Wow!  What great friends I have!  I love each and every one.  Speaking of my friends, I have been impressed as I have been going through my treatments and recovery for breast cancer just how important we can be in one’s life.  Some of those cheering me on from the sidelines are people I’ve never even met in person.  They might be one of you reading this blog today.  One thing is for sure…God always sends people my way when I need them most.  If He sent you, I am grateful you obeyed the call!

I don’t know about you, but God speaks to me in various ways.  This week I have been singing “Blessed Assurance” in my mind over and over.  It is a very old song written by Frances J. Crosby in 1873.  I don’t find it a coincidence we sang it in church today either!  The lyrics go like this…

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

One morning last week, I put the first couple of lines out on Facebook and asked who could help me finish the song.  I was blessed as my friends typed in a verse or a few lines.  It was a holy time for me as loved ones were “singing” and “praising” with me online.  I can’t explain it.  I just felt blessed.  For you see, those responding were people I hold as dear friends.  There is something about our friends in Christ that inspire us when we are together…even if it’s just online.  The simple act of focusing on God for a few minutes together brightened the rest of my day.

Do you have good friends who love the Lord like you do?  I have found through this trial in my life that I have some really great prayer warrior friends.  I have some who pray every day for me, I know for a fact.  I have others that send scriptures to me or check in on me when I need it the most. They have sent cards, some even handmade, with well-wishes.  There are others I know would be there for me in a second if I would simply ask. I am blessed with people who care.

God’s lesson this week for me again though is my need to stay focused on Him.   I can focus in many ways through reading His Word and spending time in prayer each morning.  It might even be as simple as what music I choose to listen to that week.  He is also showing me how important having good friends in the faith can be to one’s walk with Christ.  Just a simple, “How are you doing?” to a friend I know is going through a tough time can mean the world to them that day just as it has to me.  This week I embraced the words of this old song that say… Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. 

When I am fully trusting, watching and waiting for God to show up in my life, He sends me the Holy Spirit for strength and wisdom.  He speaks to others and prods them to call, text or write me when I need to know I am not alone.   And eventually, somehow, the troubles of this world seem to fade away and I am filled with blessings…I simply find myself lost in His love.  I can’t think of a better place to be in the storm than in the arms of my Loving Father…lost in His love.  Today I am thankful to a loving God that takes care of my every need while guiding me and directing me every step of the way.  So for today…this is my story…this is my song…I’m going to be praising my Savior all the day long!

Thanks for being a friend and a blessing.  If not to me, I am sure you have inspired someone in your life going through a tough time.  If you know someone who needs a lift this week, I encourage you to give them a call.  Maybe it’s even an online friend that you can encourage through a simple message that says you care.  Let me know how others have encouraged you or opportunities that God has recently given you to encourage others.  I would love to hear God’s blessings in your lives.  In the meantime…have a blessed week and don’t forget to get out there and be a blessing!

Hebrews 10:22-25  …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.