A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

Are You Wondering Whether Prayer Works?

A lot of people do. How about you?

The other day a friend told of not being able to find her cell phone charger. "I took my house apart. I went through every place I could think of, but I absolutely could not find it.  

"Finally I remembered to ask God for help. About two minutes later I realized I hadn't checked the wooden box on my counter. I checked the box and there it was. I think God was just waiting for me to ask so He could answer my prayer."

Is it really that simple?

Not quite. That would be a sort of "push-button God," wouldn't it?

Some of us have learned over the years that yes, God does hear our prayers. We may not always get the answer we prayed for, but one way or another, He will give what we truly need. Or we get a "wait" and feel forgotten. Only later will we understand that God did answer our prayers--and in the best way possible. We just hadn't recognized it at the time.

We can be certain of this: God does want to hear what's on our hearts: 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.   -Philippians 4:6 

Do we pray only about the Big Things? Or everything? 

Another time I was with a group of friends and one who lives alone told about trying to change a light bulb that refused to budge. "I was about ready to give up," she said.

"Finally I just said, 'Lord, I don't want to have to call someone to come for such a little job. Please help me!'

"Then I decided to give it one more try. A couple of twists and that silly bulb came right out. I know it was just a light bulb, but that day it seemed proof that God was watching over me."

People standing around her soon chimed in with their own stories of how they saw God's hand in their own challenges and also in various situations, past and present. Some were accounts of real crises and others of small, everyday things. In every case God brought the teller through the tough times.

It didn't matter. We listened and rejoiced together that God is faithful and He really cares about each one of us. 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.   -1 John 5:14

The truth is God really works

He can bless us with or without our prayers. It seems to me the value of us praying for everything that's on our hearts is twofold. First, it keeps us focused on our gracious Giver. Second, when we pray and things seem to "work out," it strengthens our faith because we know it's God answering our prayers and that reminds us that He loves us.  

To put it another way, when we pray we look for His hand in our lives. We see Him already to work in our lives and therefore, we thank Him.

We know because we know that it is God blessing us. Not luck and not coincidence.

As for whether to pray only for Big Things or for everything, I vote for the latter. Listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Every moment of our lives it is as the song says: "He's got the whole wide world ... in His hands."

That includes you and me. God is with us and He is for us and He always, always hears our prayers. 

May you know this and may His peace fill your heart! 

Lenore

 

 

Take another look at your life

How do you see yourself?

Do you often think or say," Well, I've never done anything special. Probably never will. Makes me wonder sometimes what's the point of going on?" 

Just in case nobody's told you this lately, letting that mood hang on is like trying to camp out on quicksand.

Still, dealing with difficult family situations or health problems or simply growing older can feel like too much to bear at times. 

Or maybe your daily grind is grinding you down and you can't see a way out.

What's a person to do?

Why not try on a new perspective?

Some years ago Andy Andrews wrote a book, The Noticer, that became meaningful to masses of readers. Here's a brief summary of what the main character, Jones, tells a hopeless individual about the reasons why they are still living: 

1.  God has a purpose for every single person.

2.  You won't die until that purpose is fulfilled.

3.  If you are still alive, then you haven't completed what you were put on earth to do.

4.  If you haven't completed what you were put on earth to do, then your very purpose hasn't been fulfilled.

5.  If your purpose hasn't been fulfilled, then the most important part of your life is still ahead.

6.  You have yet to make your most important contribution.

(Chapter 6, pp. 83-85.)

You already meet this author's most important criteria

As long as you and I are still breathing we have not yet fulfilled our purpose, at least, not all of our purpose. This makes every day vitally important, doesn't it?

It doesn't matter if we look back on the past with yearning. It doesn't matter if we feel unsure about today or tomorrow. Our moods do not determine the value of our lives. Our down times do not cancel out the good we have done--and are doing. 

Those of us who are Christians see a larger purpose in what we're able to accomplish during our lifetimes, even when we're just being faithful to do what's expected of us and see no fine, lofty and lasting purpose in our days. It puts meaning into our days--and our deeds--when we remember what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Let's take it a bit further

As Christians we're meant to look at life differently. Take worry, for example:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   --Philippians 4:6-7

How do we get through those days (and sometimes weeks, months, even years) when life seems more than we can handle?

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.   --Isaiah 41:10

We believers can safely trust that we will have the strength to meet whatever challenges may come up. God says so, in Deuteronomy 33:25:

"As thy days, so shall thy strength be."  

