Forevermore.

O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners' palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
 like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down.
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
(Isaiah 25)

A helpful word - We are not alone in this.

We are not alone in this

Matt Johnson » Scripture Counseling Sin Community Suffering

 

Everyone, without exception, struggles with both sin and suffering. Letting people know that we’re all in the boat together can go a long way.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Blown it recently? Me too.
Done or said things you wish you could take back? Check. Family relationships strained? Yup. On the lighter side, maybe you’ve added a few more pounds to the scale? Overdrawn your account? Again?
Maybe it’s not something you did, but something you received, like bad news after a doctor’s visit.
Everyone, without exception, struggles with both sin and suffering. When we’ve found ourselves in these situations, we’ve all probably been encouraged by someone willing to get into the trenches of life with us. So let’s pass it on.
Many of us counsel people in the church, and letting them know that we’re all in the boat together can go a long way. The common bond you have is not so much the type of sin and suffering as much as kind and degree.

Let the person know they are not alone. 

Let’s look at some examples. Is someone crippled with pressure to impress others? Everyone knows what it’s like to feel like they don’t measure up. Are you concerned that you can’t relate to an addict? Actually, you can if you’ve ever wanted to numb out, eat the whole bag of chips and channel surf for hours on end, and not face reality.
At the risk of oversimplifying things, crippling fear of others’ opinions, awkward social pressure, mindless junk food binging, and full-blown, self-destructive addiction aren’t exactly the same things. But they still come from the same place: Sin. Suffering. Compulsion. And we can all relate.

None of us is alone in this.  

You don’t have to feign sincerity or over-relate. Just let the person know you’re imperfect. You feel tempted and you blow it, too. Have you felt the forgiveness and comfort of your Savior in your less-than-stellar moments? If so, you have the great privilege to pass it on.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:5–7

© 2013 Resurgence. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use. Privacy Policy

What is your only comfort in life and death?

Heidelberg Catechism - Question 1
What is your only comfort in life and death?

That I with body and soul, both in life and death,  am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.

--

The grace of God, flowing steadily through the ages, carves grand canyons in desolate hearts.

All Glory Be to Christ

Happy new year!
A great remix to "Auld Lang Syne"

----
All Glory Be to Christ
Should nothing of our efforts stand
No legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house
In vain its builders strive

To you who boast tomorrow’s gain
Tell me what is your life
A mist that vanishes at dawn
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign will ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

His will be done
His kingdom come
On earth as is above
Who is Himself our daily bread
Praise Him the Lord of love

Let living water satisfy
The thirsty without price
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
All glory be to Christ!

When on the day the great I Am
The faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain
Is making all things new.

Behold our God shall live with us
And be our steadfast light
And we shall ere his people be
All glory be to Christ!
http://marshill.bandcamp.com/track/all-glory-be-to-christ