Blessed Quietness Blog

And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord , for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. I Samuel 3:9 Attentive Ear.   Samuel had an ear that listened to the Lord. We see evidence of this listening ear when he was working with Eli the priest. The Lord called Samuel in his sleep three times and each time Samuel responded by going to Eli and saying, "Here I am; for you called me." Eli's response to Samuel the first two times essentially was "Go back to bed Samuel, I did not call you." We know that Samuel did not yet know the Lord , nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him . Eli recognizes that the Lord is calling Samuel the third time and tells Samuel to go back to bed but instructs him to respond to the Lord by saying, " Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. " Awaited Call. Samuel did just as Eli instructed and when the Lord called t

“...Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”   I Samuel 24:6 Hired On. David was anointed future King of Israel by Samuel and shortly thereafter he was hired by the then present King of Israel, Saul. Saul's servants were seeking someone who was skillful on the harp to quiet Saul when the evil Spirit from God would terrorize him. Enter...the future King David, professional harpist 'hired' for Saul's court.        photo credit: CultrVultr via photopin cc Hot Pursuit. Saul quickly becomes jealous and threatened by David's presence; the one whom he desired for peace and contentment suddenly became the object of his ungodly obsession and pursuit. Saul was in hot pursuit of David's life. David chose to spare Saul's life and only cut off the hem of Saul's robe when Saul was "at his fingertips." When

  He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Isaiah 53:3    It is Well.  Horatio Spafford, a successful attorney lived in Chicago with his wife, Anna and their five children. In 1870, their four year old son passed away from scarlet fever. A year later, the Spaffords lost all of their real estate investments to the Chicago Fire. On November 22, 1873, the Spaffords set sail for a trip to Europe absent Horatio who was tending to business and would join his family later. The steamer that held Horatio's family was struck by a British iron sailing ship and the steamer sank within twelve minutes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Anna was rescued and when coherent, telegraphed Horatio stating, "Saved alone. What shall I do?" It was at this juncture that Horatio penned the famous hymn--- It is Well With My Soul .   photo credit:

Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness.  ~Helen Keller photo credit: Vicki's Pics via photopin cc Accurately Handling the Word of Truth 2 Tim. 2:15 What is important? If you have a personal relationship with Christ, you have a wonderful blessing in this life and that is to get to know Jesus better and share Him with others! We get to know the person of Christ through the study of His Word. We get to know the character of God through the study of His Word. Bible Study.   So how do we go about studying the Word of God so that we may handle it accurately? First, while it maybe obvious, we must take the time to read the Word of God. Watch Dr. Woodrow Kroll as he speaks about What's the Best Way to Study the Bible? Are you willing to settle? When you come across a passage of Scripture that seems baffling t

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . Psalm 23:1 photo credit: Prabhu B Doss via photopin cc He makes me lie down in green pastures Not Want ? Maybe you have this Psalm memorized and have uttered it time and again. Have you ever given thought to the word want ? Below are some examples of the word want as it is used in the Hebrew in other Old Testament Scriptures*: Psalm 34:10 : The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.   Proverbs 13:25 : The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry .  Proverbs 31:11 : Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.   Ecclesiastes 10:3 : Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.   A Space to be Filled. The use of the word in want above indicates an 'emptiness'; a space that is vacant and needs to be filled. 

Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. ~E.M. Bounds photo credit: Lel4nd via photopin cc There is now an entire prayer team for Blessed Quietness . If you have a request for which you would like us to pray, you can submit your request via " Contact Jennifer Joy " and it will be disseminated to the prayer team. The blog is for the purpose of ministry and encouragement and the prayer team would also like to support you through prayer to the Living God.  Blessings, Jennifer Joy

We all want Canaan without going through the wilderness. Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/ravi_zacharias.html#5FMLslPl428QgfFR.99 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:6-8 Giving up. This is Day 2 of Lent and maybe you are at the point where you want to give up already. Go ahead! Follow your heart and put your attention elsewhere. Why put yourself through unnecessary misery? photo credit: thisisbossi via photopin cc Gaining. Whether or not you have been gaining during Lent is a question only you can answer. It is not the physical tonnage to which I refer but rather that which is to be gained by pursuing a relationship with Christ. Many of us choose to give something up in orde

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17   photo credit: Ansel Edwards Photography via photopin cc Burning Deep Within. Why did God allow this to happen? Why is suffering in His plan for me or anyone for that matter? I cannot make sense of all of this. The question that all of us wrestle with at some point in our lives. Maybe you have never received an answer to this question and you are wondering why God did not intervene. Where was He? And, you might even be questioning whether God really loves you. And, if He loves you, certainly He would not want you to go through this pain. You are correct. Good News. It was never God's intent that we endure suffering. Suffering commenced in Genesis 3 with the