Thoughts between daughter and Father X

COME UNTO ME AND I WILL REFRESH THEE

Her thoughts said, “I can go on no longer”

Her Father said,

“Thou canst. Thou canst do all things through Christ who strengthens thee. Is tribulation a new thing to any child of Mine? Shouldest thou expect to be without pressure, batterings, toil, tears, discouragements, disappointments, ingratitudes, obloquies? All my servants had these in abundant measure. Look and thou wilt see their footsteps in the dust of the road. But they had strong consolation and so hast thou. Not to be pitied, but happy is she that hath the God of Jacob for her help, whose hope is in the Lord her God.

"Doth the burning sun distress thee? There shall be shade from the heat. Art thou beaten by the storm? There shall be a hiding place from storm and from rain. Or is it that thou art too weary to know why thou art so weary? Then come unto Me and I will refresh thee.”

THE STING AND THE STINGER

Her thoughts said, “The sting of grief abideth.”

Her Father said,

"My word to thee is 'Pray for them which despitefully use thee.' The word is not 'Wait till the stinger be sorry for stinging.' Art thou stung? Thou wilt find as thou prayest that the sting will lose its power. Thy thinking will be kindly. Thou wilt remember Him who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously. Thy Savior hath left thee an example that thou shouldest follow in His steps."

DO NOT BE UNJUST

The daughter was troubled, longing that confidence should be restored and yet not seeing how that which snapped in an hour of stress could be counted upon again.

Her Father opened the matter to her:

"Thou canst not recreate confidence. But do not be unjust. What ground hadst thou for thy confidence? Didst thou ask sand to be rock? Iron to be steel? Cane to be oak? To do that is to expect what cannot be. Do not be unjust.

"Now turn from these sad thoughts: think of the faithful and loyal in whom thy heart may safely rest. Are not their words as honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones? Be grateful, make much of them, and go on thy way as one who is girded with gladness.”

THOU ART NO BIRD

Her thoughts said, "Arrows are shot, as it were, from darkness, from nowhere. I cannot see whence they come and I do not know why they are shot. I only know that I long to escape out of their reach."

Her Father said,

“That is not a new temptation. Meet it as he who wrote, 'How say yet to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain?" They make ready their arrow upon the string that they may shoot in darkness.' Arrows shot in open day can be seen and countered. Arrows shot in darkness test the temper and poise of the spirit. But do not flee as a bird. Thou art no bird."

LET THE REST GO BY

Her thoughts said, "How wearisome is the chatter of earth."

Her Father said,

“The world passeth away, and the lust thereof (and the talk thereof), but she who doeth the will of God abideth forever. Fix thine heart on doing my will, and let the rest go by.

Selah.

Prayer

Dear Father of lights, Abba of grace, God of rivers and fountains... You who bring forth springs in the desert, please refresh my spirit today as I wait on you. You have said, 'Come unto Me and I will refresh thee.' And, so I come to you, full of dryness, full of questions, full of hesitations, full of doubts. I believe, help thou my unbelief. Cleanse my eyes with tears and let me see again the diamond-path of grace, the treasures of the journey.

Today, Father, I claim the promise of your refreshment. Today I see again the water that bursts forth in the desert land, and I drink, and am satisfied. The one who believes in you, out of his inner being will flow rivers of living water -- thus you promised and thus I request. I drink, and give thanks.

Thank you that you are working in me -- this day -- both to will and do your good pleasure. I wait for you and give you my praise! Grant a new filling of the Spirit in my life to fulfill this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Selah.

Note: More thoughts from the private conversation of Amy Carmichael, as she talked to her Father about the issues of life and personal challenges around her. God used her to rescue many young girls from ritual Hindu temple prostitution, and wrought miracles through her prayer life. Here is glimpse into that prayer life. May it bless you today!

The Lover of souls brings rose from brier

Lover of souls, Thee have I heard

Lover of souls, Thee have I heard,
Thee will I sing, for sing I must;
Thy good and comfortable word
Hath raised my spirit from the dust.

In dusty ways my feet had strayed,
And foolish fears laid hold on me,
Until what time I was afraid
I suddenly remembered Thee.

Remembering Thee, I straight forgot
What other while had troubled me;
It was as though it all were not;
I only was aware of Thee.

Of Thee, of Thee alone, aware,
I rested me, I held me still;
The blessed thought of Thee, most Fair,
Dispelled the brooding sense of ill.

Then quietness around me fell,
And Thou didst speak; my spirit heard.
I worshiped and rejoiced, for well
I knew Thy comfortable word.

Whoso hath known that comforting,
The inward touch that maketh whole,
How can she ever choose but sing,
To Thee, O Lover of my soul!

Rose from brier

“I have no desire that my imprisonment should end before the right time; I love my chains. My senses, indeed, have not any relish for such things, but my heart is separated from them and borne over them.”

