Marriage Anchors

Night Watches

Have you ever cried out to the Lord with such earnestness of soul that it can go on throughout an entire night? 

I found my soul searching and crying out for God this way. I would cry out with all that I had, and He would answer me in the night.

"Things are a mess God. I have failed."

Immediately I would hear Him say, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." -Romans 8:1. I moved to my next woe, "It's a mess God." and He said, "I'll clean it up. I make all things new." -Revelation 21:5. … but then I wailed, "It is all too much!" to which He said, "take one day at a time." -Matthew 6:34.

I pleaded, "But to be Home with you would be so much easier!” He said, "It is not your time yet.” -Job 14:5 and "… I know the plans I have for you, ‘declares the Lord,’ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

The Lord has an answer in the night watches for those gut-wrenching pleas we sometimes dare to cry out. Sometimes my soul cries out from the depths…there are no words. He understands.

He sees the purpose of our pain and suffering. -2 Timothy 1:8; 2 Timothy 3. He plans our time on earth and the way through it with His governance and help. Sometimes He is a quiet listener. Other times He answers me in the darkest of nights when it feels like I am the only one awake on earth.

He never slumbers.

He sees you tossing and turning. If you listen closely, you will hear His Word soothe you for He gives rest to those He loves. Psalm 127:2. He knows you are weak, inconsistent, and in great need of a Helper. He is here for you right now.

“My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,

That I may meditate on your promise.” -Psalm 119:148 ESV

By Anne Borgen

Hey, check out my website, "envoy" with this link: https://m.youtube.com/@anneborgen

If you want to learn more about our Helper, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Jesus), click below:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:2dc2c229-c209-3485-800b-a4ec6db170fe

All Scripture references are from the ESV unless otherwise noted.

God is with you.

v10 "… He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”  v16 “The angel of the Lord replied, ‘even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord. (Manoah did not realize that it was the Angel of the Lord.)’” Judges 13:10, 16

It has been a month of medicine changes causing tumultuous adjustments and turmoil for me and my family. For any of you suffering with various illnesses from cancer, Parkinson's, diabetes, depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, OCD, and many others, you understand how necessary medicine is and what a blessed gift it is. You also understand that there are difficult downsides as well.

Balancing chemical components and getting the right med combination for your unique body and brain stem is like trying to steer a sick ship on a stormy sea. This is no easy task for the attending physician, the patient, and the patient’s family. All must be brave and patient participants. All must be on the same team. For me it had been a month of med alterations with difficulties trying to find solutions to set the sail on a calm sea. This will not happen overnight. It may take weeks or even months. In some cases, it may take years.

On a particularly stormy day of medication upheavals, I asked the Lord where He was. He led me directly to Judges chapter 13. I did not realize He was there with me through it all. He was helping me through the pain and confusion. He was and is my Strength.

In verse 19, We find this Angel of the Lord had told Manoah’s wife, barren for many years, that she will bear a son named Samson. He must live out the Nazarite Vow. He will “… begin to deliver (disobedient, doing evil) Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” verse 5cKJV

“And the Angel of the Lord said to him (Manoah, the husband and soon to be father of Samson)‘Why Do You Ask My Name, seeing it is wonderful?’” Judges 13:18 NKJV [Note: The Angel of the Lord shows Himself to be Jesus, in taking the name wonderful. Read Isaiah 9:6 [1]

Further proof to Manoah and his wife that this was God (the pre-incarnate Jesus) is that in verse 20, this “Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar!” You see, up until late in this marvelous scene, the future parents of Samson did not know that God was really with them.

By faith[2], certainly not my feelings, and because God led me to this passage in Judges, I realized that my Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and Comforter was with me through my misery, my doubts, and my pain. He was with me even in my failures which were many.

My friend, if you have called or even cried out in desperation for Jesus to save and deliver you, I am convinced He is with you in your storm, in your sick bed, or in your trouble and He will help you. You may not recognize Him at first. Manoah and his wife sure did not. But rest assured He is with you! “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (“Matthew 28:20b”) Matthew 28:20b NKJV

[1]David Guzik Commentary https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Jdg/Jdg-13.cfm?a=224001

[2]Definition of Faith: Choosing to live as though the Bible is true, regardless of circumstances, emotions, or cultural trends. (destined for security – of the 4 book ‘destined’ series, Life Builders, Cru 2003, 2011, 2013.)

By Anne Borgen

If you would like the clear and true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, click here: https://marriageanchors.com/2012/05/18/your-anchor-dont-leave-port-without-him/

Hey, check out my website, "envoy" with this link: https://m.youtube.com/@anneborgen

"Known"

He knows us far better than we know ourselves...   Romans 8:27 (paraphrased)

It was the 2nd surgery in three months. I sat alone in the hospital getting prepped for surgery. The nurse came in. We'll call her Suzie. She couldn't get my I.V. started in my right arm so we talked as she tried the left arm instead. 

Without warning, I heard the deep, quiet, inner voice of the Holy Spirit speak to me one simple phrase about Suzie. I knew what the Lord wanted me to do with the information. I could feel His total adoration for this lady. He impressed the following phrase on my mind: "Her favorite color is purple and she's an atheist". 

I looked up at Suzie, still trying to get a vein to cooperate for her, she wasn't wearing a lick of purple and yet I knew what I had to do. As an envoy for the Gospel, I gently said "Suzie, may I say something to you without totally scaring you?" She tapped my vein in deep concentration and said, "Sure no problem. Go for it." so I gently said, "Your favorite color is purple, isn't it?" 

Bam, she got my vein set up perfectly, looked up and said, "How would you know that?" To which I kindly replied, "… the same way I know you're an atheist."

“God knows you, Suzie, and He loves you very much. Would you do me a favor and read your Bible tonight and give Jesus a chance to show you His great love for you?” 