What will tomorrow bring? None of us can say   

So if today is "one of those days" and we're at a low point, it's time to look up from the pits and look past our problems.

You are alive and so am I. We cannot know how God already is using us in someone's life. We cannot predict how He will use us tomorrow, but we can trust that He will.

Dear reader, I pray you may know the truth of Romans 15:3:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Lenore

Can we thank God in our hard times?

Sooner or later we discover that life is a series of highs and lows.

Each of us would choose the highs and toss out the lows. If we could.

Everything reminds us it's the season to rejoice, but perhaps right now it takes all we've got just to get through the day.  

Looking back brings sadness.

Looking ahead brings fear.

Some may be waiting out results of medical tests, our own or someone we love. Or we know what the tests reveal--and wish we didn't.

Or it could be job loss. Marriage problems. Strained relationships with family members. The uncertainties of aging. The anxiety that rises in our throat every month as we total up expenses.  

Hardest of all is the grief after a loved one dies. People talk about "closure," as if one shuts the door and that's it. Not true. Hearts thankful for happy memories can still ache, still feel empty. Even for Christians.

Silence is not always golden.

Whatever the cause we ache to feel joy once again

Despite what we see around us, some of us may not feel much like giving thanks or singing "Joy to the world."

Yes, we know hard times come to all of us,. Knowing that doesn't help much.

Perhaps we blush to remember times we told others in pain that the Lord helps those who help themselves. Now it's our turn--and we've tried. We may have prayed until our throat went dry and scratchy.

Maybe we've given up because nothing changes. 

Ever since Eden we live in a messed-up world 

That's plain to see, yet God in the Bible assures us that trouble does not mean God stopped loving us. He never will.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."    Jeremiah 31:3-4  NIV

"Everlasting." Love that has no beginning and no end. 

Another verse well-loved by many promises everything that happens to us has a purpose, one way or another.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.    Romans 8:28  ESV

What could be "good" about a hard time?

Try these, for starters:

• We may not know the answer to that question for awhile, but God does.
• It may be good, even though it does not feel good to us.
• Without a doubt every challenging experience will stretch us and change us.

Do I like this process? Not at all. I want my life to be smooth as a mountain lake at dawn.

Over the years I've learned not to blame God for causing my problems. Does He allow them? It seems so, but always to teach and grow me, not to beat me up and then walk away. 

This leaves us with the obvious question to ask ourselves: How will I handle this?

We can fight the situation and complain and grow bitter. Or we can grow stronger. We can become a person with more empathy and understanding for the pain of others.

Always, the choice is ours.

The Pilgrims show us how to live

Paintings of that first Thanksgiving show the artists' concepts of the scene, but none can depict the emotions of that day.

When we look on happy settlers and friendly Native Americans gathered around a huge table loaded with food we assume joy ruled the day. After all, the year's bountiful food supply was safely stored away for winter so they could rejoice and be glad.  

What isn't shown is the deep grief that shadowed that first Thanksgiving gathering.  

The Mayflower left Britain loaded with 110 passengers and crew. By that first Thanksgiving about a year later, only 50 people survived. Only three families that boarded that ship remained intact.

And yet they thanked God.

Instead of getting stuck in mourning what and whom they lost, they turned their eyes and their hearts to what remained--and gave thanks to God.

What if we took our cues from them?

Whatever our situation may be, we, too, can entrust our lives to our Father's loving care and be at peace. 

We can rejoice and celebrate what is.

How do we do that if at the moment, our joy has dwindled and our hope has dried up? Still we can wrap ourselves in the unfailing warmth of God's love for us and be comforted. 

This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  Psalm 107:1  KJV                     

Inward peace and joy do not depend on things going right for us. They flow out of knowing for certain that Jesus loves us. His Spirit is with us, every moment of every day.

Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."    John 14:23  ESV

As the old advertising slogan told us, "It's what's inside that counts" 

My friend, you have all you need to deal with whatever comes. Today. Tomorrow. Always.  

How do we get through the weeks ahead?

• Breathe--and rejoice that you are able to  
• Refuse to keep reciting that familiar list of "What ifs" 
• Let yourself feel joy because you know who's really in control

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:7  ESV

For each of us, lasting joy and peace that come from trusting Jesus is the gift that we can rely on. Whatever the day brings.  

