by Marilyn J. Ehle
** Is it easier for you to be busy than quiet? Today e-mail mentors will respond to you personally if you need someone to listen to you. http://thelife.com/experience/chat/
Listen to this devotional read aloud online: http://thelife.com/blogs/experience/kindle/2008/10/08/our-source-of-strength-4/
“…in quietness and trust shall be your strength…the Lord longs to be gracious to you…Blessed are all who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:15, 18)
We all want strength to face both the small and greater issues facing us daily. Whether it is stretching diminishing resources, dealing the newly independent two-year-old, facing (and loving!) a tempestuous teenager or ironing out relational difficulties in the workplace, we find ourselves in need of physical, emotional and spiritual strength. The problem is that we too often look for the strength in places that simply do not have the sufficiency to supply.
Four young men were taken captive by a powerful enemy king. They resolved to remain faithful to their God in spite of living in a culture totally foreign to their deepest beliefs. The king saw their commitment as defiance and a danger to his authority so he ordered they be “bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.”
As we read with imagination about the testing of Daniel and his friends in the blazing furnace, we shudder to think of the searing heat and licking flames. We read nothing of resistance or screams, only the absolute amazement of the king when he sees them “unbound and unharmed.” He shouts for them to come out and ultimately acknowledges that the God of these young men has power far beyond anything he imagined.
Isaiah, the prophet, reminds us that strength is found in quietness and trust. In his book The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen writes, “Solitude is the furnace of transformation.” Daniel and his friends walked in quietness and trust long before they faced the furnace. No doubt they experienced solitude when taken far from their own family and culture and from that solitude learned to trust in the one true God.
While no one wants a furnace experience, we would do well to prepare daily—in solitude—for whatever challenges may lie ahead.
Permanent devotional link: http://thelife.com/experience/devotionalforwomen/our-source-of-strength/
~Father, for many reasons it is easier to be busy than to be quiet. Help me learn to be quiet with You. Feed my soul in solitude and waiting so I can be blessed and be a blessing. Amen.
Questions: What “furnaces experiences” have you had? How did you find strength within them? How does solitude with God prepare you for daily life?
About the Author: http://talk.thelife.com/experience/devotionalforwomen/authors/marilyn-ehle/
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October 8th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Interesting…
October 8th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Yes. That’s very interesting!
October 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Furnace experiences are not usually easy to talk about.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I would say I am just coming through a furnace experience and I know that God was there with me and before me all the way. I have just had open heart surgery and it was done through minimal invasive technique. One of the many miracles that occurred over the last month for me. So many things happened that one might say it was luck. I believe God knew all of my fears and anxieties and saw me through each one. Each day was a new experience and the thought of what might happen was very daunting a month ago. The hardest thing for me to do was to let go and let God do His thing without my help. It was so easy to say especially to others but the hardest thing for me to do. And now to God be the glory because He does see us though the difficult times in our lives.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Oh Jan it is so exciting to hear from you as I have been praying for you and wondering how you were doing. I will continue to pray for you for strength each day. Welcome back to the site and Praise the Lord you are doing good. I just can’t say how excited I am to hear from you. May The Lord Continue to Be with You and Strength You and Use You For His Glory!
Love & Prayers, Linda R.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
just me I forgot to tick the box in the corner guess I was just so excited Hugs Linda!!!!
October 9th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Thank you for this, I read it to my teenagers before school this a.m. it was perfect and they really appreciated it. “That was a good one Mom”
God bless
j.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Solitude in meditating on scripture keeps you quiet in your spirit! It keeps your eyes on the Lord! even if just for a few moments! in a firy experience! Scripture and knowing the Lord is in control and we are not!
October 9th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
thank you for todays devotional
October 9th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Jan…We all rejoice with your news….as many were praying for you even before you went in for surgery.
We would love to hear more as you feel led. We continue to pray for you during this difficult recuperation period.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thank you truthmedia….I am receiving my devotional again.
Jan, I’ve been following your situation and am so happy to hear about your news..your testimony to how God has been working in your life is beautiful. Praying that your recovery time will be short and that you will be strengtened daily. Yes, to God be the glory, Jan.
Sharon, I’ve also been following your situation and praying for you. I pray that you will look to Jesus as you wait for answers. That you would be comforted by the fact that he loves and cares for you.
Love from here…..Donna
October 9th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Sharon,
Praying also for your nephews wife…..
October 9th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
marilyn, thank you for today’s devotional. in faith, within God’s arms, only small issues have i had to face because I left the greater issues behind the day I accepted Christ as my Savior and my Strength. what I don’t dwell on cannot destroy nor deny my love for God and His grace and mercy for me and how did I find strength within these small issues? by reading His Word daily and praying, by studying His Word daily and praying, by giving thanks daily and praying, by obeying His commandments and praying. i’ll be honest in saying that at first i was very, very, very busy because the quiet i was not used to. it was beyond what I could understand. and in solitude i was not spiritually mature enough to listen. didn’t know how. still learning, pray I will always be learning , be blessed and in His plan for me, be a blessing, help others.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
In this world we will have tribulation ! Fear not I have over come the world! We will be identified with him! in our trials and tribulation!
Anyone have scripture references?
Fear not I have overcome the world!
October 9th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
wow, this was perfect for me. this is definitely the type of time I am going through. Thank you so so much for posting this blog. it made me want to cry! I am sure there are also others who can relate. Thank you for affirming that some of us are going through this. And especially, for providing a word of encouragement during such times, because as some may know, even a simple uplifting word can be so great during such times of solitude. May God be with us during this time, and help us, and speak to us. Amen.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
WoW!!! “furnaces experiences” and how did I find strength within them, to be really honest I am not sure I can say that I did find strength within them, I guess I found some but I would say it would have been after going through those furnace experiences that I seemed to have found more and more strength in The Lord and learn to Trust in Him and Lean on Him more and more each day.Knowing and Believing He is in Total Control Of My Life each and everyday. Solitude with God gives me that closeness and just like a friend the more you spend time with them one on one the more you get to know them and it is the same with God. Just like that old Hymn we used to sing :
“Oh To Be Like Thee”
1. Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
* Refrain:
Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
2. Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.
3. Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.
4. Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.
5. Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
That is my heats desire. Thanks Marilyn for the Great Devotional.
Hugs, Linda!!!