Suzie stopped all her nurse work and said, "If He knows me like that. I sure will".

God knows you and not only loves you," but He likes you just the way you are.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.”

                                                                                                                      Romans 5:8 ESV

Call on Jesus. He will help you. He really will.

"And anyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved;" Joel 2:32a NIV

By Anne Borgen

If you would like the clear and true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, click here: https://marriageanchors.com/2012/05/18/your-anchor-dont-leave-port-without-him/

Hey, check out my website, "envoy" with this link: https://m.youtube.com/@anneborgen

"Had God forgotten me?"

"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 40:31 NIV

I was in sick in bed many years with depression that led to a culmination of several illnesses.  I fainted frequently and could barely walk. I would lay in bed and watch traffic for something to do. I often cried or slept. I lost most of my friends, pushed everyone away, and went into years of desperation and loneliness.

I felt I was cracking, and that God had forgotten me. I thought, perhaps, He was mad at me.  I hated the verse listed above because it was everything I wasn't. I'd waited years on the Lord and my strength was not renewing. I would profess God's goodness knowing I was being tested but deep down I was desperate for relief. I needed hope.

People who are chronically sick grow weary.  I don’t know of any church ministry entitled,

“We Want You If You're Bedridden"

What company or establishment would hire someone with a résumé requiring years of sick days? I felt totally worthless and burdened.  I couldn’t meet the needs of my husband and daughters. I was emersed in shame.

My help didn't come till much later in God's perfect timing. Every word is true of Isaiah 40:31. God has a uniquely written and timed plan of delivery for every saint of His. He brought me through four doctors, thirty appointments, five medications, surgeries, and a spiritual rehabilitation that came through my parents that I never could've imagined.

In my case, they miraculously found the exact medication regimen to help treat my ailments. God uses the broken, the sick, and the imperfect to confound those who are proud. He sends a message to those people who think they have it all together. “You don’t.”

He loves you right where you're at today. He loves you…the real you…the one who is not even close to being perfect: The one who is weak. The one who is forgotten. The one who is sick. The one who fails. The one who needs a Helping and Saving God.

Sometimes The Lord Jesus will heal or deliver you. Other times He renews your strength and lifts your faith so you can keep soaring, running, or even just walking in this race. If you call on Him, He will show up.

“And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved;” Joel 2:32a NIV

Do not give up.

Wait for God. He will renew you. 

By Anne Borgen 

Hey, check out my website, "envoy" with this link: https://m.youtube.com/@anneborgen

Desperate

It was dark outside and cold as I laid in the stretcher shaking uncontrollably from yet another seizure. Something happens to you when your body decides to do something completely out of your control.

My eyes squeezed shut. I could feel the paramedics trying to inject medication into my arm to override my systems malfunction. As arms, legs, and body shook, I remember wishing I could stop it. I was helpless against each passing wave of convulsions. Then a gentle thought hit my mind at exactly the moment I needed: "The Lord is in control even when I've lost all of mine."

In that moment, I felt the most loved by God in all my life. You see, God loves us in our most helpless moments when we're shaken and at the mercy of other helping hands. He loves to love us so that we too can go out and love others in the same way. What a God we have who keeps no debts but that of love.

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8 NIV

Anne Borgen 2022 

Hey, check out my website, "envoy" with this link: https://m.youtube.com/@anneborgen

I love middle ages castle movies like Robbin Hood and Camelot and those stories where the castle walls are thick and high, the moat deep, and the castle inhabitants safe. At West Point, we studied the History of Military Art and Warfare. Much changed when gun powder came on the scene.

So instead of having to try to scale the high castle wall to get inside to conquer it, the attacking enemy only had to blow a big hole in the wall. Several holes would do the trick. When you mix cannon fire with exploding cannon balls, warfare changed even more so.

The same goes for bows and arrows. Before gun powder, opposing forces often employed bows and arrows and cross bows, some of them with fire. From the Welsh to the English, the long bow was adapted from a hunting to a tactical warfare weapon. Bow warfare was never the same. On August 26th, 1346 during the early part of the Hundred Years War, the Battle of Crecy, Northern France took place.

The French greatly outnumbered the English but the English had the long bow which could fire 10 to 12 volleys a minute to the crossbowman’s 3 to 5 per minute. The long bow could also shoot some 1800 yards! Guess who won? The English did.¹

The enemies of God may surround you today. You may sense the threatening sound of horse’s hooves. You may see the cloud of dust being kicked up in the distance. Fear not! God is on your side! Those enemies need to fear and tremble at the nearing thunder of God’s Armies!

“Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.”  (Psalm 20:6-8 ESV Bold added)

Let’s pray for each other that we would trust the Lord and stand in His uprightness.

¹https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Longbow/

Comments? Jim.Grunseth@Cru.Org

I have sought many things in my life. Some things have been lofty and virtuous. Some have been rotten and ugly. Who wants to stand up on a table at church, work, or at home and shout, “I’m telling everybody I know…I’m a wretched, stinking, rotten sinner and here are the specific ways I’ve let God and man down!”

Typically, that is not how any of us act. Over the years and with the Spirit of Jesus in me since age 18, He has worked a sanctifying work in me for His glory and ultimately for my benefit and the benefit of others.

I come from a long line of worriers. My mind travels fast sometimes like a humming bird flitting from one flower to the next. In the past, I have collected so many worries in a day’s time, I would get burdened down and exhausted. I would literally have to cast or fling them to the Lord. (1Peter5:7)

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:31-33 ESV Bold added)

So I ask myself and I invite you to ask yourself, “What do I seek this day?”

Let’s pray for each other today that He would help each of us to first seek Him and His Word.

Comments? Jim.Grunseth@Cru.Org