Madam Guyon said that. I cannot say that I love my chains in any literal sense whatever, nor do I believe that we are meant to do so. Our Lord did not tell the woman who was bound to love the cords that bound her. But in the sense that Madam Guyon meant the words [indeed, she said her senses had no relish for such things!] I believe that He can give us grace to find something truly lovable in that which [while He allows it to continue] is His will for us.

Disappointments, for example; in a quiet procession these weary little things have entered this room. After the foot began to mend other troubles came, one after the other, pulling me up just when it seemed as though I might soon begin to walk. As each corner was turned we thought it would be the last, but there was always another.

But one of the first of these disappointments was lighted by something so sweet and dear that I knew at once it could not be only for me, but must be for you – you who know so much about these matters of continuing trial and pain!

One of our Fellowship was at home on furlough, and he was to return to us on February 25; I had set my heart on being up and ready to meet him and the new brother whom he was bringing with him. I was sure I would be at the Welcoming Service to sing the welcome song, and for a month or so before that date it seemed as if I would indeed be there… Then all hope gradually faded. I was still in bed when they came – not even in a chair.

That morning of the Welcoming Service, while the chiming bells were ringing from the tower, in spirit I was far more in the midst of that beloved crowd in the House of Prayer than in my room. And I ached to be there really, not just in spirit – I ached until all of me was one ache; and then, each word as clear as though it slid down the clear chiming bells, deep within my heart, this little song within me:

Thou hast not that, My child, but thou hast Me,
And am not I alone enough for thee?
I know it all, know how thy heart was set
Upon this joy which is not given yet.

And well I know how through the wistful days
Thou walkest all the dear familiar ways,
As unregarded as a breath of air,
But there in love and longing, always there!

I know it all; but from thy brier shall blow
A rose for others. If it were not so
I would have told thee. Come then, say to Me:
My Lord, my Love, I am content with Thee.

“From thy brier shall blow a rose for others.” In the hills of South India there are tall and beautiful bushes of wild roses. The roses are larger than ours at home and of an unforgettable sweetness. But they were not called to mind by these words. I saw rather a little, low, very prickly bush in an old-fashioned English garden; it was covered with inconspicuous pink roses. But the wonder of the bush was its all-pervading fragrance, for it was a sweetbrier. And I saw One who has been long in the land where no thorns grow, cutting a spray from the bush, stripping the thorns off and giving it to me. And may those who walk the road and street, as unregarded as a breath of air, but there in love and longing, always there… may they find a rose from my brier caused to grow – and may they find no prickling thorn on the stem of this rose from my brier!

I think that when He whom our soul loveth comes so near to us, and so gently helps our human weakness, then what Madam Guyon wrote nearly three hundred years ago becomes a present truth. We are borne over the oppression that would hold us down, we mount up on wings, we find a secret sweetness in our brier. But it is not of us. It is Love that lifts us up. It is Love that is the sweetness!

Is the one who reads this in great weariness, or the exhaustion that follows a sore hurt, or in the terrible grasp of pain? He who loves as no one else can love, who understands to the uttermost, is not far away. He wants us to say, He can give it to us to say, “My Lord, my Love, I am content with Thee.”

Alleluia!

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Rose from Brier, 50-53.

The journey is too great for thee -- but wait!

An angel touched me in the journey

An angel touched me, and he said to me,
“The journey, pilgrim, is too great for thee;
But rise and eat and drink;
Thy food is here,
Thy Bread of Life,
Thy cruse of Water clear,
Drawn from the brook that doth as yesterday
Flow by the way.

“And thou shalt go in strength of that pure food
Made thine by virtue of the sacred Rood,
Unto the Mount of God,
Where thy Lord’s face
Shall shine on thee,
On thee in thy low place,
Down at His feet, who was thy Strength and Stay
Through all the way.”

O Cake of Bread, baken on coals of fire –
Sharp fires of pain;
O Water turned to Wine –
The word is true: this food is daily mine.
Then never, never can the journey be
Too great for me!

Alleluia!

Selah.

The Angel of the Lord came again the second time

But there were hours when I could not bear to hear the song of the mountaineer sung by the group of loving singers who so often sang to me, because I did not feel that I had attained, and I feared very much what is termed tongue-grace and paper-grace. All these letters are written from the lower slopes of the mountain...

I have told how it came to be a custom to share my pot of manna in the form of a short note… To turn over the leaves of such a notebook [journal] is like turning back the weeks and months and looking at past days again. This is what I find soon after the comforting assurance came, “Upon thy brier shall bloom a rose for others.”

1 Kings 19:7 – And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

Is it not good and comforting to know that the angel of the Lord came again the second time? We never reach the place where we pass beyond the compassion of our God: His compassions fail not; they are new every morning, never tiring of us, always strong for our help.

