Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord

I've had a song stuck in my head all week long. Sunday evening, we sang Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord.

TEACH ME THY WAY, O LORD

Teach me thy way, O Lord, teach me thy way;
Thy guiding grace afford—teach me thy way.
Help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight;
lead me with heavenly light, teach me thy way.

When I am sad at heart, teach me thy way;
When earthly joys depart, teach me thy way.
In hours of loneliness, in times of dire distress,
in failure or success, teach me thy way.

When doubts and fears arise, teach me thy way;
When storm clouds fill the skies, teach me thy way.
Shine through the wind and rain, through sorrow, grief and pain;
make now my pathway plain, teach me thy way.

Long as my life shall last, teach me thy way;
Where’er my lot be cast, teach me thy way.
Until the race is run, until the journey’s done,
until the crown is won, teach me thy way.

 

The last two lines have been repeating in my mind. Until the race is run, until the journey's done, until the crown is won, teach me thy way.

 

Learning, particularly learning God's word and God's will, is a lifelong pursuit. Whatever part of your walk you find yourself in, still single, newly married, raising small children, raising teens, or empty nester, learning God's word is something that must take priority over trivial, worldly pursuits. I know, I know - if you are raising small children or your house is full of teens, it is hard to find that quiet time to spend alone with God in His word. It is essential, though. You see, those little ones will grow up. They will move off (sometimes a long way away, like to Chicago!!). They start their own lives and their own families. You are no longer the center of their universe. And that's the way it should be.

 

Your relationship with God is something that will stay there through all those stages of your life. Please, please, don't put off your time with God until "things quiet down," or until "there isn't so much to do." Remember that He tells us that if we love anything more than we love Him, we are not worthy of Him.

 

So how do you find the time? Here are just some suggestions. Get up 15 minutes before your day should start and spend that time in the Word. Set your alarm to get up at 2:00 am (I know it sounds crazy) and spend some time alone with God. At the end of the day, while you are washing your face before bed, open your Bible and read a Psalm. Use the time you are in your car (driving kids to whatever activity they are involved in or sitting in traffic on your commute to work) to sing praises to Him, or to listen to His Word on DVD, or to just spend a few minutes praying. Pray for that person who just cut you off, for the cashier at the drive-through who seems to be taking forever to check the person out in front of you or for that co-worker who has been on your mind lately.

 

God is with us every moment of every day, and He wants us to spend time with Him. Even if you can only find a few minutes to read a chapter or look up one verse that is stuck in your head, do it! You are learning, you are allowing Him to teach you. We must have humble and malleable hearts that God can mold and form to His purpose.

 

Are you letting Him mold you and teach you?

My Best Friend

Titus 2:4 (NASB) tells the older women to "encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children."

Today is my 37th Anniversary. I married my best friend 37 years ago today. I was and am still "in love" with him. What has kept us going for 37 years, though, is the love that Titus 2:4 speaks about.

The Greek word for love in Titus 2:4 is phileo, which is brotherly love, often exhibited in close friendships. Paul isn't telling us women to love our husbands in a romantic or sexual way, although that is important. He is telling us to be friends with our husbands. Romantic or sexual love will fade over time. The cement that binds a marriage together is the friendship, the partnership, the sharing of experiences that through the years become so precious.

No one understands me the way Mark does. He knows when I'm down and discouraged. He knows when I'm excited and happy. He understands what I need, sometimes before I know it myself. I would like to believe I am the same way toward him. I can tell when he's excited about something and when he has been beaten down by the world. My job as his wife, his helpmeet, is to be here to encourage him, support him, share the good times and the bad, even give him a nudge in the right direction when it is called for.

My job is NOT, however, to be the boss, or to tell him what to do. I am his helper. I was created to help him in his work as God's servant. As such, I am to be supportive of him, encourage him, be honest with him. Even when I may not think his decisions are the best way to go about things, I am to support and encourage him. In all marriages, you must find the balance, of course. Learn when to tell him your honest opinion about something and when to just be quiet and listen. He needs to know that you are there for him, that you love him and will do whatever it takes to help him. Is this always easy? Of course not. But it is absolutely necessary to weather the bumps in the road that Satan is sure to throw your way.

We've had our share of bumps and we've weathered them together. Please don't misunderstand - things weren't always rosy, and they won't be for you either. Expect the hard times, the trying times and remember through them all, that this man you married is your best friend. He knows the worst about you and still loves you. Even our closest girlfriends don't know ALL the bad stuff. Thankfully!!