So let us give thanks to the Giver. Let us rejoice and be glad!

Lenore

Help for when you're feeling in over your head

Whether this lovely story is fact or folklore, it has a message for us all as we try to cope with the challenges of life

The mother of a young son, let's call her "Amelia," read in her morning paper that the world-famous pianist Igor Paderewski was giving a concert in their city. Right away she telephoned the box office and reserved two tickets.

She had good reason to want those tickets.                                                 

The night before, her otherwise-sweet son, "Aiden" had marched out to the kitchen and said, "Mama, I hate taking piano lessons and I hate practicing every day and I wanna quit! Now!"

Amelia told him he could have a break for a couple of days. Then she racked her brain for what to do.

That's when she read of the concert

Once she had ordered the tickets she told her boy, "We'll talk about piano lessons next week, Aiden. But first you and I are going to have an adventure. A famous piano artist is visiting our city that day. His name is Igor Paderewski and he performs all over the world. I really want to hear him, but I don't want to go to that concert alone.

"How about I take you out of school on Thursday and we can can go downtown together? If you'll go with me we'll have hamburgers and ice cream sodas or whatever you want for lunch. Then after the concert is over I'll take you to my favorite dessert place and you can order anything you want."

What kid would turn down an offer like that?

The day of the concert the pair arrived early at the concert hall

Soon after they found their seats Amelia spotted an old friend a few aisles over and went down to say Hello.  The two hadn't seen each other for over a year, so they didn't stop with Hello.

Within a few minutes her son did what young boys do. He whistled and fidgeted and squirmed in his seat. After a few minutes he went exploring. Eventually Aiden came to a door marked, "No Admittance" and walked through it.

As soon as the house lights dimmed and the audience grew quiet, his mother returned to her seat. That's when she discovered her son was missing.

Just then the stage curtains parted

Spotlights from above and footlights from in front focused on the huge, gleaming Steinway grand piano in the middle of the stage. There sat her Aiden at the keyboard, calmly plunking out the only song he knew from memory: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Before Amelia had time to think the great piano master walked onstage. The audience greeted him with loud applause as he quickly moved to the piano.

Aiden never noticed.

At this his mother sank low into her seat, blushing bright red and dreading what would come next.

The great maestro leaned down and whispered into the boy's ear and the youngster kept playing

Paderewski stood behind Aiden and reaching down with his left hand, he began filling in a bass harmony. Soon he stretched his right arm around the other side of the child and added a running counter-melody.

Together, the master and the young boy made beautiful music and kept the audience mesmerized through several variations. At the end of the piece, they shook hands solemnly and bowed. The audience clapped and cheered as an usher escorted Aiden off the stage. 

That performance became a one-of-a-kind experience that kept everyone in the concert hall talking long after--especially Amelia.

Over their hot fudge sundaes, Amelia asked Aiden, "I saw that Mr. Paderewski whispered in your ear. What did he say?"

"Aw, nuthin' special. He just said, 'Don't quit. Keep playing.' So I did."

Paderewski died in 1941, but the message of that tale is as fresh as a new calendar page

"Don't quit. Just keep playing."

So you and I do our best to meet the challenges of our lives, but the results aren't exactly graceful and flowing. We flounder on, playing our own version of "Twinkle, Twinkle ... . " 

At last we turn for help to the One who knows us best. 

With Him, our oh-so-ordinary efforts often come together to be more than we could have imagined. The music of our lives becomes more beautiful than we could ever make on our own.

So the next time you set out to accomplish something that scares you silly, or you're at the end of your strength, stop and listen carefully. You'll hear our loving Lord whispering, "Don't quit. Keep playing."

His strong hands are with us always, lifting us, helping us, enabling us to cope.  

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.   Isaiah 41:10 

Our task is simply to keep going and keep on trusting. It's as Solomon said in Proverbs 3:5-6, here from The Message paraphrase:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart, don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.

No better advice for living could be found anywhere. I've found this promise to be true in my life.

How about you? 

Still growing,

Lenore

America will endure so long as we keep our foundation solid

In recent times many people feared America might crumble under the strain of politics

They forgot this Nation has come through hard times before. Survived and even thrived, because of (or in spite of) whoever held elected office. 

On January 9, 1790, our first President, George Washington described the beginning of these United States and used a phrase that's now common:

"The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness."

