Trust in the Lord at All Times! Pour Out Your Heart Before Him!

Dennis Edwards

Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. (KJV)

In times of uncertainty, we get anxious. The psalmist is calling us to come before the Lord in prayer and pour out our hearts before Him. The Lord is our refuge, our secret place, our hiding place from the storms of life. Many podcasters are saying that the present year will be a year of testing, of chaos, of great change. As a results of their words and what we may watch on the News, and perhaps because of our personal experience and situation, we may be feeling anxious and worried about the future. We long for a refuge from the problems that seem to be looming like dark clouds on the horizon. The psalmist is reminding us that God is our true refuge in times of trouble. He is also reminding us to pour out our hearts before the Lord, to seek Him with all our heart, mind, and soul.

In his letter to the Philippians, Apostle Paul gives a similar solution to finding that perfect refuge in the Lord. Are you anxious? Pour out your heart to the Lord.

Philippians 4:6-9 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)

Ultimately the refuge that we seek is the peace of heart and mind that God is with us and will keep us and protect us from evil, especially when it seems the world could fall apart at any moment. Let us review some of the promises from God’s word that assure us He is in deed with those that come unto Him with all their heart, soul, body, mind, and spirit.

 

Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (NIV)

No matter if we are in the midst of a Tsunami or tidal-wave, God promises to be present and a refuge and strength to His children. Many times in the psalms, the psalmist calls the Lord his refuge and, or his hiding place.

 

Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (NIV)

 

Psalm 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. (KJV)

Psalm 57:1-3 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

 

Psalm 59:16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. (KJV)

Psalm 71:3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. (NIV)

Psalm 119:114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. (NIV)

 

Psalm 91:1-10 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely, he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. (NIV)

 

God’s promises of deliverance and protection are expedient on our walking closely with Him. Psalm 91 has beautiful promises of protection. At the end of the psalm, the voice of the Lord breaks through and tells why He protects His children.

  
Psalm 91:14-15 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (NIV)

We have to practice coming unto the Lord in prayer and supplication. We have to follow closely His voice and His commandments and His admonitions. If we do so, we can have total confidence that God will be with us in times of trouble. In Proverbs we read,

 

Proverbs 3:1-2, 21-26 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee…21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou lie down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes. 26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. (KJV)

Isaiah 25:1 & 4 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth…4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. (KJV)

Psalm 9:9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him. (KJV)

 

Isaiah 26:3, 8-9 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee…8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (KJV)

Ultimately, the peace and safety we seek is an inner peace. The Lord promises to be that inner peace to those who keep their minds and hearts on Him and walk close by His side. When God judgments begin to fall, men will begin to seek the Lord and learn the path of salvation found in the love and truth of Jesus.

 

Psalm 61:1-5 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. 4 I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. 5 For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. (NIV)

 

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe. (KJV)

We have gone over a few of the promises in God’s Word showing that the Lord will be our refuge in the day of trouble. In the book of Revelation, God promises to the church of Philadelphia, which means in the Greek, the church of brotherly love, a special blessing:

Revelation 3:10-11 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man takes thy crown. (KJV)

God promises to keep His children, even if they have little strength, because they have kept His Word, not denied His Name, and walked in brotherly love one for another. Jesus said,

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.

 

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, (or in other words be encouraged); I have overcome the world. (KJV)

 

Jesus has promised to be with us even to the end of the world. Apostle Paul has reminded us that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from love of God which we find in Jesus. The only thing that can separate us from God is our refusal to accept His love and recognise our dependence on Him. Our sins can separate us from God. But if we confess our sins, and change from our bad behaviour, God is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, let us not fear or be dismayed, for God has promised to strengthen us, and uphold us with the right hand of His righteousness. We are not to fear, for He will help us. He is that refuge that we seek, and He promises His peace will be upon us. Pour out your heart before Him and ye shall find Him.

 

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (KJV) 

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ (our Lord). (KJV)

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and his children shall children shall have a place of refuge.

They that fear the Lord and walk in His commandments shall have that place of refuge He has promised for His children.

Matthew 28:20b And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. 

Originally published January 24, 2024.

