Hope is My Anchor
Strength for your soul amid life's storms January 2004
______________________________________________________________
Last year at this time, God put a desire in my heart to learn more about love—
so I decided to spend the year praying through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, taking one
characteristic of love to pray over each month. January was “love is patient,”
February was “love is kind,” and so on.
You may have guessed by now that January was full of incidents that tried my
patience! Likewise my ears were pierced by my unkind words to my husband
and children in February—and on it went through the year. I wish I could say that
now I am completely transformed as a result of my prayers, but that would only
be partially true. I am not the always-loving person I want to be! But, God has
revealed over and over that if I want to be truly loving, I have to go to Him
continually.
John 15 encourages us to “remain in” Jesus in order to bear fruit (such as love).
This is a very familiar passage—but God has given me a new glimpse into it
through my husband. Dave has been teaching on holiness in our Sunday School,
and he described character as a strong branch. One that is capable of supporting
fruit. A weak branch will break off. And sometimes even a strong branch that is
bearing fruit needs to be pruned for the good of the whole tree. To be a strong
branch, of course it must be part of a growing tree—it must be connected to the
Vine.
It seems so obvious to me now, but somehow I had never before entered the
word character in this passage. Defining character as the ability to bear fruit, to
actually “hold” the fruit that God produces in us, somehow clarifies things for me.
And that character is developed not by me, but by my remaining in Jesus. Staying
connected in the word, and in prayer. Being willing to submit to Him when He
shows me how to obey. Persevering when I fail yet again.
Lately I’ve been asked several times, “How can I change?” This is a question I
frequently ask myself! Change sometimes seems insurmountable. And yet—after
a year of praying about becoming more loving, and filling my mind with God’s
Word, I can see that God has brought about some of this fruit that I myself cannot
produce.
The Israelites faced an insurmountable challenge in facing Jericho. How could
they hope to conquer such a city with those walls? And yet, God gave them their
marching orders. March around the city for seven days. This always seemed like
some sort of mysterious rite to me, until my pastor shared his experience in the
military. He said that whenever they were marching across a bridge, they were
always told to break cadence. Remaining in step could cause reverberations in
the bridge’s support system, weakening its structure. Could it be that the Israelite’
s marching did something similar to Jericho’s walls? Either way, it was not their
brute strength that produced the victory, but God’s leadership.
He has given us our marching orders as well. Remain in Him. Marching step
by step, day by day through His word, meditating, praying, looking to Him. Then
some of those strongholds in our lives will begin to crumble and fall away.
Change takes time—weeks, months, even years. Don’t give up—keep marching!
I’ll close with another familiar scripture that God has breathed a breath of fresh air
into:
This verse has always had a touch of mystery to me as well. What exactly IS the
joy of the Lord? Is it a joy that God gives to me? Certainly it’s true that God
gives me a special joy that is not of this world—but somehow I couldn’t reconcile
that thought with the context of the passage. Then I was reading a parenting
article recently, and the author, Michael Pearl, made the comment, “If ‘the joy of
the Lord is our strength,’ then surely the joy of the parents is the strength
of a child.” He went on to describe how when parents delight in their children, it
gives a level of security, encouragement, strength to that child.
Several years ago I had done a word search of the Bible on God delighting in
us—a study I highly recommend if you’ve never done one! But it never occurred
to me to apply the thought of God’s delight in us to this passage. Yet it seems to
fit—the Israelites, after hearing the word of the Lord and recognizing their failure
to follow him for years, were overcome with sorrow—they were weeping as they
heard God’s word. But no matter how serious their failures, God still delighted in
them, still took joy in them, still claimed them as His people, His beloved, the ones
he covenanted with. There might be correction, training, rebukes, and discipline
ahead, but His joy was their strength.
God takes joy in each of us that He has covenanted with, you are His special
child. Remain in Him, and He will produce His fruit in you.
Marching into the new year,
Merry Marinello
Strength for your soul amid life's storms January 2004
______________________________________________________________
Last year at this time, God put a desire in my heart to learn more about love—
so I decided to spend the year praying through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, taking one
characteristic of love to pray over each month. January was “love is patient,”
February was “love is kind,” and so on.
