A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

Be at peace: God's got it covered

These days we are awash in reasons to fret

We're drowning in words. And rumors and what-ifs. And oh yes, an occasional fact. 

It's time to remind ourselves--and each other--this isn't the first election season teeming with disagreements and warnings and it likely won't be the last.  

As always before, we know one thing for sure. 

In every time, through every situation, God is with us. 

Truth to count on

Whatever happens--or doesn't happen--none of it surprises God, no matter how twisted and tortured things may look to us.    

And nothing is beyond His control.

Voters in our Nation have disagreed before. Every single time, no matter who won, the U.S.A. endured.

Every single time each of the states in the U.S.A. survived.

That's been true since 1776. Have we in the 21st century become so weak as a people that we fall apart when things don't go our way?

I don't believe that for a minute. Do you?

What really counts

This is still our Father's world, so we can be at peace, whatever comes. 

Even if it seems we'll remember 2020 as the year of one catastrophe after another.

Even when we're weary of political charges and counter-charges and we fear for the future of our country.

Even though we're sick of social distancing and face masks and handwashing and ache to get back to normal--and then speculate on what "normal" might look like if we ever get there. 

Every moment of every day this Truth endures:

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.  Zephaniah 3:17  ESV

What a visual picture that last line gives us:

God rejoicing over his people--over us--with loud singing!

Trying times have been around forever 

The Apostle Paul penned his letter to Roman believers who lived in a pagan society when Nero ruled. 

Imagine reading these words:  

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

They were called to respect authority because God allowed those individuals to be in positions of authority.  

Those timeless truths are for us, too. It matters not whether we agree or disagree with our "governing authorities."   

How are we to find peace?

There's only one way:    

Cast all your anxieties on him [God,] because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7  NIV

The literal meaning of the Greek is to throw all one's load on a beast of burden and be freed from the weight of it.  

Here's the hitch: We can't be free of the weight unless we're willing to let go of it.

What trips us up

Like little children we want to know what's ahead and how it will all turn out, but you and I can only see today. 

Chuck Swindoll compares it to watching a parade through a knothole in a fence. We see only what's in front of us.

God, however, views the entire parade from beginning to end. Indeed, our all-knowing God sees and knows all of time from before the beginning until after the end.

And he works through human beings, both the good and the flawed. (Just read the Old Testament.)

We can be at peace, knowing that God always accomplishes his purposes.

Our call as God's people

Whatever our opinion may be of our elected officials, God has more to say to us:  

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.                                                                1 Timothy 2:1-3  ESV

No matter who they are or what position they hold, whether we voted for them or not, we are to pray for them. Pray they make wise decisions and govern with integrity, even if they don't believe in God.

Pray.

We're to pray for leaders in our church, our schools and our community, as well. They all need our prayers--and so do their families--not just today, but every day.

They are human beings, with the same human limitations as you and I.

Peace? Hope? In these times?

The future--all of it--is in the hands of our gracious Father, who loves us with an everlasting love. That's why it's safe to rest our hearts in these promises:  

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  ESV 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.  John 14:27  ESV

Not to worry. God cares for us. In every time. In every situation.   

Keep praying,

Lenore 

Does prayer really work?

A lot of people wonder about that

What one person calls an answer to prayer another labels "luck" or "coincidence."

The other day a friend told of not being able to find her Kindle. "I took my house apart. I went through every place I could think of. 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?

No, it's not. That would be a "push-button God," wouldn't it?

I have learned over the years that yes, God does hear our prayers. The  answer may not always be what we ask for, but it's always what we need most. Sometimes we get a "wait" and it takes awhile before we can see see that God did answer but we didn't recognize it at the time.

And sorry, sometimes what we need most is to learn from the experience--and that's an answer, too, because it's a lesson we needed to learn. (Or am I the only one?)

One thing's sure: God does want to hear what's on our hearts. 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.                             --1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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 in. Please, Lord, help me!'

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

People standing around her soon chimed in with their own stories of how they saw God's hand in various situations and challenges. Some were accounts of real times of crisis and others of small, everyday things.

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

You've probably heard people say, "Prayer really works."

That's not quite accurate. The truth is God really works.

He can bless us with or without our prayers, of course. Still, when we pray and things seem to "work out," then we know it's God answering our prayers and we give Him thanks and praise.

