Psalm 104:24 says, “O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions.” Verse 33 says, “I will sing praise to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”

Psalm 145:5-6 says, “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works.  Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness.”

Psalm 8:1 says, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have  set Your glory above the heavens.” Psalm 102:25 was quoted in Hebrews 1:10. It says, “And: You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”

What else happened before the Lord laid the foundation? Ephesians 1:4 says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”

Here is something else. Revelation 13:8 says, “All  who dwell on the earth will worship him…” Let me clarify who the ‘him’ is. Verses 1-7 say that it is the beast. Verse 8 continued who would worship him. Read the last part of the verse. “…whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” God’s plan for our salvation was set in place before He began His creative work.

Eternal amazing love. Romans 8:38-39 is another foundational truth that we can stand on. It says, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”  The Hebrew word for lovingkindness is hased. It conveys the concept of covenant loyalty, love, and faithfulness.

We are loved with God’s everlasting love, which has no beginning nor end. All of mankind was made in His image for an eternal relationship. For God, His love expresses Who He is. For us, we entered into our love relationship with Him the moment we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord. Salvation is open to all ~ no exception. However, His offer must be believed and received.

Psalm 119:111 says, “Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart.” Verse 138 says, “Your testimonies, which You have commanded, are righteous and very faithful.” Verse 147 says, “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word.” 

I started reading the book of Hebrews. This little new song popped into my heart after I read verse 3. It says, “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

As I thought about ‘upholding all things by the word of His power’ I began to sing these words. Who makes the sun rise, who sets it down? The One Who upholds it all, the Sun of Righteousness. He died for us, redeeming us from a life bound in sin. He set us in the light of His countenance, flooding our hearts within with His love. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Genesis 1 is such an amazing chapter. In the midst of darkness and total void, God spoke in verse 3, “…Let there be light; and there was light.” Just like that. He, our Creator God, separated the light from the darkness. 

2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Proverbs 3:19-20 says, “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.”

Psalm 119:89-91 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants.”

Psalm 19:1-3 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.”

I reiterated these verses because they undergird the totality of Who it is that upholds us. I love this verse. Psalm 63:8 Amplified says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

I encourage you to read Proverbs 8:22-31 when you have a chance. It was written about wisdom. Verse 30 says, “Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight. Rejoicing always before Him.”

I had another really great lesson in store for me upon waking many years ago. The Holy Spirit put this thought into my mind with His definition for frustration. God intercepting my way to redirect me into His way.

That day was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. My way was blocked repeatedly. Each time I rehearsed the thought He gave me. In the afternoon I was driving to my appointment. The road was blocked on both sides. Traffic backed up for miles because of an accident.

My lane finally opened up. I started my car and this tell tale steam rose up from my radiator. I pulled off at the next road to the right. It was in front of a small post office. I went in and called my doctor’s office to tell them what happened. 

As I walked back to my car an older gentleman held up a water bottle. He offered to put the water in and then told me to wait a little while for my car to cool off. I waited while thinking of His definition to frustration.

I knew the Lord was up to something but at that point I didn’t know what. When I finally started back home, the Holy Spirit told me to go right (instead of left). There were several other blocks to navigate. Here is the short version.

It was getting late so I stopped at a restaurant to eat supper. As I walked in, there to my left was a family from Costa Rica. I did not know they were in our country until right then. He said,   “Marilyn, I wanted to call you this morning.” It was a great reunion. 

Does your flesh react when your way is blocked? Our flesh is noisy. If we don’t silence it, we will not be open and sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing. 

I read Matthew 26 yesterday. This morning (July 19) I woke up with these words in my mind: waiting is an active verb. In Matthew 26:36-40 is the account of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane.

In verse 36 He told His disciples to, “…Sit here while I go and pray over there.” Then He took Peter, James, and John with Him. In verse 38 He expressed His heart of sorrow, then said, “…Stay here and watch with Me.”

They fell asleep. Verse 41 in the Amplified says, “All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing; but the flesh is weak.”

Have you noticed how your flesh bucks against words like obey, submit, be willing? Waiting brings up our hidden flesh. Impatience rises, we sigh, complain, and fidget. Like the three disciples we often fall asleep on the job of waiting. We dull down instead of remaining sharp and alert.

