By Josie Siler

I’ve just been to my mailbox and what I find there causes me to flash back to my childhood.
 
I find myself sitting in a tiny little chair in a big dark room. Some lights are on, but the walls are a dark wood and the floor is covered in dark brown carpet with lighter brown stripes. It is time for chapel at the Christian elementary school I attend and I can’t help but squirm in my little chair and giggle with my friends as our teacher tries to shush us.
 
But then the music starts. I can’t sing worth a lick, but as the others start singing, my off-tune little voice joins in as I belt out the words to one of my favorite songs, “Jehovah-Jireh.”
 
I make sure the bigger kids sitting behind me are singing louder than I am, and get lost in the lyrics. I take comfort in the words and know that everything is going to be okay because God is my provider and He cares for me.
 
I snap out of my flashback as the words to “Jehovah-Jireh” continue to run through my mind. I set the bill that just came in the mail on my kitchen counter, grab my car keys, and say a prayer as I head to work. I don’t yet know how God will provide, but I know that He will.
 
Even knowing that, it’s easy to let the fear and the worry creep in. As I drive to work I remind myself of all of the other times God has provided for my needs. I smile as I remember the time someone I had just met gave me a check for the exact amount of money I had to pay in rent that night – money I didn’t have and didn’t know how I was going to get.
 
God provided.
 
God has provided for me more times that I can recall. He seems to enjoy coming through at the very last moment and saving the day. I think He does it this way so there is no doubt in my mind that He is the one who has provided, but don’t just take my word for it. God’s Word is filled with stories of His provision. “Jehovah-Jireh,” the name of the song from my childhood, is also a Name of God. We find it in the book of Genesis when God tested Abraham.
 
God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. God wanted to see if Abraham would withhold the one thing he loved most in the world or if he would surrender his son to God. Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV) gives us a glimpse into Abraham’s thoughts during this difficult test.

Abraham trusted God so much that he was confident that God would intervene. What faith!
 
God did indeed spare Isaac. Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on the altar to the Lord. He took the knife in his hand but an angel of the Lord stopped him. Genesis 22:11-12 (NASB) says, “…the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’”
 
God came through at the very last moment and saved the day. He not only saved Isaac, He provided a substitute sacrifice so that Abraham and Isaac could worship Him together. Genesis 22:13-14 says:

Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide.
 
This isn’t just about Abraham and Isaac; it’s about all of us. Isaac is a picture of Jesus. Just like God provided a ram to save Isaac, He also provided His Son Jesus to save all of humanity. Jesus died in our place, to save us.
 
God is in the business of saving people. It’s what He does. It’s what He’s all about. He saves us and He provides for us because He loves us.
 
No matter what trial you are facing right now, know that God knows. Allow it to make you more like Jesus. Use it to develop perseverance and patience. Keep trusting, no matter what!

By Josie Siler

I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Spinning and spinning, yet going nowhere. I’m constantly busy, as busy as I can be while feeling so sick, yet my to-do lists never seem to get shorter. I get to the end of the day and wonder what I’ve been working on all day and why I am so tired.

I’m weary. Bonetired, soul-drained, brain-fatigued, weary.
 
You know where I am, right? You’ve been there too, I know. This place of weary frustration where you want to throw the towel in. Quit. Yell, “That’s it. I’ve had enough!” Stomp your feet, beat your pillow, curl up into a little ball, and cry.
 
This place isn’t a destination for cowards.
 
But you’re no coward and neither am I. We’ve been here before. We know that our journey may stall out here for a time, but it’s not our final destination. There are better days ahead. 

So we hold on. We wait, we pray, we sleep when we can, we listen to music, and we hold off making any major life decisions.
 
We know that things will soon look different. Maybe even tomorrow morning we’ll open our eyes and the light will have found its way to us. It will start to warm our dry bones and fill our broken hearts.
 
While we wait for that day to come, we cling to the truths we learned during brighter days. We remember that God is good. We remember that He knows what deep suffering feels like. We remember that He cares about us intimately. We trust that He will bring beauty to us even in the darkness.
 
God’s Word is truth, and it is there where we find comfort for our souls and the precious gift of hope. May these verses encourage you and bless you, my friend. God is with you!

“I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. … The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.” -Psalm 6:6, 9 (ESV)
 
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He ​​gives power to the faint, and to Him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” -Isaiah 40:28-31
 
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” -Jeremiah 31:24
 
“The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them.” -Psalm 145:14-19
 
“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.” -2 Corinthians 1:3-5
 
 “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” -Psalm 73:28
 
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.” -2 John 1:3

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” -Psalm 34:1-7

“And He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” -Exodus 33:14

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10

​I leave you with a song I heard this week when I needed it most. I was reminded that no matter how difficult life gets, God is my constant. I need Him, and I love Him. 

By Josie Siler

My camera settings were adjusted. The camera itself was set up on a tripod and pointing into the night sky. I had a fantastic view and great company, not to mention chocolate. I was prepared!
 
I’d been watching the weather for days and every forecast said the Midwest was going to have a fantastic view of the unique celestial event. One night: supermoon, lunar eclipse, blood moon. It was going to be epic!
 
I’ve never seen the moon as large as it was a couple of Sundays ago. As it rose over the Wisconsin hills and cornfields I was in awe. I settled onto my friend Maggie’s deck, the one with the incredible view, and got ready to capture this rare event.
 
And then the clouds began to roll in. They were traveling quickly, which could have been good or bad. If there were just a few clouds, they would pass over the moon before all the action started. If they moved in quickly and there were a lot of them they would ruin the night.
 
I ignored the exclamations I heard behind me (sorry guys) and got ready. You see, I knew something they didn’t know. When clouds travel in front of a bright moon something beautiful happens.
 
I worked hard to capture the perfect photograph while praying that the clouds would pass quickly. 

Giddy with success I was relieved when the clouds passed and the sky cleared.
 
Many times in life clouds will come along and try to ruin everything. Life is going well and things look bright. Then we notice a cloud or two, followed by others. It’s easy to get frustrated or angry when something ruins our plans or upsets our dreams. I’ve been there more times than I care to admit. However, I’m learning to look for the beauty. It’s all around us – even in the darkness; we just need to remember to look for it.
 
Take the photograph above. I could choose to be angry that a big cloud is coving the bright supermoon or I can choose to marvel at the beauty of the surrounding clouds that have been transformed into something special. I can choose to see the clouds as a gift from God.
 
I choose to thank God. I choose to remember than no matter what happens in life, God is good. God knows, God cares, and God will bring beauty in the midst of the darkness.
 
We serve a great God, a mighty God, a powerful God. We serve a God that can cause the brightest moon to go dark, turn red, and reappear in all of its glory. We serve a God that can use the darkness to illuminate the clouds and turn them into rainbows. It’s amazing. He’s amazing!
 
Only God can turn a bad situation into a special gift. Just look at the gift of redemption. Only God could turn the death of His only Son into the redemption of all mankind. Jesus, and the redemption that comes through Him, is the most special gift to those who choose to accept it.
 
Will you accept God’s gifts and remember with me? Remember the power of God trust Him to create something beautiful in the midst the darkness.