God's Promises

GOD’S PROMISES

Eastport, Maine
June 29, 2011

 Once again it is time for the sun to set over the horizon, but since the fog has already settled over Eastport it is impossible to catch a glimpse of the sun’s golden rays. The frogs are happily singing now as I sit in my little motel room, thinking back over my day. A quiet peace has stilled my heart; a peace that only comes from God.



I spent my evening walking out by the water on the rocks, thinking about so many different things. Sometimes I feel like a fog rolls over my soul just like the fog that settled over the rocky cove; a fog that does not hide the beauty of the sun’s rays but the beauty of God’s promises. But just because I cannot see and feel God’s promises does not mean they do not strengthen me and attend me each moment as I journey heavenward. So as I sat on one of the giant rocks looking out over the bay, God reminded me once again of His great and precious promises: I AM WITH YOU, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, MY COMPASSIONS ARE NEW EVERY MORNING, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU, I HAVE HIDDEN YOU UNDER MY WINGS, I AM YOUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, MY NAME IS A STRONG TOWER, I AM YOUR SAVIOR, I AM YOUR REDEEMER, MY LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE, I WILL NOT LET YOU FALL, I WILL DIRECT YOUR PATH, I WILL FILL YOU WITH JOY, I AM ALL THAT YOU NEED……….



And as I sat there out upon the rocks thinking upon God’s promises my heart was renewed and it was like I was given new strength. The Lord is faithful and I praise Him for I can not stand a moment apart from His grace. He fills my heart with joy and makes my soul sing with glad songs…songs of praise to my God! So I think and dwell and meditate upon the promises of God for they give me strength and joy to press on hard after Jesus. I am sustained by God’s grace, and each moment becomes more sweet than the next because each moment Jesus is with me as I walk this narrow path.



So I am here in Eastport, Maine now in a new place that is filled with new people and challenges and adventures. I face all of these things in the strength that God supplies and I face them as I stand firm in the promises God has given through His Word. I am here to honor and glorify my Lord and Savior and that is what I will do by God’s grace. May I be spent, may I be broken, may I be completely used up for the glory of my Lord who I love with all my heart! Jesus is my treasure!!! He is my joy!!! He is my life!!!

#1 Rooted In Jesus~Midgett Adventure #3

July 7, 2010

Well, a new adventure has begun for me here on the Midgett. We set special sea detail after lunch and pulled away from the dock. If all goes as planned we shall not be pulling back into Seattle for another three months. We are headed out on our South Patrol down towards Costa Rica---our mission is drug interdiction along with doing a lot of individual and all-hands training. I am excited to be setting out once again, and glad that I will be going to see new places and do new things.

It’s funny though how fear and anxiety will bombard you even when you do not know why. But I find great comfort and assurance in God’s  Word especially in the Psalms. I read and reread Psalm 130, 121, 107, 27 last night and this morning. My heart may feel overwhelmed at times but God sustains me and His promise is sure…He will never leave me nor forsake me.

We are deviating of course a little bit tonight because earlier today a Coast Guard helicopter crashed of the coast of Washington. Three people were killed and one is in critical condition. We are heading to see if we can clean up any wreckage. What a sad day for those families to have to hear such terrible news. It certainly brings a solemnity to my own heart, and makes me realize that we never know when the Lord will see fit to bring us home so we should make the most of every opportunity. So I must live this moment right now to the fullest…I must live with no regrets and as if it is my last because it very well could be my last. And how do I live to the fullest? I believe the only way I can live my life to the fullest every moment is to be preaching the gospel to myself. Reflecting and rejoicing upon the salvation I have in Jesus and knowing His love for me. My heart must be rooted upon my Savior or I will waste the moments He’s given me.

Blown Away!

Well, it has been quite a while since I last posted anything. Life has been busy and filled with lots of good challenges. I have been mess cooking the past two weeks, which can be draining. The Lord is ever faithful in sustaining me and upholding me through His Word and through cross-centered music. I have come to love the song by Aaron Shust, "My Savior and My God." I  would listen to that as I washed dishes and cleaned tables. God has greatly encouraged my heart with His love throughout the past several weeks...when I feel down and discouraged, He brings the Gospel to my mind. "Christ has died for me, He has made a way that I can have peace with God, I am clothed in His righteousness, and in Him I hide!" Preaching the Gospel to myself is a definite must to keep my eyes focused on the cross. I do have some fellow Believers here on the boat, but most of them do not think about the cross and live discouraged lives. It is only by God's grace that He has taught me that the Gospel is not just for unbelievers but for Believers!

