DON'T GIVE UP PRAYING.

Don't give up! 

Sometimes I feel like giving up. I get hurt and hurt and want to quit. I wallow around in the mud pit of despair. No one knows the troubles I've seen. No one ever cared for me.

It just so happens that there are two wonderful pieces of music addressing what I just wrote: the African-Spiritual song and an old hymn. The first testifies that Jesus knows the troubles I've seen! And the second declares that Jesus has out-cared everyone else!

It's true!

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable

to show them that they should always pray

and not give up.

Luke 18:1

The parable was about the persistent widow. She kept going to a judge seeking justice. Finally, he said he would see to it that she got justice, her persistence winning out. Jesus assures us that God will bring about justice to those who repeatedly cry out to Him. When God says he will do something, you can count on that!

Cast your cares on Him. Continue expressing your heart-felt concerns and hurts. Don't give up. Keep explaining how you feel to God. Keep committing what weighs heavy on your heart.

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while men say to me all day long,

"Where is your God?"

Psalm 42:3

Remain hopeful. Put your hope in God. You can choose not to. But you can choose to! The Bible is full of promises and rewards held for those who remain faithful to the end. I remember my mother having this saying in her office...'No condition is permanent.' I understand it better now. In time, things change and can be better. I have also learned and relearned that God is aware of my tears and suffering. He sees yours too. So hang in there!

I prayed for this child, and the LORD

has granted me what I asked of him.

1 Samuel 1:27

Hannah had prayed in bitterness of soul. She spent some time crying from being distraught. But God did not turn a blind eye. He saw and heard Hannah. Her mourning turned to joy! 

"There is no one holy like the LORD;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God."      

1 Samuel 2:2

Happy November and All Saints Day! It has snowed here in my neck of the woods. But it is sunny today and the leaf-covered lawn is snow-free. I need to go out today and winterize. Many of our summer fixtures are still out and need to be put away til next summer. My special rhododendron needs to be wrapped up. Soon, we will set the clocks back. 

Keep trusting God with your cares and all you commit to Him in love.