Waiting is active. It means to occupy, watch, be vigilant, pray, be attentive, alert, and prepared for action. I love 2 Samuel 5:24. David was actively waiting. What was he doing? He was listening for a certain sound. The moment he heard that sound he was to go into action.

Verse 24 says, “And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go before you…” No matter what the Lord tells us to do, He has a purpose in our waiting. 

Let’s recount David’s words. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say on the Lord!” Being of good courage comes through our thoughts focused on God’s character of faithfulness.

I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit gave me “Waiting is an active verb” this morning because I lived it out. I had three appointments this morning. Each one required long waiting times. Since I was away from home, my action could only be praying for those I normally pray for. Great lesson. More tomorrow.

Our buried emotional pain takes up real estate in our heart that was designed for His purposes alone. When we bury things instead of processing them, we are doing it in our own strength for self-protection.

I listened to a lymphatic doctor speaking. Our lymphatic system flushes out toxins. Stuffed emotional pain is toxic. It causes the natural flowing process to get backed up. Our bodies are created to keep everything moving in and out as He planned.

Proverbs 4:23 says that we are to guard our heart by not allowing unresolved issues to remain. Emotional pain from traumatic events is a normal part of our lives. It is when we stuff them that we lay the groundwork for dis-ease.

Jesus wept. In that weeping, He expressed His heart to His Father for the emotional pain He was feeling. John 11:33 says that when He saw the folks weeping because Lazarus had died, “…He  groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” Verse 35 says, “Jesus wept.”

Weeping is one way that we release things that are troubling our heart. Psalm 56:8 says, “You number my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” David expressed how the Lord cherished his tears. So it is with us.

He knows our pain. He bore it on the cross. He wants us to release it to Him so that it does not burden our immune system. Our bodies are His temple. He dwells within us. He cherishes us because we are His own. Let us honor Him by releasing our heart’s pain to Him through intimate communion.

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” What happened when David cried out to the Lord? Psalm 18:16 says, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out  of deep waters.”

Verse 18-19 says, “They  confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.” 

Those verses in Psalm 18 are my testimony as well. You can read about it in my book, “He Drew Me Out Of Deep Waters: encouragement for hard trials. Many of David’s Psalms are written with words poured out in his crucible. They are crucible words that encourage us in our own trials.”

The words of Psalm 31 are so picturesque for us. David chose them to express what was happening in his heart. It helps us see what can happen when we stuff our emotional pain. Verse 9-10 says, “…my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief, and my years with  sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity.”

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” David wrote Psalm 19. Verse 12-13 is a great way for us to pray also. It says, “…Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous  sins; let them not have dominion over me…”

When we hide, bury, ignore, and refuse to process emotional pain we enter into presumptuous sin. The Lord has given us His way to process our pain through truth. Psalm 51:6 says, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the  hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” More on this tomorrow.

What happens when we stuff our emotional pain? Let me take you to two accounts. Jacob said some startling words. He grieved greatly when he made the assumption that Joseph had been killed. His sons did not correct him. 

In Genesis 42:38 he was adamant regarding his last son Benjamin. It says, “…My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity shall befall him along the  way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

I have read that a cancer diagnosis often follows 10 years after a traumatic event. I have watched this play out in a few folks that I know. When anyone tells me that they were diagnosed with cancer, I ask them what happened in their life 10 years ago?

There is another account for us to look at. Hannah was barren. She was one of Elkanah’s two wives. 1 Samuel 1:6 says, “And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.”

There was nothing Hannah could do to reverse her traumatic day by day life. The Lord was the only one who could remedy her barrenness. In their society, being childless was considered being cursed by God.

Though Hannah was greatly loved by her husband, her emotional pain ruled her thoughts. Verse 8 says that her heart was grieved. She wept and did not eat. She languished. In verse 15 she told Eli what her heart felt like.

It says, “…I am a woman of sorrowful spirit…” Verse 16 says, “…for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” Proverbs 15:13 says, “…by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

Scientists and researchers look for answers that God has freely given in His word. They think that they discover great information. If they would only believe, they could  have read it in His word. When we don’t process our emotional pain God’s way, it lies buried to bring destruction to His ordered way for our bodies to thrive.