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Who Comforts Us in All Our Tribulation

Dennis Edwards

God promises to comfort us in our moments of tribulation. Jesus said, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you," John 14:18. Apostle Paul wrote, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able also to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God," 2 Corinthians 1;3.4.

When she was praying in the early morning after the notice of my son's death, an ex-girlfriend of his had a vision or dream. She heard my son's voice speaking to her in the dream. I was in Bermuda at the time sorting out the things in my son's apartment. Waves of grief and despair were overwhelming me. I was having a hard time to continue. The Lord told me to stop and check my mail on my computer. The following is the message my son's former girlfriend sent to me via e-mail, a message for me she had received in an early morning dream.

"Tell my father I am sorry for not keeping in better contact. Tell him I am proud to have a Dad like him. Yes, we had had our disagreements, but that was in the past. Tell my Dad I have found peace - the peace that passes understanding. Paradise is marvellous, beyond words. Tell my Dad I am thankful for the things he taught me and the prayers he prayed. Tell my Dad to keep fighting and to brave the storm. I am in the arms of Jesus where I belong. Tell my Dad I love him and he must keep fighting the fight of faith. Tell him to be an awesome fighter for Jesus."

I broke down again in tears on reading her message. But now they were tears of joy, not of sorrow. My son was truly in the arms of Jesus, who promised to wipe away all tears and sorrow. Thank you, Jesus, for giving us hope. Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving our sins. Thank you, Jesus, for making things right. Safe in the arms of Jesus. Safe on His gentle breast. There my son shall find sweet comfort. There he shall find sweet rest.

Originally published March 2, 2012.

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Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. The Daily Voice - January 27

 

The Daily Voice - January 27

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Romans 12:15

Do we really weep with them that weep? Are we really touched with the feeling of our friend’s loss of a close loved one in death? Do we really feel the emotional turmoil he’s going through? Even the condemnation of heart and mind he may be experiencing? Do we have hearts of flesh so that we can extend compassion to others in their moments of difficulties? Or are we stone-hearted, and can’t empathize with those in need of emotional support?

I recently have gone through the loss of a close friend. We worked together for twenty-seven years. I probably spent more time together with him in those years, than with my wife. When he fell into a coma after a period of dementia, I was emotional destroyed. We just needed to clean up his urinary tract infection and he would be fine. His dementia would clear up and he’d be back to normal. But it didn’t work out that way.

He stayed in a coma and died eleven days later. Was it the hospital’s fault? He had been moved on a Friday to another hospital. He was off the drip it seems during the weekend. He wasn’t eating or drinking. Were they giving him the medication for the infection? Was his death a result of medical failure?

I was already battling my own failures in not realizing the seriousness of my friend’s sickness. I thought he had sudden dementia, when in fact his sudden behavioural change was due to the urinary tract infection. Cleaning up the infection could bring him back to normal. But the infection didn’t get cleaned up, or so we think, and now he’s gone,

How can we make it through moments like these? Our own conscience or self-talk is accusing us of wrong doing, of neglect, of missing the mark. Where do we find the strength to carrying on when we seem incapable of picking ourselves up?

Jesus has promised to be with us in our moments of distress. He said He would be with us to the end of the world. He told us to be encouraged because He has overcome the world and defeated death. We should be of good cheer. He has gotten us the victory. But how can we be of good cheer, when our emotions are swirling like a tornado and the accusations are coming against us like a tsunami?

He said He would be with us through the waters and they would not overwhelm us. He told us we would be more than conqueror through Him who loves us. But how do we find His love when we are fainting within and hearing to the lying vanities of the enemy?

We know intellectually that we need to use praise and thanksgiving. We know that praise and thanksgiving and pouring out our hearts before the Lord will bring release. But during those moments, praise and thanksgiving seem impossible. We’re drowning in guilt and grief over the loss of our loved one. How does God break through?

He’s promised to. He said he would carry us through the storm, strengthen us and uphold us. But how does he do it? Apostle Paul has written that God would comfort us in all our tribulation. He himself had experienced plenty of tribulation. But he was able to say with confidence that God would deliver him from whatever trouble he faced, because he trusted not in himself, but in God who raises the dead.

