O Tidings of Comfort and Joy

I'm not sure what to name this post. Not even sure what it is going to be about at this point. I am trying to sort through a deluge of emotions that are crowding in and attempting to overwhelm my spirit.  It's Christmas, and we all want it to be merry and bright...full of good cheer and tidings of great joy.

Certainly, that is the message of Christmas..."O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of

comfort and joy."  As I wrote those last words I started singing the Christmas Carol, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"...and I tried to find it in one of the many different hymnals I have in my personal library, and could not believe that it was not included in any of them! I wonder why, and if so, how did we come to know it so well?  Thanks to Google, I have included it at the end of this post.

The reason I am writing tonight is because I don't feel so full of good cheer and great joy. We received some disturbing, unsettling, difficult news today.  Our wonderful son who has been battling cancer for almost four years learned today that the grueling chemotherapy treatments he has been enduring (seems like forever) are no longer effective. The cancer is spreading and crowding his vital organs. Surgery is not an option for him. Unless they can come up with some kind of miracle cure/treatment very soon, or unless God intervenes on his behalf with a miracle...his prognosis is not looking very good.

This is not the kind of news any parent wants to hear any time, let alone just before Christmas. What complicates matters is that we live about 1500 miles away from our son and his family, and we can't very easily drop everything and go as much as we want to do just that. Nor can he very easily come to us.

So we have spent our afternoon since receiving this news basically in shock and trying to sort through the muck and mire of the thoughts crowding into our minds and hearts and trying to figure out the best course of action at this time.

Right now we have to get through Christmas. We have family and work obligations here. There are multitudes of issues to deal with...financial, time, place, what-if's, what should we do, when should we go.

Then this little Christmas song goes through my head...

"God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,

Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;

To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.

Refrain

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy."

And I say to myself, "I don't feel much like a "merry" gentleman (woman) today...but I hear the words..."Let nothing you dismay..."  Okay, Lord, I'm trying here...."Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day..."   Yes, Lord, I do remember...."To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray."   Ah, yes...that is what Christmas is really all about...Christ came to save us from Satan's power...even his seeming power over our lives in sickness and death... Satan has NO DOMINION over us! Satan does NOT hold the keys to life and death or sickness and health.  Only GOD has that power!  God alone ordains the number of days of our lives here on earth.  Jesus Christ came to save us from eternal separation from God! 

"O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy!"

Look at these next verses of the old English version of this little carol:

In Bethlehem, in Israel, this blessèd Babe was born,

And laid within a manger upon this blessèd morn;

The which His mother Mary did nothing take in scorn.

Refrain

From God our heavenly Father a blessèd angel came;

And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same;

How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name.

Refrain

“Fear not, then,” said the angel, “Let nothing you afright,

This day is born a Savior of a pure Virgin bright,

To free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might.”

"O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy!"

The shepherds at those tidings rejoiced much in mind,

And left their flocks a-feeding in tempest, storm and wind,

And went to Bethl’em straightaway this blessèd Babe to find.

Refrain

But when to Bethlehem they came where our dear Savior lay,

They found Him in a manger where oxen feed on hay;

His mother Mary kneeling unto the Lord did pray.

Refrain

Now to the Lord sing praises all you within this place,

And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;

This holy tide of Christmas all others doth deface.

Refrain

God bless the ruler of this house, and send him long to reign,

And many a merry Christmas may live to see again;

Among your friends and kindred that live both far and near—

That God send you a happy new year, happy new year,

And God send you a happy new year."

"O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy!"

(Words & Music:  Traditional English)

After singing through this little Christmas song, my heart is lighter.  I have comfort and joy in my soul again. I don't know what the future holds, but I know WHO holds our future...and I know our God and Father in Heaven will do what is right in all things.  He has sent comfort to us tonight...He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us all from Satan's power...and to remind us that we belong to HIM, not to Satan.  Therefore we need not fear.

Yes, these are tidings of comfort and joy! 

 Link here to a video of this song

Thank you, Lord.

God Is In Control...

II Timothy 1:7  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Tonight I have heard some disturbing news...news that could strike fear into the heart of any mother or father.  God has blessed us with three wonderful sons.  Each one is uniquely talented and gifted in special ways. As is the case with most parents, we do not love one child more than any other...we love them equally and fervently.  But one of our sons has been especially close to our hearts throughout the years because it seems as though God has set him apart for a unique purpose...to be a witness to us and to those with whom he has come into contact of the miraculous, gracious, amazing power of God to work in mysterious and marvelous ways, His wonders to behold! 

For those who know our son Matthew, you are aware of the story of the miracles that surrounded him and touched his life when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of eighteen. The fact that God not only healed him of one brain tumor, but two within the course of a couple of years remains one of the beautiful mysteries of life that cannot be explained by normal human ideologies.  Matthew is now 37 years old, married, and the proud father of our only grandson, Noah, who is ten years old.  His life has been blessed and we never cease to praise God for how He has intervened on his behalf many times.

Today Matthew had a CT Scan to examine a small lump that appeared on his lower abdomen.  The original thought was that perhaps he had a hernia, but the radiology report revealed that this is an enlarged lymph node, and that he has many more such nodes on his torso.  The doctor has scheduled a biopsy for this Friday to determine the cause of the swelling.  Matthew lives in Maine.  We live in Florida.  That's a long way away for my son to be when such news comes. 

A few years ago, when we were in the midst of another son's trials and tribulations, I learned a little song while leading the music for our church Vacation Bible School.  The name of the song is, "God Is In Control", originally sung by Twila Paris.  It goes something like this:

"God is in Control...we believe that His children will not be forsaken, God is in contol, We will choose to remember and never be shaken. There is no power above or beside Him we know! Oh oh oh, God is in Control!

I have sung that song many times since those days of concern and distress; sometimes with tears streaming down my face, but I had to accept the fact that GOD IS IN CONTROL! Not me! God!

Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you.  I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

I love the emphasis on the words "am" and "will" in that verse.  Almighty God clearly and emphatically states that He is with us, He is our God, He will strengthen us and He will help us. He will uphold us with His righteous right hand.  So no matter what the tests may reveal, no matter what the prognosis may be, we can trust God.  He will not let go...He will carry us with His righteous right hand.  He may even choose to perform another miracle, but either way...we will trust Him.

IT IS ALL ABOUT TRUST~Can you trust the One Who died for YOU? If He was willing to DIE for us, then He is also willing to take care of us in this life.

TRUST!!!!!