a couple of passages that I have memorized, and that I have quoted over and over again when that feeling of fear has come up in so many different situations.

Psalm 91. My fifth grade teacher had a huge impact on my life spiritually. One of the things she had us to was to memorize Psalm 91. She told us a story about one of her friends that illustrated how God could take care of us in “scary” situations. I have never forgotten it! Verse 4 says, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust.” This friend came home one night and thought she heard a noise in the kitchen. She went in to check and turned the light on and saw a man crouching down on the floor. She was so frightened that all she could shout out was “He shall cover thee with his feathers, He shall cover thee with His feathers, He shall cover thee with his feathers!” Obviously, the man thought she was nuts and jumped back out of the window he had entered. (I am still waiting to use this example! Thank goodness!)

When John and I were engaged, and he was sent by the Army to serve in Vietnam, we chose this psalm to claim. It has been called “The Soldier’s Psalm.” John especially liked verses 14 and 15. “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.” I’m so thankful that John came home from the war to marry me!

Psalm 4:8 “I will both lie down in peace and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

My grandmother, Taddy (Ella Belle Lippincott), quoted this verse to us at night when as children we were afraid of the dark. It had helped her as a child during storms that came. I have quoted this to my own children many times. Hearing the Scripture out loud brings such trust and comfort.

Another time I will share with you some verses that have brought me peace when my fear involved transitions and emotional situations and the worrisome fears that involve our families.  We all are afraid at some time furing our lives, but we can have peace when we sleep and have trust we we are awake because we have the Living God and His word in which to have faith.

--Mary Ramsey

Happy Day, Everyone!

 

Is there a holiday or observance more fraught with emotion than Mothers’ Day? It’s natural to have strong feelings about Mom, whether those feelings are warm and loving, resentful and angry, or filled with contradictions. We all have mothers, just by virtue of being human, and I think it’s safe to say that usually, we love our mothers.

When I think of my own mother, I feel a mixture of emotions: joy for the things I learned from her and the love she always gave me; sorrow that she isn’t still here on Earth to offer more advice and love; and regret for the questions I never asked and the insensitivity I know I showed at times.

I remember long-ago Mothers’ Days when I was a child in the hills of West Virginia. It used to be tradition to wear flowers for Mothers’ Day—red or pink if one’s mother were still living and white if not. Even in that celebratory tradition, there was a touch of sadness for all the white flowers in the room.

And think of the many cards we all made under the guidance of well-meaning teachers. What mom can just throw away her child’s handprint pressed into a piece of clay or a bouquet of flowers printed on paper, no matter how poorly colored? (Maybe you can, and maybe someday I can—but not yet, and my kids are in their forties!)

Scripture is full of examples of mothers—good and bad, but mostly good, I guess. There is, of course, the faith of Jochebed, the perseverance of Naomi, the obedience of Jesus’s mother, Mary, and others. We also have in our personal lives many good examples to follow. If that’s your own mother, you are blessed. If it isn’t, thank God for putting you in a community where you can see faithfulness, perseverance, and obedience lived out in the women around you.

For me, this week has been emotional for more reasons than Mothers' Day. A long-time neighbor pulled out of her driveway early Friday morning to move across the country. While we didn’t spend every day together, she had been next door to me for so long, she felt like part of home. She and I collected one another’s mail when necessary, stood in the road and chatted about gardening and neighborhood doings. I knew where her extra key was, and she could find ours if she needed to. I miss her. Then later on Friday, we had Senior Chapel at GBA—always a time of mixed joy and sadness. It’s the plight of teachers to learn to love young people and then tell them goodbye—over and over. Kind of like a mother.

Of course, I have my own children who love me so well and give me reason to be proud. But I don’t believe it’s possible to think we’ve done everything right, and when children choose things we don’t necessarily approve of, questions and lurking guilt threaten to spoil the mood of the most pleasant times.

Here is my comfort this week: God is bigger than my mistakes. He can work even when I can’t see it. His ways are not my ways, and all his ways are good. He knows what I am going to say before I say it. Nothing takes him by surprise. There is no place I can go—or my friends or students or children can go—to get away from God. (Numbers 23, Isaiah 55, Psalm 139, and others).

So happy day, everyone, whether you are a mom or want to celebrate your mom. Let’s all rest in God’s faithfulness.

--Sherry Poff

Rest

 

There are certain words that can lead to a physical response. I find this true of the word “rest.” It’s likely because I am one of the billions who are desperate for more rest. So when I read it, I feel my muscles relax, my breath slow, my brain calm. It’s something we all desire . . .  more rest.

We are a tired people that live in a hectic society. Finding rest feels counter-cultural. When in fact, God created us to NEED rest. In fact, He talks a lot about it at the beginning of the Bible. I’ve been listening to Exodus and Leviticus while I do the dishes and put away laundry lately. Ironic, I know. And dispersed throughout He calls His people to rest, to sabbath, to do as He did after creating all things.

 Even as I write this, I am day dreaming about taking a nap. I believe that Satan loves to sink us deep into the lie that resting should make us feel guilty, judged, wrong, when in fact resting is OBEDIENCE! I love this *convicting* quote from Elisabeth Elliot: “Rest is a weapon given to us by God. The enemy hates it because he wants us to be stressed out and occupied.” When do I most often take my eyes off God and focus on my own issues? When I’m stressed out and relying on my own strength.

What do we do when we see our toddlers and young children breaking down in tears and arguments and a fiery rage? Send them to bed! We know they need rest. I think about this verse a lot: Psalm 30:5. It says, “For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” There’s a lot we can dig into here, but one of the thoughts and truths I’ve seen lived out in my own life is that those days that are heavy and hard and exhausting sometimes are easily answered by sleep, waking up refreshed and renewed with new mercies. Why? Because God created us this way.

 Our God is a restorative God. That’s another word that gives a sense of relief - restore. He restores from dark to light, from sin to salvation, fear to peace, tiredness to rest. We see His goodness and mercy in all of these.

 We find our dependence upon God in our need for His rest. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

I know, my friend, you are just as tired as I am. Life is tiring, busy, hectic. It takes a lot of the Lord’s strength to stand against that societal busy-ness and find your time of rest. He promises peace and rest that we need. How can you do that today?

--Sandy Gromacki