faith in the days of old

Psalm 44:1...O God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us the work that You did in their days, In the days of old...

My mother-in-law, Gladys, is a woman of strong faith and I was blessed with her as my spiritual mother when I married Byron. Many years ago, as we worked in the nursery, cutting plants for sale to other foliage nurseries, she often told us stories of things the Lord had done for her or her children or her mother. She told us of the old days in her church when revivals lasted weeks upon end. She told how the Lord moved powerfully in the services, how he healed the sick and changed lives for the better--for His purposes.

3.For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.

She told us how the Lord delivered her mother from the depression that severely affected her life. She told of Byron's dad's immediate deliverance from an addiction to nicotine so severe that when he quit smoking, the nicotine seeped from his body and stained his clothing. She told of answer after answer to prayer in her life, in her family's lives. When there was a need, they called on Him.

4.You are my King, O God...6.For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. 7.But You have saved us from our adversaries...

She did not trust in her own power or in her own ways. Her family had few earthly resources. There was no money for doctors or hospitals. Many times there was hardly enough food in the house. There were no friends that could help them out of their need and they had no strength of their own. It was the Lord who met their financial needs. It was the Lord who healed them. It was the Lord who rescued them. It was Christ who met their deepest emotional and spritiual needs each and every time they called on Him.

8.In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name forever...

And, it is our Heavenly Father, whom she praises for all her rescues and for keeping her daily, even now. We learn from her what the Lord has done through the years and our faith is bolstered. We learn from our spiritual fathers and mothers about the faithfulness of God and we are strengthened.

We tell how the Lord meets our needs now; how He sends extra work to meet financial needs, how he eases the suffering of an elderly aunt, how he brings peace in the middle of emotional turmoil, how he heals our child in the middle of the night, and how the Holy Spirit comforts us in time of grief. When we tell of the goodness of God, of the immediateness of the Lord, others are shored up in their faith.

But, for the Lord...

O Father, thank you for our fathers and mothers who tell us of your works, of your help, of your deliverance. It strengthens us and builds our faith. Thank you for your nearness, for your close ear, for your permeating presence. You are the air we breathe. But for you, I would die. I love you so, so much.

Suz