When Jesus arrived a Lazarus’ tomb, what happened? Martha greets Jesus with an accusation. Her family had sent a message to Jesus some days before that Lazarus was sick. Jesus had stayed in that place and did not arrive at the gravesite until Lazarus was dead for four days. Martha says to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” Mary makes the same accusation when she sees Jesus.

The text of the Bible tells us that as Jesus saw Mary weeping, and Lazarus’ friends weeping, He also wept. “Jesus wept.” And the people said, “Behold how He loved him.” Jesus’ weeping with those that were weeping showed he was feeling how they felt. He was experiencing their sorrow, empathizing with them, while the same time showing compassion.

In the past week, what has helped me in the most tangible manner over the emotional roll-a-coaster I’ve been on, has been the love I have been shown by friends and family. Some of the people I least expected to, who I wasn’t especially close to, were capable of saying the right thing or of showing or giving me the love and encouragement I needed.

Some of my close friends disappointed me. While others not so close surprised me. God can use whoever is willing and available and sensitive enough to His Holy Spirit. He promised that He will comfort us. He promised that He will not leave us comfortless. He promised that He will come to us. For me, He did just that and fulfilled His promise to me.

He did it through the sweet messages I received by WhatsApp. He did it through the phone calls I received from loved ones and friends. He did it through the financial support raised to help cover the costs of the funeral. He did it also through His word to which I sought to for love and encouragement. He did it through the personal love and emotional support I received from those around me.

Jesus was accused of being responsible for one of his closest friends and supporters’ death. But He wept with them that wept. He had preached that blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. In the psalms we read, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. You have turned my mourning into dancing. You have put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness,” Psalm 30:5b&11.

Surely that was the case for Mary and Martha when Lazarus was raised. Though I’m not 100%, I’m trusting that God will bring me the victory and restore to me the joy of my salvation. It’s the joy of the Lord which is our strength. The Lord Himself is our strength. In quietness and confidence shall be our strength. In other words, by getting quiet with the Lord in prayer, meditation, and reading of His word, He will fill us with the strength we need. “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

He will not leave us comfortless. He will come. Hold on to Him and hold on to those around you that need His comfort. For we are His hands, and His feet, and His arms, and His tongue, and His mouth. Let us use our members as His members to comfort, strengthen, and love one another.

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15

“And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

Through all these things He wants to transform our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh which He can use to be instruments of His love and truth to others.

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26.

Let our hearts be circumcised that we may love, comfort, and strengthen one another as He would do. "As I have loved you, that you also would love one another." John 13:34b

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HEARTACHES (Accompaniment with lyrics)

Dennis Edwards

Here’s a nice little song that has been a great help to me in times of trouble, in times of mental or emotional anguish or turmoil. It was written by Alfred Henry Ackley who lived from 1887-1960. Born January 21^st in Pennsylvania, he studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in London and graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Maryland. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1914 and served churches in Pennsylvania and California. He wrote around 1,500 Christian songs, pouring out his heart to God and ministering to others through music. He also worked with Billy Sunday’s evangelistic team. [1]

 

"HEARTACHES"

When your heart is aching, turn to Jesus,
He's the dearest Friend that you can know;
-You will find Him standing close beside you,
Waiting peace and comfort to bestow.

Chorus
Heartaches, take them all to Jesus,
Go to Him today,
Do it now without delay.
Heartaches, take them all to Jesus,
He will take your heartaches all away.

There is joy for ev'ry troubled sorrow,
Sweet relief for ev'ry bitter pain,
Jesus Christ is still the great Physician,
No one ever sought His help in vain.

[Repeat Chorus]

Heartaches, take them all to Jesus,
Go to Him today,
Do it now without delay.
Heartaches, take them all to Jesus,
He will take your heartaches all away.

Jesus understands, whate'er the trouble,
And He waits to heal your wounded soul.
Will you trust His love so strong and tender?
He alone can make your spirit whole.

[Repeat Chorus]

Heartaches, take them all to Jesus,
Go to Him today,
Do it now without delay.
Heartaches, take them all to Jesus,
He will take your heartaches all away.

Take them all to Jesus,
He will take your heartaches all away.

