- Morning Joy - Written by Dot McGinnis
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My family was my one source of comfort during this time. Their continual reassurance that I'd be well again was a strength to me. The words of hope they spoke helped to bring me through. I remember how I used to ask my mother why God was allowing all of this to happen to me. I'd felt that I must have surely done something terribly wrong to make Him so angry. She'd answer me with tears in her eyes saying, "I don't know why God is allowing this. I only know that He must have something special planned for you someday. I just know that He does--He just has to!" I found myself, in my tormented state, being drawn to Word of God. My sanity began to be restored whenever I started saturating my mind with Word of God. Reading Word brought peace to my heart and healing to my mind. Little by little, I found myself growing stronger until I was once again able to function and to lead a normal life. That's what God's Word did for me. But that's not all that it did. It also birthed within me a hunger to know more about Him, a hunger that eventually resulted in my becoming a born again spirit-filled believer. My mother was right. God did have something special planned for me. Since my conversion, blessings of Lord have never ceased to rest upon my life. At times, I remember all that I went through and think of how differently it might have been if I'd known then what I know now. I was ignorant then of Satan's attacks and knew nothing about spiritual warfare. I never even considered that he was behind all that I suffered. The Bible says that Satan came to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). That's what he tried to do to me. Isn't it strange though that very thing Satan tried to destroy (my mind) is very thing God is using now to bring glory to His name (through my writing)? If someone would have told me when I was struggling to keep my sanity that someday I'd not only be writing for a Christian newspaper but would be assistant editor as well, I would have told them they'd lost their mind! And if I'd known then that Lord would one day send me to our outreach church in Somerset, very town I dreaded, to help establish a children's church there, I would have really been amazed! Especially since they're planning to build a new fellowship right next door to Somerset State Hospital! Ironic, isn't it? Yet God often does things like this in His restoration process, brings us around full circle. Since my battle with mental depression, there have been many trials and tribulations that have come my way and there probably will be many more for me to endure tomorrow. As Job said in chapter 7, verses 1 and 3, "Is there not an, (appointed) warfare and hard labor to man upon earth? So am I allotted months of futile (suffering), and (long) nights of misery are appointed to me" (Amplified). We all have our seasons of sorrow to bear. Remember that even though weeping may endure for a night for you, there's a morning joy coming that will be far beyond anything you could ever even begin to imagine. I know--look what happened to me! (Psalm 30:5b, 126:5-6.)© 1986 by Dot McGinnis http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations-originalwritings/
Dot is a poet and a published author from Pennsylvania who has served as assistant editor for the Christian newspaper Majesty. She is retired yet continues serving the Lord via the Heavenly Inspirations Ministries.
| | Unsurrendered Love Lives ...Written by Dot McGinnis
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He got what he wanted. He would be one to inherit promises, given to Abraham and Isaac, in Genesis 22:15-18. But, it was going to be accomplished according to God’s plan, not his. And what was God’s plan for Jacob? It was for him to have Leah. The only problem was, Jacob wanted Rachel. Still, it was going to be Leah who would bear him a son who would one day head Levitical priesthood. And it would be Leah who would bring forth Judah, a son who would head tribe of Judah, tribe from which promised Messiah would come (Genesis 35:23). Jacob got what he wanted however, he did receive Rachel as his wife but it cost him. He paid a high price for her, because from this day forward there would no longer be any peace in his home. There was always to be a constant bickering between his wives, each vying for his attention, both envious of other. When Jacob was given Leah as his bride, he’d felt as if he’d been deceived, when in reality it was only God’s way of keeping His promise to him. Jacob was fascinated by Rachel. The Bible says she was “lovely in form and beautiful.” Leah was “tender-eyed and had delicate features.” It was God’s perfect will for Jacob to have Leah. But, his desire was for Rachel--she appealed to his flesh. What about you? Have you surrendered your love life to Lord? Are you allowing Him to have His say concerning whom you date, or whom you marry? Maybe you’re like Solomon. God may have already given you a definite 'no' concerning a relationship, yet you’ve chosen to ignore His voice; willing, instead, to suffer consequences. Learn from Solomon and always remember, when you play tug-of-war with Lord, you’ll always come out loser. Or, perhaps you’re like David once was. Ninety-nine percent sold out to Lord. yet still clinging to that one percent; refusing to acknowledge His Lordship in this area. We need to always remember that God wants our all, or nothing at all. (Revelation 3:15-16), and learn from David’s experience. Or, maybe you’re like Samson; so caught up in a present love affair that your relationship with Lord has suffered to point where it is almost non-existent. We need to always remember Samson and never let anything, or anyone, interfere with our walk with Lord. Or, could it be that you’re like Jacob was, right in middle of will of God and yet too blind to see it? Your eyes constantly drawn to only those “lovely in form” while God may be trying to say to you, “Look, with me on heart, that’s what is really important; hidden person of heart.” (I Samuel 16:7, I Peter 3:3-6). We need to learn from Jacob and seek to discover God’s perfect will for our lives, instead of demanding His permissive will. Bear in mind that all of these men were spiritually strong and growing in Lord. They all had a close relationship with Him. They all loved Him, wholeheartedly. Yet, they were all unsuccessful in relinquishing their love lives to Him. Notice, also, that both David and Solomon were married men. So, even those who are married must, still, guard against having unsurrendered love. I pray that we can learn from mistakes these men made and I thank God that we have a forgiving Father, full of mercy and grace: One that will give us a second chance when we fall, if only we promise to once again “set apart Christ" as Lord in our hearts. (I Peter 3:15).© by Dot McGinnis http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations-originalwritings/
Dot is a poet and a published author from Pennsylvania who has served as assistant editor for the Christian newspaper Majesty. She is retired yet continues serving the Lord via the Heavenly Inspirations Ministries.
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