Hi @Nancy,
Time and time again the Lord has had to hoist me up from the depths of despair I have felt at the depravity of my old nature, and set my eyes back on the surety of His promises. We see and experience the Old nature for it is familiar to us, it consists of flesh and blood, and has weight and substance, but the New nature is very much of the nature of faith, isn't it? Which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
As I thought on the content of your thread, a picture came into my mind of a moment in time, in my life, and I saw myself standing in the rain with an umbrella over me, waiting for my husband to lock up the house, for we were going out. I had responded badly to him yet again, and not shown the love of Christ: and I stood looking at the kitchen window, my mind in turmoil, tears rolling down my cheeks. Having been beaten down by an inward turmoil of self-deprecating negative thoughts, my faith hanging by a thread it seemed. As I stood there, I remember crying out to the Lord, and telling him, that what I saw evidenced in my life gave me no hope to believe that I was His, but that I believed His word, and was trusting Him to fulfill His promises. The words of a hymn came into my mind, 'On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand': and my spirit was dragged from the brink and brought onto the sold ground of faith again, and I was able to praise Him for rescuing me once more.
This is no isolated occurrence, but I can now praise God for His mercy and His grace, and for the battle being waged.
Thank you for your sharing, for your openness.
With my love to you, Nancy.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Time and time again the Lord has had to hoist me up from the depths of despair I have felt at the depravity of my old nature, and set my eyes back on the surety of His promises. We see and experience the Old nature for it is familiar to us, it consists of flesh and blood, and has weight and substance, but the New nature is very much of the nature of faith, isn't it? Which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
As I thought on the content of your thread, a picture came into my mind of a moment in time, in my life, and I saw myself standing in the rain with an umbrella over me, waiting for my husband to lock up the house, for we were going out. I had responded badly to him yet again, and not shown the love of Christ: and I stood looking at the kitchen window, my mind in turmoil, tears rolling down my cheeks. Having been beaten down by an inward turmoil of self-deprecating negative thoughts, my faith hanging by a thread it seemed. As I stood there, I remember crying out to the Lord, and telling him, that what I saw evidenced in my life gave me no hope to believe that I was His, but that I believed His word, and was trusting Him to fulfill His promises. The words of a hymn came into my mind, 'On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand': and my spirit was dragged from the brink and brought onto the sold ground of faith again, and I was able to praise Him for rescuing me once more.
This is no isolated occurrence, but I can now praise God for His mercy and His grace, and for the battle being waged.
Thank you for your sharing, for your openness.
With my love to you, Nancy.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
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