You can listen to the song at the following link, song Nº 4. https://www.nubeat.org/abwnmt.html

Heartaches is one of those beautiful songs similar to those we find in the Bible in the Book of Psalms. The Psalms were actually prayers that were sung. Many were written by David and later Asaph. Throughout the Christian Church history others have added their songs and prayers to God and that is what we have in the song above. “Heartaches” has been a great help to me in my times of trouble and affliction.

It is Jesus who is the one that is going to take those heartaches all away. Whatever heartache we go through in life, and we all go through many different heartaches, Jesus is going to help us. He promises to help us. The Bible is full of those promises. He tells us that when we are faint, He is going to lift us up. He tells us not to be weary and faint in our minds, because He is going to uphold us with the right-hand of His righteousness. Let us go over a few verses that assure us of the truth that God will be with us and help us through whatever heartache we may be going through, or may go through in the future.

Proverbs 14:13 “Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.”

If we don’t have God in our hearts, we can be there at a party having a great time apparently, but without having a personal relationship with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the world and all it offers, ends up being nothing but emptiness and loneliness. Without God in our lives, all our goals end up being or seeming superficial. They do not fulfil the deepest longing of our heart and soul for total love and understanding.

We can be within a group of people at some event, but feel totally alone, and yet we make-believe we are having a great time. However, deep down within us, our hearts are aching. We lack that closeness that we long to have and need with someone. The relationships that we have in our search for comfort and total understanding often fall flat, or fall apart completely. They don’t satisfy the deepest yearning of our hearts for love and truth. We are spiritual beings made in the image of God and only God Himself can fulfil or fill that void within our hearts for total love and understanding.

We need that connection with God through Jesus and His Holy Spirit to feel fulfilled. We will never totally be fulfilled here on earth, but we will experience moments of fulfilment and joy, little tastes of the heavenly realm. Those moments will strengthen us to keep going, as we keep our eyes heavenward to Jesus. C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” We were made for another world. Remember that.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”

The heartaches we go through deepen us spiritually. They deepen our character. They actually make our hearts better, because they can help remove the froth, superficiality, and vanity, that cause our hearts to be sick spiritually.

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.”

We need to let our heartaches humble us and break us. We cannot let them harden us or cause a root of bitterness to spring up within us, which will not only affect us negatively, but all those around us. We need to let our heartaches soften our hard hearts, that God may come and comfort us.

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. … I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you,” John 14:1&18.

Jesus promises to not leave us comfortless. He will come to us.

Psalm 147:3 “The Lord heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.”

God has promised to heal our broken hearts and to bind up our mental and emotional wounds.

2 Corinthians 1:4 “Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves have been comforted of God.”

God is going to comfort us in our afflictions, so that we will be able to comfort others in their afflictions. When we are going through a heartache or trial or affliction, God is using it to break us. He is using it to break our hearts of stone, so that we will be able to be instruments of love and encouragement to others. He is doing a retooling of our hearts. Maybe we have strayed away from the Lord and haven’t kept Him in first place. We have let the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things choke out God from our lives.

Maybe we have gotten so busy with His work, that we have neglected Him, or in some way we have been off track, or we have not been as diligent as we should have been. Therefore, God lets us go through a breaking. During that strong, heavy breaking, that heart-breaking experience, God retools us. He is taking away the heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh, a heart that can love and empathize with other weary and broken hearts. He remakes us, and comforts us, so that we can be instruments of comfort and encouragement to others who are going through similar problems. God comforts us, so that we can comfort others.

Hebrews 13:5b “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

The Lord is not going to leave us comfortless. He said He would come to us. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Psalm 119:50 “This is my comfort in my affliction: for Your Word has quickened me.”

I want to share a little about when my son died, to show that these promises from God’s word are true. Here is how the Lord comforted me when I was faced with the sudden unexpected death of my 27-year-old son.

How did God comfort me? The first way was through His written word. It is from reading God’s word, God promises, that we will receive strength and comfort. God’s word speaks to our hearts and sends the healing balm of the Holy Spirit through His word which in turn works the curing that we need. Reading God’s word when we are going through a difficult time will help us. When my son died, I was comforted through reading God’s word. His word ministered to my broken heart and strengthened me. His word comforted me. Hearing His voice through His word comforted me. His word quickened me, or brought me back to life when I felt like dying. His word spoke to my heart and comforted me. Reading and hearing His word was one of the first ways God comforted me in my affliction.

