SUIVIVING AN ORDEAL (4)

With similar confidence and strong faith in God we can call on Him to defend us when the problem seems larger than life. As we read that twentieth chapter of the second book of Chronicles, we see how God answered the king instantly with a promise. The next morning, the Israelites needed only believe God, sing praises to His Holy name and sit back and watch as their seemingly strong enemies were turned into heaps of corpses, with lots to loot. The battle is the Lord's; all we need do is remind Him of His promise, show up at the battle front, and claim our victory! It is our right as beliverers in the Lord to stand our ground in the face of problems and watch the Lord do it once again. One of my favorite hymns has the chorus: you have stilled the troubled water one more time. Simply cast your burdens on Jesus and He will take care of them. In times of hardship, He carries us on His mighty shoulders. His are the winds beneath our wings! It would not be helpful for us to indulge in self-pity because it brings no enduring comfort. Rather, it wears us down, giving deep concern to our well- wishers. When that self-pitying spirit sets in, favour for those who are less fortunate. Do it with the attitude that "I am because you are, you are because I am." We are here for each other. Doing good things for others is actually the rent we own to this world; it's spirits uplifting. One other way of boosting self-confidence is by reminding one-self periodically that one is doing better than good and better than one's past accomplishments, and smile with faithful anticipation for a brighter tomorrow. I love the song that says: Count your blessings, name them one by one, and you will be surprised at what the Lord has done. One secret to happiness is to look good at all times with uplifted countenance. In other words, one should take good care of oneself. We own it to ourselves, to God, and to our well- wishers to look our best each time. A friend of mine once remarKed that I was looking lovelier than ever. My reply: "I cannot afford to look otherwise." The more I take care of myself, the more I feel well taken care of. Just because a human being like me decided not to be with me is no excuse to look ragged. It would be disappointing to the Lord and a false testimony of how He is daily meeting my every need. The Lord is a friend who never fails.