Or to put it another way, because we pray we look for His hand in our lives. That is, we see His hand already to work in our lives and therefore, we thank Him. We know it's God, not luck and not coincidence.

As for whether to pray only for Big Things or for everything, I vote for the latter. Listen to the Apostle Paul meant 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.

As the song says, "He's got the whole wide world . . . in His hands."

That includes you and me, so let's just relax and live and be at peace.

Blessings,

Lenore

 

 

The case for watching our words

The other day a friend said, "I don't know why, but I rag on my poor husband all the time--about nothing.

"That sweet man never gets angry, just waits for me to run out of steam and keeps on loving me anyhow."

Maybe you catch yourself falling into that trap once in awhile.

Me, too.

Especially with my own sweet husband, who unfortunately happens to be an imperfect human being.

(Like his wife.)

Home, the 24/7 proving ground

It's at home that we slip up most often, isn't it? Because our loved ones love us we feel free enough to blurt out whatever comes to mind.

Yet if you're like me, your mom told you, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything."   

We tell our kids, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 

Sometimes we're not so good at living out those truths in our day-to-day conversations with the person(s) we say we love the most.

Here's the hard truth I didn't want to look at

Our thoughtless words at home speak louder than our words at church.

They reveal what's inside us.

Every time we open our mouths we bring chaos or comfort. As the writer of Proverbs 12:18 (NIV) put it: 

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Over the years I've grown somewhat wiser and more aware of myself. I've also learned to say from the heart, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

My husband always does, but we both know no apology blots out the memory of hurtful words.

Now, about those loose lips . . .

Some of us, um, forget when we're supposed to keep a secret. Or we carelessly share way more information than outsiders have a right to know.

Even without evil intent, we can do harm.

There's a remedy available, but not at the drugstore. I discovered it at a time when it was essential for me to, shall we say, keep my mouth shut about confidences that had been shared. I found this wonderful verse from Psalms and it became my frequent prayer.

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. --Psalm 141:3  NIV

I've found that verse "hits me and fits me." It reminds me to think before I speak. It helps me control my wayward tongue.

Did somebody mention gossip?

I'm not a gossip. You're not a gossip.

We do talk about others, however, often in loving concern. To us, that doesn't feel like gossip. 

To the subject(s) of our conversation, however, it probably does--unless we have their permission to share their stories.

Here's the problem: As soon as we tell another person we lose control of what happens next.

We can never predict the ripple effect of our words once they leave our mouths.

Gossip is not a new phenomenon. Solomon, the writer of most of Proverbs, knew that once we share a juicy bit of information, it can't be unsaid.

The words of a gossip are swallowed greedily, and they go down into a person's innermost being.  Prov. 26:22  GW. 

Nothing about human nature has changed since the time of Solomon.

Recalculating our aim

That's a word the recorded voice on our GPS often uses when we fail to follow the directions given. Then we may hear, "recalculating."

That's what the Psalm 141 verse noted above does for me. It helps me recalculate the direction I'm taking and sets me back on the right road. I've found that repeating Bible verses like this reminds me who I am and how I want to be.

I can't do it on my own. Thanks be, I don't have to. 

Neither do you.

All we need to do is ask.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. --Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Peace and joy,

Lenore

Think there are no miracles today? Read this woman's story

Does God still work miracles today?

I don't know your definition of a "miracle," but this news story fits mine.

Meet Ruby Graupera-Cassimoro and her newborn daughter, Tally.

You are looking at a woman who had no pulse for 45 minutes. 

It happened September 23, 2014, at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Ruby, age 40, had just undergone an uneventful cesarean to deliver a healthy baby girl. 

In the recovery room she complained of shortness of breath, then suddenly went silent. 

This second-time mother's heart stopped

For the next three hours a team of doctors and nurses worked tirelessly, using chest paddles and compression. During the final, discouraging 45 minutes Ruby registered no pulse at all. 

At some point it was determined she had suffered a rare amniotic fluid embolism. This can occur when fluid that surrounds a baby in the uterus escapes into the mother's bloodstream and heart, clogging it, creating a vacuum and stopping circulation.

At last doctors called family members into the operating room so they could say their goodbyes. Physicians told them they could do nothing more for Ruby and they were ready to pronounce her dead.  

Nurse Julie Ewing accompanied the family out of the O. R. They all held hands and prayed, with the nurse on her knees.

Then doctors noticed a blip on the monitor 

Could it be that Ruby's heart was beating again? 