The second way was through prayer, through desperately seeking God in prayer. When my son died, I prayed. I got down on my hands and knees and called out to God in prayer. God says, “You shall seek Me and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart,” Jeremiah 29:13. I poured out my heart in prayer to the Lord. In Psalm 34:6 we read, “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all of his troubles.” I prayed and cried out to God desperately in my affliction. God heard me and sent the comforting balm of the Holy Spirit that brought a supernatural peace of heart and mind to my soul.

However, besides giving me peace of heart and mind, He also gave me a vision, a supernatural experience. I have since talked to others who have shared with me the supernatural experience, they had around the death of their loved one. I had just received a telephone call that my son had not gone to work. His clothes were found on a beachfront not far from the bungalow he shared with friends. He was missing. I put the phone down and immediately got down on my knees in prayer crying out to God to save my son and help him to be found.

Instantly, I had a vision in my mind’s eye. I am not the type of person that gets visions. I am sceptical of people who say they have had a vision. Nevertheless, I had a vision and saw my son getting off a boat and entering into heaven. Ready to receive him was a whole group of people waiting on the landing, including my father and my mother and other family loved ones and a friend who had just recently died. They were all hugging him, and loving him, and comforting him. It was a big celebration, a welcoming party. In that moment, I knew my son was in heaven. I knew he would not be found alive.

That is exactly what happened. Eight days later his body was found some twenty-one miles away by a German couple, tourists, who were walking along the beach. The police said it was a miracle that they found the body, as in other occasions, the body does not always wash back to the shore. My son had been living and working in Bermuda, an island in the Atlantic Ocean about 650 miles off the coast of North Carolina. It was a comfort that we found the body and were able to give him a proper burial.

God comforted me through His word, through prayer, and through a vision. The next way God comforted me was through the love I received from people all around, many times, people I did not even know. I remember I walked into a grocery store not far from where my son had worked. I was asking the shop keeper for directions, when I noticed the local newspaper with a small photo of my son on the front page saying that his body had been found. I pointed to the picture and told the shop keeper, a heavy-set young woman from Jamacia, that the picture was of my son.

She responded, “You poor thing. Do you mind if I come around from the counter and give you a hug?” I burst into tears as her strong solid arms embraced me in a hug of love. Yes, God did love me and was sending a complete stranger in a foreign land to manifest it. Other times during my week stay on the island, other people, whom I did not know, gave me hugs of encouragement. God indeed does comfort His children. The love I received in the forms of hugs was one of the most visible and tangible ways God manifested His love to me at that moment of deep despair.

God comforts us. However, I was honest with my situation, and did not try to cover up my broken-heartedness. The Bible says, “Confess your faults one to another, pray one for another,” James 5:16a. I confessed to others my need for comforting and God sent individuals to comfort me. I let my suffering hang out for others to see, and they responded. Had I been able to hide my condition, I would not have received all the comfort that I did. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear,” Isaiah 59:1. “Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19b. God fulfilled His promises and sent the comfort that I needed.

So far, the ways God comforted me were through reading and hearing His word, through prayer, by giving me a vision, through my confessing my situation to others that they might be instruments of love and encouragement to me. I, also, cried. I cried at night. I remember I was packing up my son’s things to give them to the local Salvation Army to be used for the poor, when I was overcome with waves of despair and almost uncontrollable anguish and grief. I did not know how I was going to get through those moments. It was then that the sweet soft voice of the Lord told me to stop and check my e-mails on my laptop. I opened up my computer and found a message from a former girlfriend of my son.

I clicked on the e-mail and opened up the message. She shared with me a dream or vision she had had as she woke up early that morning. In the dream my son came to her and said, “Tell my father that everything is alright, that I’m okay. Now I understand everything he was trying to teach me. Tell my father not to worry, I’m okay.” Here, I had been having a horrible battle of uncontrollable emotion and grief, and God sent me a message through my son’s former girlfriend. God sent her a dream which she was faithful to share with me. The message sent me again into tears, but this time, tears of joy and thanksgiving. My son Martin was with God in the heavenly realm. I need not worry.

