God’s Comfort

Invisible People

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , ,

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John 1:11

Have you ever felt like you were just a nameless face in a crowd; unknown, unwanted, without value? I have. You see, I was never one of the popular crowd; always the last one picked for a team, never invited to other kids’ parties, always wondering what was wrong with me.

One example: Linda was a girl across the street who I played with a lot, and in my mind she was my best (and only) friend, but… A year ahead of me in school, she quickly found new friends and moved on. One day Linda had another friend over and they were playing in a building behind her house. Standing outside of the fence, I longed to join the fun as I heard them laughing, clearly having a great time. They even came out and teased me about how much I was missing.

Another time: There was a huge playground at school, and given that we were only a block from the beach, it was mostly sand. A group of kids started building sand castles, which over the course of a week evolved into a sand city. Other kids were invited to help but though I asked, they told me no; and I remained on the sidelines.

Those are very simplistic examples of a lonely child; and as an adult I came to understand the deep agony of others who weren’t just rejected by other children, but by parents and family; often abused or abandoned. I am so blessed that I had parents who truly loved and did the best they could for me and my younger siblings; but my point is that no matter how good or bad our backgrounds may have been, most of us have felt like invisible people at some time, lost in a swirling crowd of humanity.

Biblical examples of the misunderstood are almost too numerous to mention; but consider a short list:

  • Joshua and Caleb – nobody believed their report of the wonders that the Land of Canaan offered; so they had to spend forty years wandering around in the desert until all of those rebellious people died
  • Joseph – his jealous brothers not only scoffed at him but also sold him into slavery, where he spent 17 years (some of them in prison) before he came to the attention of Pharoh and was exalted to the highest office in Egypt, second only to the king
  • King David – persecuted and pursued by Saul even though he sought to honor the king throughout his life
  • All of the Old Testament prophets – condemned, criticized, and many who were martyred for their faith
  • The apostles, all of whom except John were martyred, and he was certainly persecuted

I’m sure that Jesus himself would have known what that felt like. Sure, thousands of people flocked to hear Him teach; individuals sought Him out for healing; but even among His disciples, did anone really know Him? He wasn’t welcome in His own home town, and even His mother and brothers doubted:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which
their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
But passing through their midst, he went away.
Luke 4:16, 28-30

So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”
For not even his brothers believed in him.
Matthew 7:3-5

Almighty God, I AM, Jehovah understands:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man
and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:19-23

No matter how invisible we may feel, there’s good news. God knows each of us intimately:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high;
I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:1-6

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:15-16

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep … I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:3, 14-15

The Lord sees what we are enduring:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:7-16

And the best news yet – He gives us hope:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Yet sometimes, life gets hard and we may easily fall back into our invisibility cloaks. In such moments, consider Jesus’ prayer for you. Consider that just hours before He was nailed to the cross, you were on His mind:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17

Why, God?

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , ,

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37

I was twenty-eight years old, and the biblical women with whom I could relate the most were Sarah, Rachel, Hannah and Elizabeth. Why? They were barren and could not conceive a child. I wanted a baby desperately, yet after much testing my doctors could find no reason why I couldn’t become pregnant. Full of sorrow over what might never be, I could no longer attend baby showers or watch new moms with their sweet babies without my heart breaking.

At the time, while working as a private duty RN, an assignment was given to care for a young woman who had just given birth. Along with the task came the warning that she was going to be very hard to handle; a poor little rich girl, spoiled rotten, separated from her husband and living with her mother, who was pretty loony in her own right. Not only did the patient not want her child but she refused to even see her; on top of that, she was driving the entire staff crazy with her complaints. Long story short, she lived up to all the hype and wins the prize for the most difficult patient I ever had throughout my nursing career. Day 1 was beyond awful, dealing with her hysterics as she refused the very treatments that would have helped her feel better; but day 2 was just as bad, or even worse. The dad came to visit and they decided to go see their child, escorted by yours truly. That baby girl was one of the prettiest little darlings I’d ever seen, and she stole their hearts (and mine!); after which they decided Mom would take her home where they would live with the the sex-crazed, drugged-out grandmother in her multi-million dollar Beverly Hills mansion. That broke my heart almost as much as the mom not wanting the baby because I knew there was little chance she would grow up to be a happy, well-adjusted adult; let alone the fact that short of a major miracle, there would be no godly influence in her life. I wonder to this day how her life turned out and if she has ever come to know Jesus.

