Strength to Stand

 It was 3AM and I definitely was not ready to get up yet but no matter which way I turned, the pain was unbearable. 

I had been having problems for the past few weeks, maybe from pulling too many weeds, maybe from the all the stretching to reach climbing beans above my reach, but most likely from a combination of bad bed posture,weather that encourages arthritic pain, and too many acidic foods.

I gave up and got up. Maybe the Lord wanted to talk to me through His word, or maybe, just spend some time with Him in prayer. Usually my first thought when I wake through the night like that is that the Lord wants me to hold my children or even someone else's children up in prayer, but I was so tired so at first I tried to lie down on the couch. Sometimes it's a bit more comfortable, but tonight it was not. I sat back up, turned on a light and reached for my Bible.

I don't usually pay much attention to the words on the carrying case but today I did. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13. I thought about it. 

I thought about the many Christian families in Afghanistan and around the world who are suffering untold horrers for their Christian stance. And then I thought about my shoulder and I wondered how I would be able to handle the kind of pain that could come with persecution, and I felt ashamed.

I unzipped my Bible and let it fall open on my lap. It opened to Philippians, and you guessed it, the verse I was, once again, staring at was "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

My pain is subsiding slightly as I write this, and I am being called to prayer ... prayer for the persecuted church in Afghanistan, prayer for the strength to stand when our turn comes, and yes, prayer for the children.

Eventually, the Lord will send me back to bed and I will wake up refreshed in the morning, blessed to have spent some time talking and listening to my Lord.