I ended up lifting up my hands in praise and thanksgiving. I believed the messages He had sent me. Everything was okay and would be okay. God’s comforting love had and would conquer my grief. Death had been swallowed up in victory when Christ died and rose again. I believed and I would keep on believing. Because I believed, I was able to receive the comfort the Holy Spirit was sending me.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” Matthew 5:4. We have got to do the mourning, the crying, and God will send the comfort we need through the power of the Holy Spirit. As I, the poor man cried, the Lord heard, and saved me out of all my troubles. We have got to cry out to God and He will hear us. He is not deaf that He cannot hear. He will fulfil all His good promises. We need to draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to us. Not one of all His good promises to us will fail. He has said, and He will make it good. “He that has begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,” Philippians 1:6.

The final verses I want to share today are about joy. Psalm 30:5, “Weeping shall endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” God’s joy does return. At times we need to fight for it, and fight away the clouds of discouragement and despair. David prayed, “Lord, make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which You have broken may rejoice….Restore unto me the joy of my salvation,” Psalm 51:8&12a. We may need to fight for joy, but we have been called into the Lord’s army, and soldiers need to be prepared to fight. We need to fight the good fight of faith and not give in to despair and discouragement. “The joy of the Lord is our strength,” Nehemiah 8:10.

I had to confront my mistakes as a parent and as a father. I had to let God do the retooling of my heart, mind, and behaviour. I was not able to make those things up to my son who was gone, but I took it to heart and tried to learn the lessons, so that I could be a better father, a better husband, a better friend, a better teacher, a better person. The joy of the Lord does return. Psalm 16:11a says, “You Lord will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fulness of joy.” As we draw close to Jesus day by day, His presence in our lives gives us joy and helps us to carry on in spite of life’s difficulties and problems. “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” His joy does come again, our broken heart is healed and restored to God once more.

Let us therefore, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Let us enter into His presence with thanksgiving and singing. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations, Psalm 100:1,2,5. 

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[1] Dianne Shapiro (from ackleygenealogy.com by Ed Ackley and Allen C. Ackley)

 

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We Have Sown the Wind and Are Reaping the Whirlwind!

 Dennis Edwards

A friend of mine from America was lamenting over the present situation with Afghanistan, the spending spree of the Biden Adminstration, etc, etc. Here is how I responded.

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Hosea 8:7 We are reaping the fruit of our labours in all these things. Like General Douglas MacArthur said, "History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into economic and political decline. There has either been a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deteriation leading to ultimate national disaster."

Or maybe you will believe it form the mouth of Daniel Webster, Secretary of State for three American Presidents. He said, "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is one to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper, but if we or our posterity, neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a castastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."

The solution is for each one of us to get back to God in every aspect of our lives, in thought, word, and action. We each need to deepen our relationship with the Almighty through prayer, praise, reading and reflecting on God's written word found in the Bible, putting God's word to practice in our lives, and then follwing His leadings in all we say and do. We must not ask what our country can do for us, but what we can do for God, for truth, for love to help our fellowman. We must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him, follow His guidance, follow His word and have a Christ-centered world view in which we love God first, and then love our neighbor as ourselves.

In The Forth Reich of the Rich, Des Griffin wrote, "If the United States, as a nation, was not judged for its wilful rebellion and its violation to His laws, God would not be God. That judgment (spiritually, financially, socially, politically, etc.) is as certain as the rising of tomorrow's sun. It's not a matter of "if" that judgment comes, it's only a matter of when. God is not mocked. What we have sown we will also reap."

What can we do? We can each do our part as individuals to have a revolution in our lives. A spiritual revolution or sometimes called "repentance" where we as individuals turn back to God, or deepen our relationship with the Creator through loving and follwing the words of His Son Jesus Christ. That's the solution and it starts with each one of us and it behooves us to do our best individually to change and become better followers of Christ so that we are able to help our fellowman in this dark and dreary world where all hope is lost and darkness falls upon mankind.

And yet with God we know, "There is no problem too big that God cannot solve it. There is no mountain too tall that God cannot move it. There is no storm too dark that God cannot calm it. There is no pain too deep that God cannot soothe it. If He carried the weight of the world on His shoulders, I know my brother that He can carry you. If He carried the weight of the world on His shoulders, I know my sister that He can carry you. He says, Come unto Me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest."

