Don't you love sunsets and sunrises? I feel His presence as I watch Him paint the sky with all the colors in His rainbow pallette. Last night's sunset was glorious with pale pink near the earth, then deep purple, and a golden yellow above. I took a photo but it did not do justice to the scene before me. It will always stay in my mind. And then, He was not finished. The Great Artist painted pink and blue stripes that reminded me of the stripes in our country's flag. I praised Him and worshiped His majestic and powerful creativity!
I know so many people who are going through hard, long trials right now. Often we wonder why we have to go through hardships. The following poem always speaks to me during those times:
We may wait till He explains,
Because we know that Jesus reigns.
It puzzles me; but, Lord, Thou understandest,
And wilt one day explain this crooked thing.
Meanwhile, I know that it has worked out Thy best--
Its very crookedness taught me to cling.
Thou hast fenced up my ways, made my paths crooked,
To keep my wand'ring eyes fixed on Thee;
To make me what I was not, humble, patient;
To draw my heart from earthly love to Thee.
So I will thank and praise Thee for this puzzle,
And trust where I cannot understand.
Rejoicing Thou dost hold me worth such testing,
I cling the closer to Thy guiding hand.
(author unknown)
My own experience has taught me that every trial comes to teach me something about Adonai. After many years and many trials, I've learned to relax and say, "I trust you, Father, and I know I will learn something through this trial that no one can ever take away from me. Amen!"
Speaking of the word, "Amen", do you know what it means? It means to trust, believe, and agree. The word is related to the Hebrew word "amanah," meaning truthfulness, credence or belief. When we hear someone reciting a blessing, we respond with "amen" thus agreeing with what was said.
If you are going through a trial, I pray you will trust Him. And I hope this song will bless you as you rest on the Sabbath. Amen by Jonathan Settel
I'm always surprised that so few people say amen, and I wonder if they don't agree with the prayer? Or do they not know that the listeners, and not the pray-er are supposed to say amen. Also, if I don't agree with something, like when a preacher says "do you promise to uphold this new couple in their marriage vows..." during the wedding ceremony, I never say amen. Because I know that couple isn't going to come to me, I don't even know them! We aren't a part of their life, we just know their parents. So to say amen then would make no sense.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you on the oint off blessing the married couple, Janine. That is wise and the right thing to do. I do not speak blessings lightly. Most of all I do not bless evil people or evil acts.
DeleteIn Judaism, we do not use Amen the way churches do. In my prior religious life, Amen was used at the end of all prayers and spoken out loud when someone agreed with the speaker / preacher. Blessings are a huge part of Judaism and done every Sabbath as fathers speak blessings on his wife, his children, and Adonai most of all.
In our weekly Erev Shabbat service, we speak blessings over the congregation, the bread, the wine, the Torah, the rabbi, and more. The weekly Aaronic blessing is a favorite of many. Blessings are one of the many things I love about Judaism.