Yes--and it kept beating!

Despite 45 minutes without a heartbeat Ruby woke up. She showed no evidence of brain damage.

No bruises or broken ribs from chest compressions.

No burns from the four or five times doctors used electric shock to try to restart her heart.   

Hospital spokesman Thomas Chakurda said Ruby's survival is a story of two miracles--her resuscitation and no serious brain damage. 

"It’s 'divine providence,'" said Hospital spokesman Thomas Chakurda. "Today she is the picture of health. She's at home, perfectly healthy and caring for her newborn.”  

So was she really dead?

Ruby told ABC News, "Oh, I was dead. My husband tells me, 'You were gray. You were cold as ice, and you were dead. You had no color in your lips.'" 

In an interview with the Christian Post, Ruby said, "I don't know why I was given this opportunity, but I'm very grateful for it. God had the right people in the right place."

The inevitable question 

Especially when we or someone we love is seriously ill--and we've prayed God would heal--the same question haunts us: Why doesn't God heal everyone? 

I cannot answer that question. I wish I could.   

What I do know is that God gives life. 

All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. --John 1:3 (ESV)

He knows the number of our days. (Read Psalm 139, especially verses 14-18, and be blessed.)

He loves people enough to provide a way for us to be at peace with Him.

God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. --John 3:16 (ESV)  

God's love for us is absolute and never changes, even when His answers to our prayers don't match our specific requests.  

Whatever your situation, hang on to hope

I love what God said to the prophet Jeremiah in what looked like an impossible situation. To me, it's a verse to cling to in tough times.

"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" --Jeremiah 32:27  (NIV)

Ruby's story shows us miracles still happen. Everything we know about God tells us how.

Comments?

Growing along with you,

Lenore

 

Related articles

How do we stay at peace when life broadcasts terror?

How to survive being a mom

More wisdom--and a challenge--from a one-time Nazi youth leader

Let's pick up Hansi's story where we left off last time. Maria Anne Hirschmann, a one-time Nazi youth leader, kept us glued to our seats recently when she spoke to an area gathering of Christians.

"When I was chosen for the Nazi Youth Leaders' Camp at age twelve, I was
honored. They told us we would help change the world," she said. "Once I believed in Jesus, now I believed in Adolph Hitler. Hitler became my God and I never lost faith, even when we had no food. "Finally the end came, when I was nineteen. The Allies declared victory and Russia took over Czechoslovakia. They sent us to a Communist Labor Camp. The hardships of war seemed easy compared to the rapes, beatings and  deprivations there. I saw other women raped," Hansi says, "but nobody touched me. They wouldn't dare! Remember, I was a trained killer and I vowed I would never take that from anyone.

"After awhile we knew we could not survive that cruel place much longer, so a group of us decided to risk breaking out. Even if we died, it could not be worse than what we had. We walked away and somehow no one came after us. We walked for weeks, mostly under cover of darkness. We drank from streams and ate tree roots and wild mushrooms to stay alive. Always we headed towards the West. Someone told us we had to go through 'No Man's Land' to get to the Americans. That cleared area was a kilometer or more across, no trees, no place to hide, with searchlights and Russian soldiers waiting to shoot anyone who tried to cross.

"Once we got to that place," Hansi said, "we huddled among the trees and brush at the edge, waiting in the eerie quiet. Then I heard a child crying pitifully. She was separated from her mother and sister. I hushed the child and took her back, telling my friend we could not leave her behind. We were so tired we could barely walk, but we made ourselves run, packs on our backs, dragging the three-year-old between us. All the time we knew Russian soldiers watched, ready to shoot us. They never did.

"We saw no farms nor houses, no light in that black night. So we trudged on. We had to brave an icy river, with water up to the child's chin. Somehow we made it. Then we straggled onto the bank, dripping wet and shivering. The child would die unless we found shelter, so we could not stop," Hansi says. "We were too weak to carry her, so we sort of pulled her between us. Then we saw light from a window in a low, white building ahead. Would it be Russians again? Americans? 

"I crept up to the door and knocked. My worst nightmare answered. An American. He stood there filling the doorway, looking just like pictures Camp commanders showed us of the enemy. I knew American soldiers might smile, like this one, but they were worse than the Russians. I was never so scared in my life, but I said to myself they would never touch me!

"Holding up the little girl, I said, 'Please take this child, or she will die. We nothing else. Take her and we will be on our way.'

