He Lifts Me Up

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

What This Isn’t About

So, this is not about how my heart keeps trying to give out, or about the constant physical pain I am always in, pain that robs me of sleep, relentless pain that will not go away.  This is not how losing sleep all the time is negatively affecting everything I do.  This is not about my lungs no longer functioning the way they used to. It’s not about how I have to gasp for air just from climbing a ladder or going up a flight of stairs.

All of these things are true.  But that is not what this is about.

 A Long Week

Sleep had vanished again.  I looked at the clock and saw it was only 1 AM.  I had had maybe 2 hours of sleep.  This was the second week in a row that this has been happening.  By Friday, my body was done.  My heart couldn’t keep its rhythm, my lungs were not giving me enough air to function.   I was overtired from losing sleep and my body was telling me in its own way that I need to stop and rest.   I went home.  I took a nap…ok, I took three short naps. 

In His Presence

During my last nap, I had a wonderful dream.  I was standing in the healing light of the Lord.  I woke up feeling more alive than I have felt in weeks.  My heart was calm and keeping its rhythm.  My mind was clear.  I was calm for the first time in weeks. 

I am still in a lot of pain, but isn’t it in our trials that the joy of the Lord is revealed?  Wasn’t it in the fiery furnace where one “like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:24-25) was walking around in the furnace while Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego were singing and dancing?

If I have placed my trust in Him, He does not remove me from the fire of my trials.  Instead, He joins me in my trials and keeps the flames from consuming me.

Whosoever Will

When we let him join us in our wilderness, He makes the most desolate landscape a Holy garden.  It is when we are in the firey furnace of our trials we discover who Jesus really is. 

He is my Savior because I surely do believe He is the Only Begotten Son of God, who died of all my sin, and proved His claim by rising from the dead on the third day.  (John 3:16)

He is my Shepherd who leads me beside the still waters.  (Psalm 23)

And He is my Lord who covers me in His grace when I am in turmoil. (II Corinthians 12:9)

He lifts me up when I haven’t got the strength to call on Him.  (Isaiah 40:31)

I know that while I am in this world, there will be pain, and heartache, and there will be suffering.  

When I called on Him, He was there.  His presence gave me joy.

This is what I know and attest to be true:

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13 – KJV).

I love you in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Let’s be about it.

David G. Perkins