After all of this, while walking to my car after work I could’nt keep the tears from flowing. Literally railing at God over the injustice of it all, I argued with Him all the way home; asking over and over, “Why God, why?” I felt convicted that I should read my Bible as soon as I arrived, but was so angry with Him that scriptures and prayer were the last thing I was interested in. All I wanted to do was yell and scream and pretty-much throw a fit! Finally, I gave in and told Him, “OK, I’ll only read the daily devotional, but that’s it unless You give me some answers.”

Backtracking a little, this was before the days of easy search engines where you can type in a few words of a Bible quote and immediately locate the chapter and verse. I had been searching for weeks for a particular scripture but couldn’t find it even though I’d checked printed commentaries and indexes, all to no avail; it seemed like those verses had disappeared from my Bible. Now, I entered my home and, with a rebellious, I’ll-show-You God attitude, picked up my devotional booklet. Wouldn’t you know it? The very passage I’d been searching for was the verse of the day:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Broken, I collapsed on the floor in tears; repenting for my fears, impatience, lack of trust and everything else I could think of. By the time I got up He had made all things new, the angst was gone. Shortly afterward, a friend from church was about to give birth and I hosted her baby shower. I remember so clearly sitting there in complete peace; but there was also a quiet sense that I was pregnant, though it was much too early to even suspect it. Sure enough, I was; and about nine months later our son was born. I still identified with those biblical women, but this time it was because I understood how each one felt when they gave birth – Sarah, the mother of Isaac; Rachel, the mother of Joseph; Hannah, the mother of Samuel; and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist:

He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! Psalm 113:9

Why me? Why did I have to go through that? Certainly, I don’t have all of the answers; but I do know that the experience has enabled me to comfort other women over the years. I also understand that why-questions are not limited to infertitily and that whatever the issue, God is always faithful to His own. He’s proven it to me time and time again; through life-threatening illnesses, financial difficulties and family difficulties, just to name a few, He has proven His sufficiency:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Clearly, we don’t have all the answers and often cannot understand, but the truth remains:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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 40:30-31

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Psalm 27:10

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. Timothy 2:11-13

Life is full of hardship! Seemingly, about the time we overcome one thing, somthing else comes along. My prayer is that each person reading this post will embrace the reality of His sufficency and experience His perfect peace in the midst of the storms. Whatever the problem, He cares and He will help!

My Prayer

Barbara Kain Parker Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , ,

Going through old journals, I came across a morning prayer from December 2009, which is shared below. Following each phrase or paragraph are scriptures that illustrate the biblical truths that God had planted in my heart.

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119:15-16

In the stillness; You are here.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10


In the midst of turmoil; You are here.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1


In joy, in grief, in pleasure, in pain; You are here.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:11 NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.
When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same
comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

In gladness or sadness; You are here.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! Psalm 30:11-12


Here or there, near or far; You are here.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:7-12


It matters not if I feel Your presence; it matters not whether I hear Your voice and all around me is silence; You are still here, closer than my next breath, indwelling my body and watching over me.

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4

Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthias 3:16

All that concerns me matters to You. You know my every thought, You know my every emotion; so now in the quiet morning stillness just before dawn, I turn to You and wait for You. As I wait for the sun to rise up in the sky, I wait for You to rise up in my spirit and make Yourself known.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
ou hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high;
I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:4-6

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.Micah 7:7

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6

I have much for which to give thanks; I have much for which to be sorrowful; I have many questions and few answers. But this I know, You are still here and You are always faithful to me.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thesalonians 5:16-18

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 1 Thesalonians 5:24

Please, my Father, my Lord and my God, deal with that which concerns me, and keep me safe in the center of Your rest in the meantime. Draw me into the center of Yourself; turn my eyes upon Jesus; wash me anew in the life-giving blood, and pour Your water of lifeover me.