My wife has been feeling overburdened with some problems where she works and has been feeling really down, so I have been playing the song "He Will Carry You" to her at night when she goes to sleep to remind her God is bigger than our problems and has a solution for each one of them, if we look to Him and confide in Him, and trust in Him. You can listen to the song below.

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Are You Worried About Tomorrow?

 Dennis Edwards

 (I was able to redo the recording with a better audio sound. I think you'll enjoy this more! The following is the text I was using for my talk.)

Song: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, why should my heart be lonely and long for Heav’n and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow and I know He’s watching me.

Chorus: I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.

Let not your heart be troubled, His tender Word I hear, and resting on His goodness, O lose my doubts and fears. Though by the path He leads me, but one step I may see. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.

Chorus: I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise, when songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies, I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He cares for me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He cares for me.

Chorus: I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me. I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.

Talk: A friend of mine was telling me about the uneasiness she was feeling as a result of all that is taking place in the world right now. She was asking me if we could be entering into the last seven years predicted in Bible prophecy; the years that the prophets called “Jacob’s trouble,”  and Jesus referred to as the great tribulation, a time of persecution and distress. She said, “Dennis, Are we entering into those days?”

With all the restrictions on our freedoms that we are experiencing under the Covid-19 lockdowns, with the the talk of Global Reset from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with the administration of vaccines that could result in grave secondary reactions, all these circumstances concerning the present and the future have certainly caused a spike in the level of anxiety was are feeling.

Is the end near? Will the prophecies be fulfilled in our life time? Will we soon see Global Government and the actual rise of the Antichrist to power? Am I and my family where God wants us to be when those days arrive? Am I in God’s will? What does God want me to do now? How should I prepare for the future, if these events are at the door?

You might be having those types of questions, or fears, or preoccupations running through your heart and mind, and you wonder what should you do? Where should you go? Are you in the right place? My friends and I have been feeling that way.

When you start having those types of thoughts, worries, or anxieties, the best thing to do is to stop and seek God. Seek God in His word. Seek God in praise and song. Seek God in desparate prayer. God promises to answer when we seek Him with all our hearts. Committing a day or two or three to prayer and fasting may be necessary. Daniel prayed and fasted for three weeks.[1] Apostle Peter stopped to pray at noon and got a special revelation from the Lord.[2] David in the psalms says,

“My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.”[3]

That may be how you are feeling right now. You wish you could just fly away to some secret place and find peace and quiet from the storm of life that seems like it is roaring all around us. But what did David do in that situation of distress? Did he just stay there worried with anxiety? No, he sought refuge from the storm. He sought refuge in prayer. Here’s what he said,

“As for me, I will cry upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.”[4]

He sought refuge in the arms of Jesus. He sought refuge by pouring out his heart to God in desparate prayer. He even prayed out loud! But, David finishes his lament on a positive note with,

“God has delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.”[5]

In other words, after calling out desparately to God, clamouring into His presence, God had sent David’s heart the peace he sought. David goes on to encourage us to,

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”[6]

God promises in His word to be that refuge that we seek. In Isaiah we read,

“For Thou has been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat.”[7]

So we indeed can find the peace of heart and mind we seek, by seeking God and finding Him. We need to keep our minds on Him, like Isaiah wrote from the Lord’s mouth,

“Thou shall keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Me, because he trusts in Me.”[8]

The trouble is that the enemy of our soul tries to get our minds on the winds and waves of the moment, like when Apostle Peter tried to walk upon the water. He got his heart and mind on the the dire circumstances and forgot that he had God on his side, that Jesus was with him. The enemy works the same today by using the present circumstances which can be quite unsettling. I am reminded of the words Luke gives us from the mouth of Jesus concerning the last days.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.”[9]

That passage could very well be describing the state of the world today. It’s definately describing a time of great fear and uncertainty. During the present crisis, suicide and domestic violence are said to have increased as a result of the heightened anxiety. What are we as Christians suppose to do? How shall we walk? How are we to react?

Jesus gives the answer just two verses later with Luke recording Him as saying,

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”[10]

But how do we look up? How do we lift up our heads when we are so discouraged and worried? If we look to God’s word for guidance, we can find innumerable passages that offer council and comfort and strength for us. Let us look at a few.

