Sufferings into Songs 6-3-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind; put Your desires in my heart. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I entrust myself and my day into Your will and into Your care. … “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5). I saw an old friend yesterday whose life is a testimony of Your tender mercies and steadfast love through our darkest days, our deepest fears, and our broken dreams. In a frantic moment of desperate grief and overwhelming fear, she cried out to You from the depths of her heart. You reached down into her pit of despair and embraced her in power of Your Presence. And out of her unbearable sufferings You established in her spirit a renewed and steadfast faith. And in the season of healing of her heart and life to follow, You awakened her gifts of playing music by ear and singing the songs of Your healing love You would write in heart and share with others. You are the God who loves to turn our sufferings into songs and our desperation into faith. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). You love to turn our ashes into beauty and, our sufferings into joy, covering us in the garments of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). Then You anoint us with Your Spirit and send us forth in the power of Your love to comfort others in the ways Your have comforted us and encourage others in the ways You have encouraged us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Thank You, Lord, for every time You’ve met me in my sufferings and reached down to me in every pit of despair. Thank You for never wasting a moment of my sufferings, redeeming them all as I entrust them to You. They are now part of my character and part of my hope—my confident trust in my God who hears me when I call and leads me through them all. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!