There have been times for nearly all of us when we have felt the truth of the angel’s word, ‘The journey is too great for thee’ – but have we not always found the Bread of Life and the Water of Life ready for our sustenance? And in the strength of that meat we have gone on, and shall go on, even to the Mountain of God.

But the perplexing thing is that even after we have been comforted and strengthened we can feel quite weak and tired again, just as though we had never been fed on the blessed Cake of Bread, the Water turned to Wine. It is consoling to find that we are not alone there. That heavenly minded book, Revelations of Divine Love, which has opened to me more than ever during these months, is refreshingly candid. After the anchoress Julian of Norwich had seen the fifteen “Shewings” that had fair and steadily gladdened her heart, each following the other, she wrote:

“And at the end all was closed, and I saw no more. And soon I felt that I should live and languish; and anon my sickness came again: first in my head with a sound and din, and suddenly my whole body was fulfilled with sickness like it was before. And I was barren and as dry as if I never had comfort but little. And as a wretched creature I moaned and cried for feeling of my bodily pains and for failing of comfort, spirit and body.”

But her courteous Lord did not leave her; the words of solace follow a little later: Thou shalt not be overcome was said full clearly and full mightily, for assuredness and comfort against all tribulations that may come. He said not: Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted; but He said: Thou shalt not be overcome. God willeth that we take heed to these words, and that we be ever strong in sure trust, in weal and woe. For He loveth and enjoyeth us, and so willeth He that we love and enjoy Him and mightily trust in Him; and all shall be well.

Blessed be the patience of our Lord, our dear-worthy Redeemer. The angel of the Lord came again the second time!

Alleluia!

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Rose from Brier, 71-73.

Thoughts between daughter and Father IX

KNOWING ONLY TO FOLLOW

Her thoughts said, “How can I know that it is the time to move?”

Her Father said,

“And it shall be when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle. Thou shalt certainly hear that sound. There will be a quiet sense of sureness and a sense of peace.”

The daughter said, “If another also heard that sound it would be easier.”

Her Father said,

That may not always be. The sound of going is like the voice of the shepherd that the sheep know, but how they know they could not tell, knowing only to follow.”

THE TOKEN

The daughter said, “But how can I be sure?”

Her Father said,

When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice. And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. Therein lies the token. Thou wilt recognize the Voice of the Shepherd. The voice of the stranger will be nothing to thee.”

NO POWER CAN BAR THE WAY

Her thoughts said, “I wish that the sea might be made into dry land and the waters divide – then all would understand that Thou art leading me.”

Her Father said,

That crossing of the sea was the first and the easier obedience. The crossing of the river later on asked for a more daring faith. The way did not open in Jordan until the feet of the priests were dipped in the water. But it did open then. Rivers turn to roads, mountains become valleys, when He who is named Remover of Hindrances goeth before. Then no one can forbid. No power can bar the way.”

LOVE AND THOU SEEST

The daughter thought of Absalom, who dwelt two full years in Jerusalem and say not the King’s face. What if she be like Absalom?

And she remembered Bartimaeus, and how, casting away his garment, he sprang up and came to the Lord Jesus. Was there a garment that she had not cast away?

Her Father said,

“O foolish and blind, if there be any hindering thing known to thee, cast it away now; if such there be and thou dost not know it, I will reveal it to thee. Be not anxious even about that. Dost thou not love? I know that thou lovest. Love and thou comest. Love and thou seest.”

Love and thou seest!

Selah.

Prayer

Dear God of my rivers and deserts, help me today to serve you in faithful obedience. Help me to hear the sound of moving in the mulberry trees of the spirit, and then to move... holding nothing back, casting away the garments that have held me and framed me in lesser things, I spring up to follow you. Then others who do not hear the sound of moving may see it in my life, and be blessed. Then will they understand, according to your will -- yet may I not use that lack of understanding as a garment crutch! May I be to you today as Abraham and Sarah, who journeyed across the wilderness in faith, to the land of promise. May I be today as the priests who walked into the river, and found it a road!

Today, Father, I claim the promise that at your right hand are pleasures forevermore, and you know best, far and away, what is best for me! Today I will sing and wait for you, causing you the delight of those who bring you pleasure by waiting on you, as though the promise had already arrived!

Thank you that you are working in me -- this day -- both to will and do your good pleasure. I wait for you and give you my praise! Grant a new filling of the Spirit in my life to fulfill this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Selah.

Note: More thoughts from the private conversation of Amy Carmichael, as she talked to her Father about the issues of life and personal challenges around her. God used her to rescue many young girls from ritual Hindu temple prostitution, and wrought miracles through her prayer life. Here is glimpse into that prayer life. May it bless you today!

Abortion: the single best indicator of breast cancer trends

Study: Abortion is fueling an epidemic of breast cancer

According to a new study published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, young women had an abortion before having a child are at the greatest risk for developing breast cancer.