"I spoke no English, he spoke no German," Hansi said, "but somehow he understood. He picked her up and carried her into the big room, which was all light and warm. Someone brought blankets and a cot and someone else brought food. My girlfriend and I tried to slip out while they were busy, but they stopped us. The big American said, 'Listen, me American. Me no Russian.'

"He pointed to himself and said, 'Me good man,' and smiled again. Then he gestured to a room with two cots and motioned my girlfriend and me toward it. We kind of fell down on those two cots and covered up with the blankets. The soldier left and shut the door after him. Next day someone knocked and woke us. It was another smiling soldier carrying a tray loaded with food. So much food! We had not had a full meal for so long we forgot how good food could taste.

"You couldn't have argued me out of my Nazi beliefs with words," she said. "But we couldn't believe the kindness of these Americans. Their kindness and love witnessed more powerfully to me than any words. I went out very confused and stayed that way a long time. What was truth? How could I find it?

"Then I located my foster mother. She told me she never stopped praying for me, not one day, even though she did not know whether I was dead or alive. She talked again of Jesus, how He kept me safe. Slowly I began to remember what I believed as a child.

"My friends, I want you to know that my Jesus will never leave the ones you pray for," Hansi says. "What you teach your children, especially the first six years, they will not forget. They may want to. They may push it aside. But they cannot drive it out of their hearts and minds.

"I came to understand that Truth is a person and that person is Jesus. He loved me even while I was a sinner, while I was an enemy of God. Because of Jesus, God loved me. The Bible says if you sincerely seek Jesus with all your heart, you will find Him. My mother could not do it for me. God has no grandchildren. I had to seek him on my own, with my whole heart.

"From that time on I wanted desperately to come to America. At last in 1955 my family and I came to this country. Freedom was hard to understand. I asked people what I could do and they would say, 'Do your own thing.' Well, I had no idea what 'my thing' might be. All my life people told me what I could do and what I should say. I didn't know how to think for myself. When I asked where would we be permitted to move, they told us, 'Anywhere you want to go.' When I asked what school or what work we would be allowed, they told us, 'Anything you want. You decide. It's a free country, so just work hard, because it's up to you.' I couldn't believe it!

"I fell in love with America and with American freedom. When I became a citizen and pledged allegiance, I knew what it means to be an American. I know that our freedom rests on the Judeo-Christian laws and system of Government we love.

"Our freedom as Americans depends on each of us having the inner control that comes from living under God," Hansi says. "Without that, we cannot function as a free country.

"God gives freedom, but we always have the choice. Long ago Governor Wm. Penn said, 'You have a choice. You may be governed by God or ruled by tyrants.'

"We must teach the children that freedom is a choice and we are responsible for that choice. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, teachers, we are training the citizens of tomorrow. Read the Old Testament and you will see, Israel fell away when the older generation failed to teach the young. The next generation did not follow God.

"My fellow Americans," Hansi said, her eyes glowing, "do not take the freedom we have in this country for granted. We could lose it in no time. I know that's true, because I saw it happen. But there is hope! What the Lord told Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is still true.

'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'

"That is our calling, my friends, to humble ourselves and pray. To become intercessors for this nation and our leaders. Instead of just making a living, let us make a life! So we start where we are. We pray for our neighbors and ask God to give us opportunities and open doors for us.

"We say we are just one person," Hansi said. "Well, Martin Luther was just one person, too, but look how God used him. The Lord gives you and me a commission: To be who we say we are. To live so that nobody ever has to ask, 'Are you a Christian?'

"My friends, I say again, get involved in your communities. Know what's going on and what your officials and candidates stand for. Treat voting like the privilege it is and vote in every election! If we treat our precious freedom carelessly, we stand in real danger of losing it.

Then this vibrant 84-year old woman said, her eyes twinkling, "By the way, the word 'retire' is not found anywhere in the Bible. God lets us live and gives us strength because He has work for us to do that no one else can do.

"Never forget that God works through people, people like you and me, to change the world."  

Question for you: What will you remember from Hansi's story? How does she speak to your heart?

Here's to being willing to be used,

Lenore

(Note: Both this post and the previous post are based on extensive notes I took when Hansi spoke. I also went to YouTube--and you can, too. Once you're on YouTube, write Maria Anne Hirschmann. There are five segments. You can Google Hansi's website, too:  www.hansiministries.org)