Archive for the 'Worship' Category

The Lord is Good to Me

Josh September 27th, 2008

First, there’s never been a time when the Lord hasn’t been good to me, okay?

Having made that qualification, let me just give you a rundown of the last few months for me:

I held a contractual job from October of last year until the end of July this year. When I knew my time would be ending soon, I began to look for a job. This was the first week in July. And I looked. And I looked. And no one called me back. Not Wal-Mart, not even some of the least desirable jobs for which I applied. So come August 1, here I was with no job.

I applied to every major company, made personal visits, passed out resumes, visited the local Employment Offices of Texas & Arkansas, and registered with every temporary/job placement agency in Texarkana. I joined CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, MonsterTrak.com, SnagAJob.com, etc. etc. etc. I scoured the Employment Classifieds of the Local Paper daily. I contacted all my previous employers. Nothing. No call backs, no interviews, notta, zero, zip, zilch.

You can imagine how I felt by the first of September. I was in a perceptively bad position. I had used all the money previously set aside for Taxes (you know, the Thievery Pot of the Masters) just to make it through the month. Nearly all of my funds were exhausted. With much time and consideration, I realized that I was going to have to go outside of Texarkana in order to find work. This is something I did not want to previously consider because of some people very near and dear to my heart.

Anyway, after much counsel with Pastors, Parents, and other People, I made a three day visit to the Big D (Dallas). Immediately I got call backs, interviews, etc. However, a very close friend of mine told me about a position that would be opening for the company at which he works pretty soon. Providentially, it opened on one of my last days in town. He referred me to his bosses for an interview. By this time, I was so down in the dumps due to lack of work prospects, etc. Imagine my delight when I was called for an interview!

I was incredibly nervous before the interview, because I didn’t have the background which would automatically have me as a “go” for the position. Nonetheless, the interview went really well. My friend had taken the time to tell me a little bit about the company, and about the concepts for which the company performed, etc. the night before. During the interviews there was never an awkward moment, and everything flowed seamlessly. This was September 4th.

On September 16th, I received a call and offer for this job! I was floored, to be honest. I really had tried not to get my hopes up about the job, because I really thought it was a long shot. Now, I live in Dallas, have a great apartment, and an excellent job. There are many more details to fill in the gap so as to explain why I am so thankful and in awe of where the Lord has placed me, but I will try not to make too much longer of a tome about it.

The company for which I now work really treats its employees with respect. The coworkers are great. The culture is great. The environment is great. The perks and benefits are great, etc. Where I live is clean, safe, and there is plenty to do all here on the Apartment Grounds. I am nearby almost anything I could want or need. There is a wonderful park very close by wherein my daughter may play, swing, etc. I have a new found tradition of going to a nice place that has a great selection of real beer, as opposed to the sloppy stuff found in my previous town (You know, Coors, Miller, Bud, etc. BLEH!).

Most importantly, there are some great churches nearby. I will be visiting an RPCGA church this Lord’s Day, and I look forward to fellowshipping with the Christians there.

The Lord is good to me, and I am very grateful for His undeserved kindness in these temporal things.

soli Deo gloria

Shell of a Man

Josh September 7th, 2008

From Lamentations 3:

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy; though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked. He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate; he bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow. He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood. He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” Remember my affliction and my wanderings,the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

But for it all, I thank the Almighty. He is good. Holy. Right. Just. And I can continue with the prophet, when he says:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve. Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!

Thank You, Lord, for Your Fatherly watchcare over me. I resign myself to Your good pleasure.

Chloë’s Favorite Psalm

Josh May 18th, 2008

Chloë, Daddy, and Psalm 133A.

Josh February 18th, 2008

Trust Not in Yourselves, But in His Promise

Josh February 17th, 2008

Blessings to each of God’s elect this Lord’s Day!

I am about to partake of the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table. I have been struck anew at the privilege of being called a son of God. I am so thankful that He’s a friend to sinners (some), for I feel like I’m much more classified as a sinner than a son. 

So as I partake this morning, after much examination, I trust not in my own failures; I trust not in my own accomplishments; I certainly do not trust in my “righteous” acts, nor can I place my trust in my transgressions of His Law. No, friends, I trust in but one thing: God’s promise that He will save me to the uttermost by virtue of His imputed righteousness afforded me through His blood. For my good intentions, the greatest of my righteousness, my deeds…all of these are counted null and void due to the condition of my nature.

So I gladly cast away all thought and hope that might be found in myself…even my own feelings of inadequacy. I plead my fears and failures before the throne of grace and cast myself at the mercy of Christ, Who will save all those Who call upon His Name. Yes, it is in this objective fact that I place my trust; for God is not a liar, and He will save His sheep. He is my Shepherd. Child of God, if you have believed His promise then trust not in your own works or inward feelings. Trust in His promise.

Blessed be His Holy Name!

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