The British researchers state that ‘having an abortion raises a woman’s risk of breast cancer by at least 30 percent, and is fueling an epidemic of the often fatal disease.’

The study’s lead author Patrick Carroll calls abortion the "single best predictor" of breast cancer trends.

“An abortion in a young woman who has never had a child has a carcinogenic effect because it leaves breast cells in a state of interrupted hormonal development in which they are more susceptible…”

Read the whole thing here – also note the comments from Dr. Jane Orient, quality stuff. Here is earthshaking research, pure math at work, helping women and serving life.

It has never been truer to say: Women deserve better than abortion!

Selah.

Thoughts between Father and daughter VIII

WOULD IT MATTER?

Her thoughts said, “My work is not important. Would it matter very much if a floor were left unswept or room left untidied? Or if I forgot to put flowers out for a guest, or omitted some tiny unimportant courtesy?

Her Father said,

“Would it have mattered very much if a few people had been left without wine at a feast? But thy Lord turned water into wine for them.”

And the daughter remembered the words, Jesus took a towel.

SOME CROPS MUST BE HANDPICKED

Her thoughts said, “When I hear of wonderful things done elsewhere I am glad, and yet with the gladness is an unsettledness of mind. There is a strange allure in all I hear. There are days when I fly from the place where I am to the place where souls are flocking to Thee. There is a wavering in me which I do not understand.”

Her Father said,

“Thy wavering is a temptation. Many have known it. Thy times are in My hand. Thy time today is in My hand. Would I waste My servant’s time? Remember Thy Lord’s hour by the well. He who sent thee is with thee. Not all fields are reaped with the sickle. Some crops must be handpicked.”

DWELL DEEP

Her thoughts said, “My longing is to heal the broken and the weak, to defend the maimed, and to lead the blind into sight of the glory of the Lord. My choice is to be a corn of wheat and fall into the ground and die. Then why these waverings?

Her Father said,

“Too much of thy surface is exposed to the breath of every wind that bloweth. Thou must learn to dwell deep.”

And the daughter who wavered answered humbly, “Renew within me a settled spirit. Establish me with Thy directing Spirit. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed on Thee. I will sing and give praise.”

I AM THE GOD OF THY EXPECTATION AND HOPE

Her thoughts said, “It is too much to hope that one such as I should truly please my Lord.”

Her Father said,

“But it is written, ‘It is God which worketh in you both to will and do of His good pleasure.’ In My servant Paul I wrought an earnest expectation and a hope, that in nothing he should be ashamed, but that always Christ should be magnified in his body. I am the God of thy expectation and hope.”

Selah.

Prayer

Dear God of my expectation and hope, teach me to serve you today with gladness. In the small things and in the great things, may I be to you as your choicest servants who heard your word and obeyed in joy. May I be to you today as Mary, who said in utter faith, "I am the Lord's handmaiden. May it be to me as You have said!"

Today, Father, I claim the promise that my soul will be satisfied in your presence, as with the richest of foods. Today I will sing to you, in faith, as if the promise has already arrived!

Thank you that you are working in me -- this day -- both to will and do your good pleasure. I wait for you and give you my praise! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Selah.

Note: More thoughts from the private conversation of Amy Carmichael, as she talked to her Father about the issues of life and personal challenges around her. God used her to rescue many young girls from ritual Hindu temple prostitution, and wrought miracles through her prayer life. Here is glimpse into that prayer life. May it bless you today!

God specializes in things thought impossible

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus…
Continue to work out your salvation…
For it is God who works in you to will and act according to His good purpose.

Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13

Look up to Him

by Amy Carmichael

There are countless promises given to us by the Lord for times when things are hard. There is one promise which was first given to Moses, then to Joshua: “I will never leave you or forsake you” [Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5].

Lest we should fear that it was spoken only to Joshua, the writer of the Book of Hebrews quotes it just as if it were spoken to him, and all who read the promise: “I will never leave you or forsake you… so may we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper’” [Hebrews 13:5-6, cf. Psalm 118:6-7].

I like that part, “with confidence,” don’t you?

We are not meant to shake with fear when faced with temptations. We may look up to Him who conquered the powers of evil when “He reigned from the Tree” [Psalm 96:10, Jerome].

Those powers can never say that He did not conquer them, for He both exposed them and made a show of conquering them openly.

Therefore, we follow in procession behind a triumphant Christ! And if all of our reliance is placed upon Him, we need never be defeated in spirit. Today, from hour to hour, He can and will lead us on to triumph – as we look to Him.

And if some duty or service has to be done which seems impossible, the same promise of help and triumph holds true. Over and over again I have seen the Lord do “impossible” things. I think He delights in the impossible!

And He delights to meet the faith of one who looks up to Him and says, “Lord, you know that I cannot do this – but I believe that you can!”

Prayer

My Father, so often I rely on myself to be strong enough, good enough – still thinking that I have to make myself presentable and worthy of your love.