My advice to young women not yet married - marry your best friend! Build this lifelong relationship as husband and wife on a mutual friendship and allow God to guide you both in your relationship. And then enjoy the ride, the ups and downs, the sadness and the happiness, the mourning times and the joyful times!! Those difficult times will come, but together you can face them and know God is drawing you even closer together.

1 Thess. 5:16-18  Rejoice always; Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

These verses have always made me stop and take account of how I'm living my life. Its interesting to me that some of the shortest verses in the Bible can have the biggest impact.

Rejoice always - just to clarify, joy and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness usually comes from external things while joy is an inner quality, coming from the heart. Joy is not dependent on circumstances.

The verse doesn't say rejoice when things are good. And life can really throw us some curves, can't it? We are told to rejoice always. That means when the kids are healthy and happy and when they aren't, when the husband is easy to get along with and when he isn't, when the job is going well and when it isn't. The things that happen in this life are temporary. We all deal with sick kids or sick parents or sick spouses. Kids don't always mind(hey, sometimes they can go for days without cooperating). Every couple has problems, some more than others. Life can be hard. Honestly, life is often hard, but 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that no temptation that comes our way is unusual, they are all common to man. We all deal with problems, illnesses, unhappy marriages, you name it. Some folks deal with more difficulty than others and I'm not trying to downplay whatever your circumstances are. I am trying to point out that we all have problems, concerns, fears... 

But we are His children. We have a hope, an anchor for our souls. And that is cause to rejoice, even in the bad times. Is this easy? Not always. But this is what we are to strive for - rejoicing in every situation. Keep reading. I think you will soon see how these verses go together.

Pray without ceasing - this doesn't mean that every word out of your mouth has to be a prayer. But if  you are going days or even hours without talking to your Father, there may be a problem. It is natural to share your day with your family, your spouse, your friends, whoever you spend your time with. Let's say you are married - would you go days without talking to your husband if he were right next to you? And God IS right next to you. He's there, just waiting for you to talk to Him. Share your burdens. Tell Him about your heartaches, your temptations, your fears.

But tell Him how thankful you are, too. In everything give thanks - good times and bad, happy times and sad, healthy times and sick, abundant times and wanting. Because in everything, He is still there and He still loves you. He still gave His Son to die for your sins.

When you spend your time in prayer giving thanks, I think you will find your burdens lifted, your load lightened. When you are thankful, it is easier to be joyful, even in the bad times. A thankful heart is a joyful heart. How can we not be joyful when we think of all the wonderful blessings God has poured out abundantly on us??

My God will supply every need of yours

Philippians 4:19 (ESV) says, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." But what are your "needs?" Do you fully appreciate the "need" you have for God's presence in every aspect of your life? There is a place in my heart, my soul, that can only be filled by God. When I try to fill that spot up with another person (yes even a husband or boyfriend), or things, activities or emotions, it just leaves me feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied. Like eating an apple when what I'm really craving is ice cream.

 How about letting God fill you up, letting His peace complete you? Philippians 4:7 (ESV) "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God's peace is so perfect, filling up what we are lacking. It has the ability to guard our hearts and minds, too. If you are seeking to fill that empty place in your soul with physical things or people, there is the strong possibility that someone or something is going to try to lead you away from God. Don't let that happen! Don't let a person or an activity or interest lead you astray. Stay on that straight and narrow path that leads to God and His perfect peace. And He has promised that His peace will guard your heart and mind.

Can I challenge you to let go of striving after what you think you need and let God's peace fill you up? Let Him show you how much He loves you. 

Psalms 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto You, when my heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Welcome to Rock of My Heart Blogpost. This blog site is to help, encourage, teach and mentor young women. You, the reader, can decide on the definition of "young." After all, you are only as old as you feel, right?

As we journey together in this blog, we will talk about God's wisdom for single women, newly married women and women raising children. I've been married to the same wonderful man for 37 years and together we have raised three children who are all faithful Christians.

Our eldest daughter is married to a preacher and songwriter. He wrote the song Rock of My Heart, which is where I got the title for this blog.

I pray that as we walk this road together, you will be encouraged and uplifted, as I know I will be as well.

I look forward to our journey together and will always welcome your comments. Stay tuned for my first post shortly.

In His Presence,
Diane