In Deuteronomy, we see Moses and Joshua about to begin the conquest of the Promised Land, a land full of giants and nations stronger than the Israelites were. What was the command that God gave them?

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord Thy God, He it is that does go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”[11] “And the Lord, He it is that does go with thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”[12]

Then when Moses died and Joshua had to continue with the conquest alone, what did the Lord say to him?

“Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goes.”

The Lord told them not to be discouraged, not to be dismayed, not to have fear, but to be strong and of good courage, in other words, to be brave; because the Lord would be with them wherever they went. That reminds me of that verse in Daniel about God’s people during the great tribulation period. They won’t be cowarding,

“But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

God knows that fear incapacitates us. Fear is the opposite of faith and stops us from obeying and trusting God. Fear stops us from maturing into the loving and obedient followers of Christ that God want us to be.

“Because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.”[13] “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”[14] “But without faith (or in other words, with fear) it is impossible to please God; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”[15]

God wants us to have faith. God wants to direct us. He wants to use us to our capacity, but our job is to seek Him diligently, to seek Him desparately to know exactly what He would have us to do. But sometimes, fear and worry enter in. What shall we do then? David answers that question in another psalm. He writes,

“What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”[16] “In God will I praise His word: in the Lord will I praise His word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”[17]

Remember David’s psalms are in fact songs, so we should use praise and song, just as David did, in times of anxiety and trouble. Apostle Paul tells us:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”[18]

We see how inportant singing is. If we complement praise and song with spending time in God’s word and in God’s presence in prayer, we are on the road to victory. Together, these tools: praise, song, word time, prayer time, will help us find that peace we need and help to bring the clarity of mind and heart that we desire. God promises He will be our refuge in times of trouble. God, also, promises to answer when we seek Him with all our hearts. David prays,

“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”[19] [Psalm 57:1]

We don’t know how long it will be “until these (present) calamities be overpast,” but God has promised to be with us. He has promised to be a shelter in the time of storm. In Isaiah we read,

“When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walks through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”[20]

Maybe we can sing together the verses from Isaiah 41:13 and 10 from the “Fear Not” álbum. It can be found at nubeat.org Song: Fear Thou Not - click on second song & increase the volume. I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, Saying unto thee, "Fear not." I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, Saying unto thee, "Fear not." Chorus: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; I will help thee;                                                                                      Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.                                             Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God.

One night the disciples travelled with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. A storm broke out and the vessel was about to be overcome with the waves and sea roaring. What did the disciples do? They went and woke up Jesus who was asleep in the rear of the boat. Jesus said to the sea,

“Peace be still.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto his disciples, (Where is your faith?[21]) Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”[22]

We need that peace and calm from being close to Jesus. Let us not be fearful as the disciples, but let us draw nigh to God in full assurance of faith knowing that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that works in us. Let us remember the words of Jesus when He said,

“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[23]

If God be with us, who can be against us?[24] As David has said, “In God have I put my trust, I will not fear,”[25] for “He will uphold me with the right hand of His righteousness.”[26]

So, whatever the future holds: Covid-19, obligatory vaccines, financial difficulties, sickness, limited travel, greater surveilence, persecution, even death; we know Who holds the future, and we know Who holds our hand. We know that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord for we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.[27] 

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[1] Daniel 10:3

[2] Acts 10:9

[3] Psalm 55:4-7

[4] Psalm 55:16-17

[5] Psalm 55:18a

[6] Psalm 55:22

[7] Isaiah 25:4

[8] Isaiah 26:3

[9] Luke 21:25-26

[10] Luke 21:28

[11] Deuteronomy 31:6

[12] Deuteronomy 31:8

[13] 1 John 4:18b

[14] 2 Timothy 1:7

[15] Hebrews 11:6

[16] Psalm 56:3-4

[17] Pslam 56:10-11

[18] Colossians 3:16

[19] Psalm 57:1

[20] Isaiah 43:2,3,5a

[21] Luke 8:25

[22] Mark 4:39b-40 / Isaiah 41:10c 

[23] John 14:27b

[24] Romans 8:31

[25] Psalm 56:4

[26] Isaiah 43:10

[27] Romans 8:39,37

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