Bring on the Rain

I found a passage that was of great encouragement to me. I had to share it with all of you. It is from Psalm 37, verses 9-13.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming"

Be encouraged! It is us who has the victory! Wait on the Lord, it will just be a little while and we will inherit God's kingdom! Let the wicked plot away, but God is laughing at them! How marvelous that God LAUGHS! If he can laugh, then so can we! Be of good cheer!

This recent Sunday, we had a visiting pastor. He is the vice president of West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, CA. He pointed us to these scriptures in Psalm 37 and it gave me such great peace in my heart! I had to share it with all of you as well! During these times of worry and stress, and it seems that the wickedness in this world is prospering so fast, we still have refuge under the shadow of the Lord's wings.

The Recipe for Peace

1. FRET NOT THYSELF because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of inquitity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

2. DELIGHT THYSELF also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

3. COMMIT THY WAY unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

4. REST IN THE LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

5. CEASE FROM ANGER, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

6. WAIT ON THE LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shall see it.

(Psalm 37:1-8, 34)

Last night, I was having a wonderful time fellowshipping with two of my girlfriends. One of them asked me why God allowed his children to suffer. That question stayed on my mind and this morning, I decided to search the scriptures. Let this be helpful to all who have asked the same question.

For the Glory that Awaits Us

Romans 8:18
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Ephesians 3:13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory

1 Peter 2:19
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.


For Our Salvation and Consolation
(Note: consolation means comfort and relief)

2 Corinthians 1:5
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:6
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

Hebrews 2:10
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.



God hath Worketh Trials in Us to Mold Us and Shape Us

Romans 5:3-5
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.


Sufferings Shall Bring Forth Joy at the End

1 Peter 4:13
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I wrote this because I did not want you all to feel despaired after this last post, and I hope this shall be an encouragement to you!

We may see all those things happening in our country, as I listed in the previous post on "America Holocaust," and feel frightened or frustrated. Many men in the Bible have also cried out to God when their countries were turning away from God's will. They cried out to God, just as we have been when all those things have been happening. Habbakuk is one of these men, and he said,

"O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth." Habbakuk 1:2-4

Habbakuk wondered why God did not come quickly to avenge the righteous and why he waited so long to punish evil. The world was covered in inquitity and wickedness. Evil was abounding. Habbakuk asked God why he was allowing the wicked to prosper and for the world to continue this way? Does that sound like us?

Then God replied,

"Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you." Habbakuk 1:5


God already has a plan. God's judgment and wrath does not sleep very long. The Lord has seen everything happening in our country right now and everything is still under his control. The leaders in this world may THINK they are in control, but God is above them on the everlasting throne.

As his people, we shall learn to trust God and to live by faith no matter what's happening in our nation. Terrible plans are being formed by the enemy and satan is working in the powerful places on Earth, but the Earth fits in the hollow of God's hand. He is above it all and he reigns. His plans can crush the enemy's plans.

"And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habbukuk 2:2

God has an appointed time for his plans to be fulfilled. Everything is happening exactly the way God knew it would as it is written. He shall fulfill his plans, and we shall have victory. There SHALL be an end to the wickedness in the world. As we approach these times, we shall look up for our redemption draweth nigh. Let us rejoice and wait on the Lord.

I do my best thinking at night time as I lay in bed before I sleep. I tell myself to remember in the morning, but then I never do. Sometimes I'll just pull myself out of bed and write it down!

Tonight, I was thinking about how we could explain joy. Happiness is circumstantial and it depends on what we are facing, whether it be bad or good. Joy is a fruit of the spirit and it is a gift from God as we grow in our walk with him. Joy is always abiding, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what we are facing.

As Christians, we live above the circumstances. We're not really IN it, like a lost person without God would be. Life is full of waves, tidal waves, tsunamis, storms, unpredictability, and people get tossed about and go up and down along with life's motions. As successful Christians, we sail right through it. The perfect illustration is when Jesus walked on water. There was a storm, but Jesus wasn't in it, he wasn't tossed with it, or drowning. Jesus just sailed over it.

Jesus showed Peter, a mortal, imperfect man how to walk on water. It was possible by faith and by keeping our eyes on Jesus. We have that opportunity to walk on water over the stormy seas of our lives just like Peter did.

What a gift!

Sometimes I find myself stressed and very worried. It eats away inside of me and I even have panic attacks when I allow myself to think about it for a long time. I feel so helpless and so small at times. I feel so lost. Then I remember my Savior, my sweet Jesus Christ. I can almost hear him say, "Charlene, have a little faith in me."

I know I should. The disciples also faced a scary situation when they were on the boat with Jesus. The winds were strong and violent, the waves were getting higher and the boat was rocking so hard that they were convinced they were all going to sink and drown! They cried out to Jesus, "help us! Don't you care that we're drowning?!" Jesus sighed, got up and rebuked the storm. Suddenly, everything was so still. Jesus turned to the disciples and told them that they had such little faith.

I feel like that a lot of the times. It seems like my problems are too big and too out of my control. They remind me of that big and scary storm. We forget that God is bigger than all of our problems! How little must our petty little problems seem to the Lord! He created the universe and everything in this world belongs to him. The disciples marveled and said, "who is he, for even the wind and the waves obey him!" And that's MY God!

I have to remember at times like these to give it all to God and just literally GIVE him my problems! How do we do that?? when we STOP worrying! Stop overthinking it! Stop stressing out! Some analyzing every little detail! Stop tossing and turning at night! S-T-O-P and put a smile in your face. God is in control! What a relief!!!

He leadeths me besides still waters and he restores my soul!