Help me, today, to cease from my inner striving… to rest in you… knowing that you will see me through, carrying me through every temptation to be like the old me and not like you…

Selah.

Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways, 147-148.

Thoughts between daughter and Father VII

He allows me to hunger

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water…

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you!

Psalm 63:1, 5

The daughter found herself in a barren place.

Her Father said,

“In this place I will give you the peace you are longing for. Here I will give you spiritual food that will nourish you. You are always with Me – no matter what the circumstances – and all that I have is yours.”

Then the Father, with great gentleness, drew the daughter to himself. Quietly, He said,

“I am the One who allowed you to come into these humbling circumstances, and allowed you to hunger. I did this so that I might feed you with manna – My bread from heaven! Only in this way could I help you to know that you cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from My mouth.”

The daughter said, “Give me this bread always!”

And when she grew thirsty, she learned to cry, “The light of Your face is my life!”

Later still, the daughter wondered why one like herself, who is so richly fed and cared for at times, should at other times feel so poor and needy and thirsty.

Her Father replied by asking four questions:

“Can someone who has never thirsted know how precious is My living water?

“Can someone who has never discovered rivers of these living waters flowing on barren heights – can she ever lead a thirsty friend to those rivers?

“Can someone who has never walked the valleys of the spirit help a friend who is fainting – or lead this friend to the well-springs that will save the life of the soul?

“Can someone who has never seen burning sands in the wilderness turn into a refreshing pool – can she speak in praise of My marvels, or My power?”

Selah.


Prayer

My Father, please help me to trust you in the barren place. Help me to be faithful to you in the valleys of my spirit, so that I might learn well how to bring others through this barren path. Above all, help me to see you, always with me, no matter what the test...

Today, Father, I claim the promise that my soul will be satisfied in your presence, as with the richest of foods. Today I will sing to you, in faith, as if the promise has already arrived!

Thank you for this day, this trial, this prayer... in Jesus' name I pray.

Selah.

Note: More thoughts from the private conversation of Amy Carmichael, as she talked to her Father about the issues of life and personal challenges around her. God used her to rescue many young girls from ritual Hindu temple prostitution, and wrought miracles through her prayer life. Here is glimpse into that prayer life. May it bless you today!

Thoughts between daughter and Father VI

A silent song

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
Deep calls to deep…
By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life!

Psalm 42:5, 7-8

The daughter greatly wished to make a “Song of Lovely Things,” to sing to her Beloved – but she could not find the singing-words.

She heard the voice of her Beloved saying,

“You are walking a road where all who love Me walk. Some of them walked this way singing, and they’ve left their songs behind them. Find their songs. Sing their words. They will be your song to Me.”

But the daughter became full of grief, because there came a day when she could find to words to sing – neither her own, nor those of others. And yet she wanted with all her heart and soul and mind to ascend to higher places, to stand in the presence of her Beloved…

And He who is love eternal whispered,

“Then I, too, will approach you, silent in my love.”

And the daughter entered into this silence, to meet the eternal Beloved there…

And after a while there was a sound in the gentle stillness, a voice that whispered,

“Even your silence is, to Me, a song of lovely things…”

Prayer

My Father, there are reasons why I could feel downcast. When I think about some parts of my life it’s hard to pray – even harder to worship in freedom…
…relationships that are difficult…
…dreams and goals that are crumbling…
…old hurts that wound me over and over…

Some parts of me feel cold and wordless…

Is the problem that I’ve buried some things deep inside? Are you patiently calling – through days and months – for me to open up to you at some deeper level?

Today, Father, I trust you to go deeper.

Selah.

Note: More thoughts from the private conversation of Amy Carmichael, as she talked to her Father about the issues of life and personal challenges around her. God used her to rescue many young girls from ritual Hindu temple prostitution, and wrought miracles through her prayer life. Here is glimpse into that prayer life. May it bless you today!

A beautiful woman in a desperate time

Purim: The story of a loyal man and a spiritual lady

The Jewish celebration of Purim begins today at sundown. Gail, at CrossingtheRubicon2, notes that Purim is based in the story of Esther…a story of compelling divine intervention that doesn’t mention the name of God at all!

In other words, the Book of Esther is the biblical Lord of the Rings. :-)

It’s a story of destiny, a story of hope set in a context of great darkness, which shows how humans partner with divine purpose by seeking something higher than emotions, something that transcends normal human thinking, something far beyond mere self-interest and comfort. It’s a story how a beautiful yet humble woman saves her people by denying the selfish offer of the Ring…

Some quotes from Gail’s article:

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

Great lessons, all. Read Gail’s whole article. In fact, read the Book of Esther and then compare it to world events going on right as we speak. Compare it to the time in which we live, in which the leadership of entire countries is devoted to the destruction of Israel, and where millions of hate-filled terror mongers would love nothing more than to kill a Jew before going to bed tonight.

