Yes, it’s that time again! Time for Valerie to fall prey to the ever present desire to feel sorry for herself!! “Haven’t you blogged about this before?” you ask? Yes! Yes, I have! But, obviously, I haven’t arrived, so here I go again!
I have been in the “depths of despair” as Anne Shirley once said, and I really hate it when that happens! Things have been so busy and tiring lately and I just keep holding out hope that the Lord will send us some added faithful folks to church, or a huge offering (hey, it could happen!) that when it doesn’t happen, I slip off my comfy plateau and into that bottomless abyss of self-pity. Forgive my transparency here, but why try to hide it? I’m sorry if this shocks or disappoints anyone, I think most of you already know how “full of faults” I am. If you didn’t, well, you do now.

But, you needn’t fear, for the Lord has lined me out…again!
When I need encouragement, He’s there. When I need correction, well, He’s there then too! Today, He helped me out. I didn’t deserve it. He should have scolded me through His Word, but He is so longsuffering. Instead, He encouraged me today.
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
I heard someone say that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. That’s a perfect analogy! It’s like when you’re running a marathon (not that I’ve ever run one, but I have a good imagination!), and you are just ready to say “Forget it! The finish line is too far! I’ll never make it!!!!” But then, someone runs along ‘side you and gives you a cup of water, or Gatorade, and pats you on the back and says “Good job! You’re doing great! Almost there!” And then, you get a second wind and even speed up a little. That’s how it feels. We’re in Texas, and it’s a great place, but the Devil fights here just like anywhere else! The work is slow but steady, and sometimes, it feels like the finish line is just too far away…we’ll never make it. I’m reminded of Psalm 89:46 where David asks “How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever?” That’s how I feel sometimes. Like it will be forever!
When I feel this way, I have the Bible to help me. Have I told you how I love God’s Word? And I need to love it more.

Here are some ways it helps me:
It Counsels me – Proverbs
It Cheers me – Psalms, Philippians, Hebrews and many others.
It Corrects me – The Whole Thing!
It Comforts me – Psalms and much of the New Testament. Psalm 34:18 has been a particular comfort to me.

So, if you’re feeling that “What’s the use?” kind of feeling about your work for the Lord, like I do sometimes, then take heart! God sees, and He doesn’t forget your work and labor of love. His Word is there to come along ‘side you, pat you on the back and offer you that much needed drink of Gatorade and the encouragement that “You’re doing great. Just keep going…”