~WFW~Faith in the Night~

"After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." - Matthew 14:24-27

Why is it that problems always seem bigger in the middle of the night? In the hours between the days, our fears loom larger and burdens grow heavier. It was between three and four o'clock in the morning when the disciples fought the storm on the Sea of Galilee. In Matthew 14 we hear about how their imaginations whipped around like a wild wind. And just when the storm was taking them under for the last time, Jesus walked by on the water! Crazy!

Just look at their response.

"And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

Why do you doubt? He asked him. I'm right here.

We painfully identify with the disciples' fear. When we're out here on our own, our hearts become filled with fear. Overwhelmed by circumstances, we forget who He is. He's God. He's in control.

The Christian life is a life of faith. In faith you can say, God has made some promises and I believe Him. I don't always understand His ways, but I trust Him. He's in charge.

God has given you some assurances so that you can walk by faith while you're waiting for Him to work. You don't have to take your view your life from what you see happening right in front of you. Living by faith and holding onto God's promises gives stability and strength to life. Devotion taken from James McDonald

I find my heart is heavy tonight. There are so many people who are sick, and the numbers keep growing. In less than 1 month now, it will be a year since everything changed in our family. In this last year, it is unbelievable how MANY people who have cancer, alone. There are MANY other types of illnesses. And, so many people who are hurting for various reasons. Please join me today in praying for the many with illnesses, people who are hurting and for our country.

In particular, Jan was pretty wiped out from her last trip to MD Anderson. She is attempting to come off the steroids. Her potassium was low, so they are supplementing that. She said she felt off balanced. The nurse over this clinical trial she is on made a comment that these new feelings are due to the chemo. Pray that she will not dwell on these comments and that she will remain positive and feel GREAT!

And, Joyce is doing dramatically better. Thanks for praying.

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Love & Blessings!