In other words: It is time for another Esther…

Read the Book of Esther in light of our world and hear an echo of the ancient question: “Who can say but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Selah.

If it were not so

If it were not so

by Amy Carmichael

I thought I heard my Savior say to me:
"My love will never weary, child, of thee."
Then in me, whispering doubtfully and low:
How can that be?
He answered me,
"But if it were not so,
I would have told thee."

I thought I heard my Savior say to me:
"My strength encamps on weakness -- so on thee."
And then a wind of fear did through me blow --
How can that be?
He answered me,
"But if it were not so,
I would have told thee."

O most fine Gold
That naught in me can dim,
Eternal Love
That hath her home in Him
Whom, seeing not, I love,
I worship Thee!

Women deserve better than abortion II

It is normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion. It can form a hole in one’s heart, a hole so deep that sometimes it seems nothing can fill the emptiness.

Project Rachel

Women as victims of abortion

I was the only guy in the salon, and the topic turned to abortion. The woman cutting my hair asked,

“What do you think of abortion?”

The salon grew silent. Several pairs of eyes turned my way, waiting my answer.

“It makes me sad,” I answered. “It makes me sad for the children who will not see the light of day, and never add their laughter to our needy world.” “And, it really makes me sad for the women involved, they are silent victims too.”

“You say the women are victims?” “You mean the women having the abortions?” my stylist asked.

“Yes, they are victims,” I said. “On several levels – often women are pressured to lose a child in order to keep a relationship. And, how sad is it that our society defines success in a way that pressures women to destroy a part of themselves?”

“And, then…women end up victims on the other end of abortion, as very few are told the consequences to their bodies and minds.”

“They aren’t told about the cancer risk or Post-Abortion Syndrome…” “They aren’t told about the mental and spiritual trauma, which they end up carrying in their hearts – unseen trauma, real victims.”

“And this makes me sad,” I said.

The silence echoed for awhile in the salon.

The one of the women said, “I wish more men thought like you.”

Another said, “Two of my friends have had abortions, and what you say is true…”

The rest of the women agreed. There was a collective sigh, and some of the tension ran out of the room. There was comfort in the fact that I was for the women, while still being against abortion. They hadn’t heard it expressed like that.

Chances were I was speaking to at least one girl that day that had had an abortion. Everyone there knew someone who had.

It was a moment to share the love of Christ in a way that was true, and yet gave light…offering hope to hurting hearts.

And it brings up the issue of abortion’s silent toll on women.

The pressure of abortion

A study of 252 [abortive] women who suffered psychological sequelae reported that

• 53 percent felt "forced" into the abortion by others;
• 65 percent felt "forced" by their circumstances;
• only 33 percent felt "free" to make their own decisions;
• 83 percent stated they would have kept the pregnancy if they had been encouraged to do so by one or more other persons; and,
• 84 percent would have kept the pregnancy under "better circumstances.”

The self-betrayal of abortion

Many women talk about the internal conflict that takes place in abortion: their maternal instinct wars against the rationalization of abortion, and creates an inner context of dysfunction.

In the vast majority of cases, women seeking abortion feel under intense pressure to do so. Yet at the same time they experience moral qualms about abortion itself, and/or they feel maternal desires to protect their pregnancies. Therefore, for these women, abortion is not a glorious right by which they are able to reclaim control of their lives; instead it is an “evil necessity” to which they submit because they “have no choice.”

Rather than affirming their own values, these women feel forced to compromise their values. Rather than feeling proud of themselves for standing up against difficult situations, they feel ashamed of themselves for being “spineless cowards.”

This feeling of self-betrayal is a devastating blow to the woman's self-image and her feelings of self-worth. She is internally divided by an emotional "war" within and against herself. On one side are her original moral beliefs and maternal desires. On the other side is her abortion experience which represents a choice to act against those feelings. These two sides of herself are irreconcilable. The unresolved feelings which arise from this internal warfare can manifest themselves as a wide variety of psychological illnesses. [1]

Immediately following an abortion, researchers have found one positive emotion – that of relief. And, this is understandable in light of the pressure that forced the abortion in the first place. However, temporary feelings of relief are frequently followed by what psychiatrists describe as emotional paralysis, or post-abortion numbness. [2]

Like shell-shocked soldiers, these aborted women are unable to express or even feel their own emotions. Their focus is primarily on having survived the ordeal, and they may be, at least temporarily, out of touch with their feelings.

Studies within the first few weeks after the abortion have found that between 40 and 60 percent of the women questioned reporting at least some negative reactions. In one study of 500 [abortive] women, researchers found that 50 percent expressed negative feelings, and up to 10 percent were classified as having developed “serious psychiatric complications.”

These women develop the symptoms of deep grief, internalizing the trauma. Often it surfaces in intimate relationships to self and others: denial, sexual dysfunction, detachment, desire for another pregnancy, promiscuity, distrust of males, brief reactive psychosis, guilt, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, survival guilt, thoughts of suicide, and psychological numbing.