Democracy, still in existence--to the amazement of the rest of the world. (Can there be any explanation except it is by the grace of God?)

You and me, blessed to live in America, the land of new beginnings. The land where anything is possible.

You and me, still here and still alive, by the grace of God. Every day is the gift of our Creator. May we take Psalm 118:24 to heart--and live it:

This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

It's time to make a new start 

Our recent Presidential election shows an almost equal divide among votes received. Opinion polls report the same. Differing mindsets are not bad because, hey, this is America. What's harmful is when "we" quickly judge "they" are blind and vice versa, forgetting we each have the right to sincerely believe what we believe.

Let's ditch the carping and criticizing that causes discomfort among friends and family "on the other side."

When we hang onto the mindset of "sides," we all lose. Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, laid out the reason why:

"A house divided against itself cannot stand.”  

America's history is peppered with accounts of missteps and misguided leaders along the way. Yet God preserved this "great experiment" over and over again. And he tells us how to relate to those in authority positions, as in:     

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Romans 13:1  ESV

This Nation was founded on timeless principles  

Our founding fathers hammered out the unforgettable first paragraph in our Declaration of Independence: 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Their last sentence identifies the cornerstone and foundation stones for their Declaration:  

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Our Founders were wise and principled individuals, yet they relied on our all-knowing God to show them the way.

 

It cost them dearly  

Those men ho signed the Declaration of Independence and later, the U.S. Constitution, risked everything they had to found this Nation and to break away from powerful Great Britain. 

They knew the hazards beforehand. A number paid with their lives and their fortunes--or members of their families did. As for their "sacred honor," some people around them called them traitors to the Crown. That surprised no one. 

John Hancock refused to be intimidated and signed the Declaration first in large, bold script, declaring, "Well, I guess the King should be able to read that!"

Did our Nation's founders believe in God?

Decide for yourself:

"We recognize no sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus."  -John Adams and John Hancock

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."  -George Washington

"By renouncing the Bible, philosophers swing from their moorings upon all moral subjects... It is the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published...  -Benjamin Rush

Our U.S. Constitution came into being in 1787

That's when many of these same men came together to write the binding document that would detail how the federal government would function.

It required courage even to try to put together this new way of running a country--and it took time. The Constitution vested the power of this union in the people, yet each state had different laws, interests and cultures. The challenge was to lay out how this group of states could unite into one body. 

Predictably, not everyone favored such a system of government. Many citizens still had ties with Great Britain and remained loyal to the Crown. 

As before, the founders forged ahead and relied on Almighty God:

"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests."  - Alexander Hamilton (In 1787 after the Constitutional Convention)

The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.  -Patrick Henry

"The Constitution only guarantees you the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."  -Benjamin Franklin  

These men had no instruction manual

They were striving to do what hadn't been done, to put together a nation like none other on earth and set up its governing structure from scratch

They had only themselves and God. But that was more than enough.

The brave men who penned the Declaration of Independence knew their Bibles. The principles they set down for this fledgling United States of America reflect Bible verses like these:   

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.- II Cor. 3:17

 

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. - Psalm 33:12

Reflections from some later U.S. Presidents 

"The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." -President John F. Kennedy

"If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under."  -President Ronald Reagan

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Let's leave behind grumbling and intrigue and search out reasons to give thanks

May we look for evidence that God has not walked away from America. It's all around us if we have eyes to see--in people, in nature and yes, in politicians.  

 

Every day let us humbly ask God to watch over us and to guide every public official, at every level, whether we voted for them or not. Let's also pray He will preserve this nation from those who would destroy it, whether from without or within.

 

Rich or poor, old or young, let's deliberately talk about what's right about America and those elected to lead us. That simple strategy will help us be a positive influence in our family and among our friends.  

 

Our founders meant us to live honorable and peaceful lives. So does our Maker. Here are just two of many Bible verses that flesh out how to treat the people around us.  

Let each of you look not only to his [or her] own interests, but also to the interests of others.  -Philippians 2:4

 

[Jesus said] "And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them."  -Luke 6:31

Imagine if we remembered who we are as Jesus people

 

Imagine if we let it show.

[Jesus said] "You are the light of the world . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."  -Matthew 5:14a, 16  ESV

If you and I live by those simple instructions our Nation will grow stronger.  

 

It was true for our Founding Fathers and it is true for each of us: God is our strength, our hope, our refuge. 

 

With a grateful heart,

Lenore