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Psalm 138:8

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me,
as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
John 7:37-38

Peace

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , ,

john-14-27OK, so maybe I’m bragging a little, but a mom’s entitled. Right?

My son is an amazing dad, and to watch as his three little kids run to him for comfort blesses me beyond belief. Tears disappear as he cuddles and comforts, for in his arms they feel safe and loved; in his arms they have peace.

From an adult perspective, the traumas that send a child fleeing to a parent for comfort may seem very insignificant; but an ‘owie’, hurt feelings, sibling squabbles, a scary dream, anything that shatters his/her peaceful world seems as big a deal to them  as do the things that shatter ours.

As 2017 looms large on the horizon, there are certainly a lot of issues with which to be concerned. Whether our problems are personal, national, or international; there is much that would make us yearn for a place of rest and safety. Fortunately, such a place does exist, and we can rush headlong into the loving arms of our Father to be comforted just as readily as my grandchildren run to my son. Jesus understood this well, as He encouraged His disciples:

Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16: 32-33)

About a hundred and fourteen years ago, Cleland B. McAfee wrote “Near to the Heart of God” from a place of personal grief and loss. Modeling Jesus, he also knew from Whom his strength came:

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
Refrain:
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.
There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

Over 2000 years ago, God was there for Jesus’ disciples; over a century ago He was there for Mr. McAfee; and He is still there for us today. May we all rest in His peace today, tomorrow, and throughout 2017.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

Melodies of Love

Barbara Kain Parker Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , ,

“It’s the time of the season for loving.”  The phrase played over and over in my mind like a broken record, and I had to laugh—who’d ever think the LORD would use the Zombies’ song from the 60s—a song that exemplified the “summer of love”—to croon a message to one of His children.

Often, especially when life seems difficult, the LORD comfort’s me with music; sometimes a whole song and other times just a phrase.  While it may be an old hymn or a contemporary worship song, it’s just as likely to be popular music with no seemingly spiritual message; at least not until He sings it to me.

On one occasion, my life was in turmoil and I awoke to hear selected phrases from two songs.  First, “…angels doing cartwheels in the sky…” set to the music of Freddy Hayler’s, Song of Angels; followed by a lullaby, “…and the living is easy…hush little baby, don’t you cry,” from Gershiwn’s Summertime.  Just God’s way of saying, “Relax, calm down, laugh, be patient,” I guess.

On another morning, He professed His love as I heard His voice, sounding remarkably like Nat King Cole, crooning, “I Remember You; You’re the one who made my dreams come true…You’re the one who said ‘I love you too’…Didn’t you know?”   Who ever knew God is such a romantic?

One night I had a dream in which I was surrounded by a bunch of friendly, soft, cute, furry, little smurf-like creatures in a worship service.  I’d never seen anything quite like them before.  There were all ages—one adult especially seemed to be an old friend, and there were lots of babies; even three sets of triplets.  What fun!  As I awoke I heard, “All creatures of our God and King; lift up your voice and let us sing; Hallelujah, hallelujah.”  Hallelujah Indeed!

Another time, waking from a dream involving cars it was, Baby You Can Drive My Car.  How could I not begin the day laughing with “beep beep’m beep beep yea” echoing through my mind?

Six years ago, as I was battling breast cancer and feeling overwhelmed, it was Let’s Get Away From It All, and I’d soon find a quiet place of rest in my LORD.  Or I’d make it through a difficult day and hear, “There She Goes; there she goes again.”

My Father always keeps his eye on me.  Indeed,

I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.   He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.  The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121)

My response is to sing back to him in praise and thanksgiving, “How great is my God; sing with me; how great is my God; all will see; how great, how great is my God.”