And this only the psychological aftermath, not mentioning the potential physical risks!

Is it any wonder then, that women are called real victims in abortion?

Truly it is said that women deserve better than abortion. They deserve better than the war against their own personhood, euphemistically called “freedom of choice” by media brokers. They deserve better than being pressured into “solutions” that denigrate the fabric of their own souls. They deserve better than placing their bodies at risk under the advertising of “owning their own bodies.”

There is a holocaust of women taking place in America. 45 million aborted children and counting…and this means 45 million women who are dealing with silent devastation of their personhood and relationships.

There is hope, though. Our Lord still sits by the well at noonday and offers valued personhood and future grace. He still gives water that quenches inner thirst!

Will you love a woman in your life by speaking to her these words of truth and hope?

You may save a life…in more ways than one.

God bless all of you who need this message of hope!

__________________

Resources:

David C. Reardon, “Women at Risk of Post-Abortion Trauma.”

Feminists for Life

Project Rachel

Ramah International

Article on Post-Abortion Syndrome

Silent No More Awareness Campaign

Women deserve better than abortion

In honor of the virgin Mary
Who carried her baby Jesus
In spite of the scorn
Of small-town gossips...

In honor of the innocents
Massacred by Herod
When their very existence
Threatened his comfort...

In honor of women today
Pressured not to carry
That very child, who
Will bring them new life...

In honor of the innocents
Taken from the light of day
Because their very existence
Threatened human comfort...

We lift this verse:
A voice of weeping and wailing,
Rachel crying for her children,
Because they are not!

Women deserve better
Than this: surely the heart
Must confess this theme
This time of year!

A prayer for raped mothers and babies

Suad Abdalaziz, 28, who was raped and became pregnant
during a attack by the janjaweed in the village of Tawila,
holds her 3-day-old baby girl.
David P. Gilkey, Detroit Free Press

Sudan girls victimized
“If she doesn't marry she may become a prostitute…”

One of the most devastating aspects of the Darfur genocide is the fact that janjaweed gangsters and their Arab backers are using rape as a weapon of ethnic cleansing. The defenseless Sudan men are killed and their young women are raped, left to bear children – children forever branded, raised by stigmatized mothers.

It is a shame/honor culture in which rape devalues the girls’ worth. Not only must they now carry a forced child, but do so in a society that then devalues both child and mother. It is heartbreaking, on all levels.

Sudarsan Raghavan, a Detroit Free Press correspondent, gives an on-site account…from Abu Shouk, Sudan.

ABU SHOUK, Sudan - There were no smiles, no blessings at the birth of the light-skinned girl with the ebony eyes and curly black hair. Not a glimpse of joy. For a family still bleeding from war, the baby was like salt on their wounds.

"My father didn't speak for the entire day," recalled her mother, Suad Abdalaziz, 28, her voice cracking and her face streaming with tears. "He was not angry at me. He was angry at the janjaweed and the government for giving me this baby."

In the troubled province of Darfur, pro-government Arab militias called the janjaweed have raped countless black African women in a campaign that the Bush administration has called genocide.

Now, their babies are emerging across this tableau of human suffering. They are outcasts in a war-scarred society where rape is a source of shame and a father's identity defines the child.

Relatives shun them, seeing in their tiny faces the atrocities committed by their enemies. Mothers struggle to accept them, torn between loyalty to their tribe and their instincts to love and care. Many are resigned to a life of isolation, where marriage is unlikely and where their children will forever carry a stigma.

"These are the babies of the janjaweed," said Hassan Abdallah Bakhur, a tribal elder from the town of Tawilla, 40 miles south of here. “I don't know how we can solve this problem. They and their mothers face a bad future.”

Read Sudarsan's article here.

It is heartbreaking. Adding to the genocide, with hundreds of thousands dead, is this story of mothers and children, still living, yes...but feeling dead inside. It is a story of mass rape, ethnic cleansing, and its grossly destructive aftermath for babies and mothers. As people of faith, can we hold them in our prayers and in our hearts?