Now that I am no longer mess cooking, I will be working back in Navigation. I am also taking two classes that keep me busy with homework and projects. I am doing well, though even if I don't have lots of down time...it helps make the patrol go faster. I miss all of you back home, and it encourages me greatly knowing that you are lifting me up in your prayers.

I suppose if I were to sum up the past several months and even the past two years, the lessons God has taught me all seem to derive from the book of Philippians. The joy we have as followers of Christ is not based off of circumstances and feelings, but off of Him. Situations, people, pain, suffering, and even sin can never take away that which is most imoprtant to me---Jesus! Oh how I love Him...sometimes I feel like I could explode with the joy in knowing Him...and to think I have only tasted but a small bit of it. I am comforted by the fact that I am not HOME yet! Someday I will be with Jesus...and I will see Him face to face. My faith will be turned to sight. What a wonderful day that will be! My fellow Coasties cannot comprehend my joy nor the reason I am so happy when I tell them why...because I know Jesus and He fills me with joy. It is a mystery to them, but not to me. How could I be anything but joyful in knowing and being known by the Almighty God who has saved me. Believers who do not think and rejoice in the Gospel daily will be robbed of joy, drained of strength, and conformed to the word around them. We must fight for joy...true, lasting joy in Jesus. Sometimes God's presence seems far away...maybe even gone...but we must not trust our feelings. When God's presence seems far away cling to His promises.

So here I am clinging to the promises of God, amazed by His love, and filled with joy in knowing Him. I am saved by grace and I no longer live but Jesus Christ lives in me. I am not home yet, but someday soon I will be with Jesus and until then I want to live life with all I have got for His glory. O that I may be spent and used up for Him and make it to my heavenly home all used up, spilled out, and worn out from serving Jesus...and yes, smiling as I cross the finish line.

Midgett Adventures~ #23 The Promise

February 15, 2010

“We did not come to China because missionary work here was either safe or easy, but because He had called us. We did not enter upon our present positions under a guarantee of human protection, but relying on the promise of His presence.”
--Hudson Taylor

How often we limit our service to the Almighty God by making life decisions based off fear or discomfort. We reason to ourselves that we surely cannot do such and such a work or go to such and such a place because we may be placing our families and ourselves in harms way. God surely would not want us to do something that would take us away from the amenities (oops…necessities!) of life that we are so accustomed to. We long to have the vibrant, genuine relationship with the Lord that we read so much about in missionary biographies and in books about the saints of old, but we are unwilling to leave the warm fireside at home and go out into the darkness in order to spread the light of the Gospel. When given the choice, we would rather dabble in temporary pleasures and comforts instead of being spent for something that will not fade away.

This is the pitfall, we all must be careful of because it is so easy to seek comfort and safety and avoid pain and heartache. Who in their right mind would go to China, leaving family and friends (not to mention the promise of a successful medical career) behind knowing you may never return or see them again upon this earth? Who would delight in spending the best years of his life in a foreign land, spending strength and health on a work that at times seemed to be unraveling at the seams, laying children and Beloved in the earth for the sake of the ministry, and sending his surviving children back home to not see them for years at times? Hudson Taylor did all this and more, not because he had some fascination for suffering or hardship, but because He loved Christ and willingly followed Him to the ends of the earth. He knew, believed, and acted upon the confidence that this life is not all there is, but that something so much greater is yet to come. He heard and felt the cries of the lost souls in China and layed all on the alter to take them the Gospel. Was He crazy? Did he have a death wish? Did he care so little for his family? Only God knows the depth of his sorrow, the tears he shed as he watched his wife and little ones slip away, the heartache he felt as he looked at a photograph of his children who were London, wishing he could be with them, or how his heart yearned to comfort the other missionaries he was leading as they walked through deep darkness and difficult trials.

This man of God had not come to China because it would be easy or painless. He knew the cost would be great, but he was committed to following Christ wherever He would lead him. He did not press on because he knew he would be protected from harm or that his family would not face danger, but he pressed on because he knew and believed that God would always be with him and would never leave or forsake him.

And should this not be how we live our lives? Following hard after Christ is not safe nor is it comfortable and any who think it is or should be are greatly mistaken. Christ did not come into the world to bring peace but a sword---He has sent us out like sheep among wolves. We will face hardship and difficulty---we have been promised persecution. But another promise shines forth, giving strength and endurance to all lovers of Christ who follow Him no matter what and that is the promise of His presence: Immanuel---God with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us; He is always with us and in this, we should press on, basing our every decision off this promise and not our fear.