Hannah poured out her soul to the Lord. He stepped into her situation, and gave her the desire of her heart. Israel prospered under the words of her prophet son Samuel. What is the Lord waiting to give you when you let go of your emotional pain?

Peter wrote to folks who were in a trial. In 1 Peter 1:6 he wrote of their joy in being kept by the power of God. It says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”

Verse 7 are very familiar words that describe the inside of our crucible. It says, “That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though  it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In 1 Peter 4:2 Peter wrote words that we can aptly identify with. It says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”

Verse 3 says to rejoice. James wrote something similar in James 1:2. The J. B. Philips says, “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!”

Trials take on a new meaning when we consider them as friends. How do you greet your friends when they are standing at your door unexpectedly? We receive them with joy and gladness.

I can tell you that when I fell into the six foot ravine (1977) ‘friends’ was not in my radar. However, once I had lived with it for a while, it did become my cherished friend. Through it, the Lord wooed me to Himself in a way that I had never experienced Him before.

We can think of our trial as a hidden treasure. We never knew it was there. Finding it now in our possession brings untold riches of grace, mercy, love, kindness, and peace. As we open the lid and look inside, the Holy Spirit will speak words of encouragement for the endurance that we will need.

Hebrews 4:14 says, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Then the writer emphasizes that Jesus knows exactly what we are going through. He already went through it for us.

Verse 16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The Lord is right there with us in our crucible. The words He speaks to us, will become future crucible words for another during their trying times.

2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Though every one’s trial is different, they all have one thing in common. The God of All Comfort is there with us in our crucible trial. He has already prepared the way. He has taken out anything that He knows we would not be able to endure. He has set His special provision within the trial.

His wisdom is available the moment we ask. Proverbs 2:7 says, “He stores up wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.” In Genesis 15:1 He told Abram, “…Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

That brings us to another verse. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”

The Lord empowers us to go through our crucible trial with His resurrection power. It is the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead. Ephesians 1:19 Amplified says, “…what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe…”

We do not go through any trial in our own strength. No, we go through with His mighty power which resides in us. Ephesians 3:16 Amplified says, “May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the (Holy) Spirit (Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality).”

I love the words ‘strengthened and reinforced.’ They remind me of rebar in concrete. I often use this faith affirmation when I am in need of strength. “I am right now being strengthened and reinforced in and by and through the mighty power of Your word.”

The words you speak to another from your crucible trial, connect in a way that is totally unique. You will not find them written down anywhere. They are heart words. They are spiritual with no fleshly mixture. They have been distilled, so that they are like an essential oil.

They are concentrated-comfort. They are like fresh oil that seep through cracks of emotional pain to reach every nook and cranny. They soothe, encourage, and strengthen the inner man of the receiver.

What were Jesus’ words to Peter regarding his sifting? Luke 22:30 says, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

When I was in high school, my cousin sent me two verses. I want to share them with you. Psalm 20 was written by David. Verse 4-5 says, “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.”

David also wrote Psalm 21. Verse 2 says, “You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips.” David had a desire to build a house for the Lord. He carried that desire in his heart. However it was fulfilled through his son Solomon.

When king Solomon dedicated the temple, he reiterated David’s desire. 1 Kings 8:18 says, “But the Lord said to my father David, Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.”

David was not allowed to build the temple because he was a man of war. The Lord said that he had shed much blood. He assured David that He would fulfill David’s desire through his son. How did David respond?

1 Chronicles 29:3 says, “Moreover, because  I have set  my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver.”

What are your affections set on? David gave us a right perspective in Psalm 27:4. It says, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek; that I may dwell in the  house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord,  and to inquire in His temple.”

The Lord uses our trials to expose the hidden dross in our faith. He refines our faith, removing any alloy, so that we reflect His character. He uses the crucible to burn up our affections composed of wood, hay, and straw. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego went through a crucible that was heated seven times hotter than usual. Daniel 3: 27 says when they were removed from the crucible, “…whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”

Here is one of my crucible anchor verses. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”

The Lord was right in the crucible with the three Hebrew men, as He is with each of us. What a comfort. We never had to fear the crucible. It is one of God’s instruments that He uses to fulfill His purpose in our lives.