A prayer for these mothers and children

A prayer for janjaweed rape babies

O God, we confess that You are Sovereign over the affairs of humankind.
Even when we cannot see your hand, O Lord, we trust your heart, and confess You as Good.
Countless times, Almighty God, You witness to us that You are well able to bring good from evil.
Now, O God, dear Abba of the nations, please hear our prayers for these newborn babies, babies born not of the will of the mother, not of the will of the family, but by cruel acts forced upon defenseless women. O God! Can any good come of such evil?
And now, Lord, you see these dear children, born of no will of their own, into families that see them as lesser beings, reminders of pain. O God! Can any good come of such evil?
We confess You, our Lord, above all these human affairs, God who transcends the most evil acts and our deepest, layered pain.
Hear our hearts, O God, for these babies, and for their mothers.
Raise up among these babies O God, that Moses, born in hated times, who would set his people free!
Raise up among these babies O God, that Esther, who loved her calling more than life!
Raise up among these babies an all consuming love, Love that will perish the deeds of darkness, and find...in that darkest night, a Light to lead the way, into freedom and truth!
O Abba! Good God, our Father in Heaven, hear our prayers! Receive these babies as Your dear children. Receive these single mothers as your dear daughters, Abba! Be to them the husband they may not have, the respect, counsel, wisdom and defense for which they long!
O, dear Father, provide for babies and mothers as only You can! 'Father to the fatherless, Husband to the widow,' that is who You claim to be: now provide, dear Abba --
Provide life and love for them through your Holy Spirit; in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

One article from the Common Dreams Center says that the world has turned away, but the Darfur misery goes on. People of faith, is it said of us that we have turned away also?

Let us to our prayers and other actions of love...

Amen.

__________________

Note: I wrote this prayer 11-26-04 and published it on the Parkview blog. I repost it here, by request.

Also see:

Emily Wax, “‘We Want to Make a Light Baby’: Arab Militiamen in Sudan Said to Use Rape as Weapon of Ethnic Cleansing,” Washington Post.

Refugees International, “Stop the Genocide in Sudan.”

Common Dreams Center, “The World Has Turned Away, but Darfur Misery Goes On.”

Amy Carmichael: A breath may be a prayer

Amy Carmichael, the courageous mystic and missionary to India, is one of my favorite persons, a true heroine of the faith…her brilliant life burned like a star across the darkened sky of history, one who counted the cost to attain the calling…of her true self and her God. I could sing her praises on so many levels, but will let her own words praise her -- were she alive, she would not take human praise anyway. In one of her little books, "His Thoughts Said... His Father Said..." she has riveting dialogues between a human and God. Of course, the words are from her own conversation with God: she uses a generic masculine pronoun for subject, out of deep spiritual humility. But the words are hers, so I recount them here, using “her” rather than “his.” For me, it is not a matter of humility, but rather authenticity. She was the spiritual person of this dialogue – it is disingenuous to pretend otherwise. May her words and person inspire you in your own relation with God!

Leave that book

Her thoughts said, “I have been reading a spiritual book and I am confused and tired with trying to understand.”

Her Father said, “Leave that book and read the Book that thou lovest best; thou wilt find it much simpler.”

Two flies

Her thoughts said, “When I would seek Him whom my soul loveth, confusions like flies buzz about me.”

Her Father said, “Press through these confusions as thou wouldest press through a swarm of gnats. Take no notice of them. Be not stayed by them. Be not occupied with them. Be not entangled by them.”

Ye shall be trusted

The daughter knew that if she came to serve the Lord she must prepare her soul for temptation; but she had never expected the particular temptation that confronted her now.

Her Father asked her if she had expected to choose her temptations. The daughter said, “No,” but she longed to have done with temptation for ever!

Her Father said, “One day it shall be so.” “As a dream when one awaketh, so it will be… But thou must learn to endure and to conquer. Blessed is the one who endureth temptation.”

And He told her of hidden manna prepared for the overcomer. “Watch for the hidden manna,” He said, “It will come in hidden ways.”

Then to the daughter it was given to taste of the manna hidden in a word she had not found before: ‘Put your trust in the Lord God, and you shall be trusted.’ The daughter was greatly delighted with that word, and she prayed that she might be made worthy of so great a thing as the trust of her Father!

A breath may be a prayer

Her thoughts said, “Suddenly a question is asked, suddenly a decision must be made. The answer and the decision affect the lives of others. In me is no wisdom at all. Sometimes it is as if I could not even pray.”

Her Father said, “A breath may be a prayer; I hide not Mine ear at thy breathing. But be a simple child with Me. Ask for the thing you need most. I will not upbraid you. [I will not criticize you.] If any lack wisdom, let her ask. And as thou goest on thy way thou shalt do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. Do you lack strength? The Lord of hosts will be strength to them that turn the battle at the gate.”

Wearied with His journey

Her thoughts said, “I could do better work for my Lord if it were not that I'm tired. I am tired of being tired.”

Her Father said, “Jesus, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well. Are you not willing to be wearied with your journey? Many are wearied in the service of self, the world, earthly glory -- you are loosed from that bondage. Rejoice in the liberty to be weary for God's sake, the One who loved you and gave Himself for you. Abide in His love, and you will learn to give as He gave, even in weariness; to live as He lived, more than conqueror over the flesh.”

The age-long minute

Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow,
Thou are the Lord who soothed the furious sea,
What matter beating wind and tossing billow
If only we are in the boat with Thee?
Hold us in quiet through the age-long minute
While Thou art silent, and the wind is shrill:
Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it?
Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?

Alleluia!

Amen.