You may have guessed by now that January was full of incidents that tried my
patience! Likewise my ears were pierced by my unkind words to my husband
and children in February—and on it went through the year. I wish I could say that
now I am completely transformed as a result of my prayers, but that would only
be partially true. I am not the always-loving person I want to be! But, God has
revealed over and over that if I want to be truly loving, I have to go to Him
continually.
John 15 encourages us to “remain in” Jesus in order to bear fruit (such as love).
This is a very familiar passage—but God has given me a new glimpse into it
through my husband. Dave has been teaching on holiness in our Sunday School,
and he described character as a strong branch. One that is capable of supporting
fruit. A weak branch will break off. And sometimes even a strong branch that is
bearing fruit needs to be pruned for the good of the whole tree. To be a strong
branch, of course it must be part of a growing tree—it must be connected to the
Vine.
It seems so obvious to me now, but somehow I had never before entered the
word character in this passage. Defining character as the ability to bear fruit, to
actually “hold” the fruit that God produces in us, somehow clarifies things for me.
And that character is developed not by me, but by my remaining in Jesus. Staying
connected in the word, and in prayer. Being willing to submit to Him when He
shows me how to obey. Persevering when I fail yet again.
Lately I’ve been asked several times, “How can I change?” This is a question I
frequently ask myself! Change sometimes seems insurmountable. And yet—after
a year of praying about becoming more loving, and filling my mind with God’s
Word, I can see that God has brought about some of this fruit that I myself cannot
produce.
The Israelites faced an insurmountable challenge in facing Jericho. How could
they hope to conquer such a city with those walls? And yet, God gave them their
marching orders. March around the city for seven days. This always seemed like
some sort of mysterious rite to me, until my pastor shared his experience in the
military. He said that whenever they were marching across a bridge, they were
always told to break cadence. Remaining in step could cause reverberations in
the bridge’s support system, weakening its structure. Could it be that the Israelite’
s marching did something similar to Jericho’s walls? Either way, it was not their
brute strength that produced the victory, but God’s leadership.
He has given us our marching orders as well. Remain in Him. Marching step
by step, day by day through His word, meditating, praying, looking to Him. Then
some of those strongholds in our lives will begin to crumble and fall away.
Change takes time—weeks, months, even years. Don’t give up—keep marching!
I’ll close with another familiar scripture that God has breathed a breath of fresh air
into:
This verse has always had a touch of mystery to me as well. What exactly IS the
joy of the Lord? Is it a joy that God gives to me? Certainly it’s true that God
gives me a special joy that is not of this world—but somehow I couldn’t reconcile
that thought with the context of the passage. Then I was reading a parenting
article recently, and the author, Michael Pearl, made the comment, “If ‘the joy of
the Lord is our strength,’ then surely the joy of the parents is the strength
of a child.” He went on to describe how when parents delight in their children, it
gives a level of security, encouragement, strength to that child.
Several years ago I had done a word search of the Bible on God delighting in
us—a study I highly recommend if you’ve never done one! But it never occurred
to me to apply the thought of God’s delight in us to this passage. Yet it seems to
fit—the Israelites, after hearing the word of the Lord and recognizing their failure
to follow him for years, were overcome with sorrow—they were weeping as they
heard God’s word. But no matter how serious their failures, God still delighted in
them, still took joy in them, still claimed them as His people, His beloved, the ones
he covenanted with. There might be correction, training, rebukes, and discipline
ahead, but His joy was their strength.
God takes joy in each of us that He has covenanted with, you are His special
child. Remain in Him, and He will produce His fruit in you.
Marching into the new year,
Merry Marinello
Happy New Year!
| The joy of the Lord is my strength. —Nehemiah 8:10 |
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© 2004 Dave and Merry Marinello, all rights reserved.
Welcome! Thanks for visiting our little "harbor" amid life's storms. We hope you
will find rest and encouragement in your struggles, big or small. Here you can:
will find rest and encouragement in your struggles, big or small. Here you can:
"Happy New Year" January 2004 Newsletter
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Hope is My Anchor
Strength for your soul amid life's storms
Strength for your soul amid life's storms