Rescue in Difficult Times ; For audio only PPN
Truth of the Spirit with host Patti Brunner presents “Rescue in Difficult Times”. All around us these days, distress is stirred up when the unknown grips the heart. Where is our rescue? The people still do not understand who God Is. He is not a warrior who conquers the heart. He is the lover who woos the heart. He does not force himself upon his people. He is the bridegroom not the rapist. The Lord actually sends his servants who reach into the darkness to help His children. Their message: Fear not! Fear not the enemy. He is defeated.
The cover picture is Mass live at the Clonard Redemptorists Monastery in Belfast, Ireland. Available at mass-online.org and clonard.com.
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I had a nightmare last night. All hope was lost. I was being swallowed up by a force I knew was beyond my control. And then I did the only thing I could. I started shouting the name “Jesus! Jesus!” Over and over, I desperately shouted, “Jesus! Jesus!” My shouting woke up my husband and he asked me, “Are you dreaming?” I responded, “I guess.” But I wasn’t too sure. But I was rescued from the moment of the terror and went back to sleep.
All around us these days, distress is stirred up when the unknown grips the heart. Yet, if you show God your heart, laid bare, He shall give you His peace. Rescuers are sent from the throne every day; the heavenly hosts appear to those in need and fear when the Lord imposes and executes the answer upon mankind. Angels abound at every turn of your life, doing the Lord’s bidding, returning to Him to give glory and praise for the love He has for the children of hope, the children of promise.
Yet many turn away from His love, living in their own pain because they choose to control so as to inflict a “relieving pain” on others to alleviate their own. Stepping on the suffering of others they seem to “rise above” yet it is a sinking step and soon the pain deepens. Fear not, the rescuers do not give up but stand by until assistance is accepted. Lives will change later or sooner. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord; the Lord hears your prayers and they are answered.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit “Rescue In Difficult Times”. I’m your host, Patti Brunner.
Today our program speaks to the needs of your hearts in times of difficulty. If you are frightened by current events, I am speaking to you! If you are in despair, I am speaking to you! If you are sorrowful—I am speaking to you. If you feel that your circumstances are so bad there is no way out, I am here to give you hope and understanding. The Church, in its mission on earth is designed to share the Good News. I have great news for you today: God loves you. Christ came to earth for one purpose—to prove the Father’s love for you!
The Lord actually sends his servants who reach into the darkness to help His children. Their message: Fear not! Fear not the enemy. He is defeated. Guard yourself, cleanse yourself, surely, but know that the enemy is defeated once and for all. Continue to teach one another what the Lord has taught each of you. The spokes of the wheel all support the rim.
Maybe you are listening today because the difficulties in life cause you to turn to the Lord. This is good this turning to the Lord. What causes these problems? Wounds that are hidden fester and cause unseen effect. Difficulties brought into the world by sin are symptoms of the effect of sin. Grace overcomes the difficult. Strengthened by grace you can bear the burden until the release; the release will always come, later or sooner. The chaos in the world is a pattern well known. Despair, pain, uncertainty, confusion – these traits are sown and ‘fertilized ‘ by the enemy. Yet we can enter into God’s Presence and be set free. And you can bring with you others who are hurting. These difficulties will not exist in the fullness of time in the kingdom of God. The Lord invites us to bring the Kingdom into the lives of those who suffer such difficulties. The Truth, the Word, the presence of God shall bring freedom to the captives and release to the slaves of sin. The honesty of the hidden heart truly sets free those who receive it.
The everlasting love of God for his people continues in sickness and in death—in sin and through forgiveness, in health, prosperity and joy. Be comforted, our God, the great I Am, loves you. There is no greater message than this for you to hear and accept. We are delivered and the delivered enjoy the fruits of their savior. Once you have found the Way, show the way to others. Show them God’s love. Share with them God’s grace, the grace God pours out upon all the world, the grace He has given you. Forget not the benefits of God’s grace. The time you have been given is for use to bring all to Him. Should your actions not exemplify His grace, what benefit is there?
The sinful have blocked the joy of knowing that they are loved and thus sin abounds –it increases. When repentance and forgiveness enters the heart lives are changed. Perhaps slowly, but surely! I tell you this: the Kingdom of God shall be inhabited by sinners, sinners who have accepted righteousness through Jesus Christ. Acknowledging their sin and the need of redemption will bring many into repentance and the fullness of the kingdom of God.
Repentance and desire to change can allow grace to flow but truly it is trust in God that allows you to let go of control—the control that you feel necessary to maintain to protect yourself. I’m not saying to throw all caution to the wind; being a good steward does not cause a wary eye but a prudent one. As you come to the Lord in the quiet of your heart He shall refresh you, and guide you. He shall call upon you to do His will. Listen carefully as the drop of the blood of Jesus falls upon the people and it sets free the families from the effect of their sin. His grace abounds; His grace shall abound in the hearts of men as they turn their faces toward Him and open their hearts to receive His love.
It states in the Word, the law, the promise to be fulfilled with the coming of the Messiah. Jeremiah wrote in 30:22 “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” The people still do not understand who God Is. He is not a warrior who conquers the heart. He is the lover who woos the heart. He does not force himself upon his people. He invites them. He is the bridegroom not the rapist. Part of the difficulty with his people is their lack of trust in Him. People are given freewill by God. When the effect of evil and dishonesty is apparent, they think that God is not good and not a good Provider and so they try to become self-sufficient but they fail.
The sands of time visit upon the earth. Each trial, each test, witnesses the power of God in your hearts. Difficulties in this life, monumental as they may seem, shall be less than a grain of sand in the times of eternity. Fear not; grieve not for the sorrows of life. Look toward joy and life everlasting. Seasons in nature give us a clue. The snow upon the mountain top gleams in the sun light. The rain in the valley nourishes the crops. The waves upon the ocean mark the tides of time, wind, and space. I tell you these things that you might comprehend eternity—all things are in place for a season in creation. All these things shall pass away but God’s love will never pass away. God is your hope. God is your loving Father. Life’s difficulties are never tests beyond your ability to weather them by grace. Continue to seek the Lord in all things.
If you spend any time at all in the modern news media, you will come across a lot of unhappy suffering people. If we focus on the negative, it will eat us for breakfast. Take comfort in knowing this: God loves You; God desires your peace and joy. The world has drifted away from truth. It seeks to satisfy selfish needs and in the process destroys the peace and hopes of others. Watch for the opportunity to share His grace. Know that God is your strength. Be forgiving of others. They suffer and retreat to familiar paths of self. This instinct is well known among people, but the Lord calls you to open your hearts to one another and go past the suffering of vulnerability into community, One Body.
The hopes of the people are tangled up in their desire for worldly goods. The difficulty in the world, the causes of pain, can lead us away from God. A Loving Father hopes for only good for his children but in their weakness, in the weakness of those around them, pain, suffering, choices can be made that lead to pain and suffering. Healing is the answer. When the wound is completely healed the pain subsides and the memory of it drifts from memory. Are the people hurting? Give them God’s healing. Are the people in pain? Offer to them God’s peace and joy. Continue. The joy of the Lord lifts anger from the heart—anger caused by pain. Whenever you see the anger know that it does not stand alone but that it has been built on suffering of heart.
My life has been directly impacted by the self-isolation needed because of my husband’s vulnerability to Covid-19. We have joined millions of Catholics around the world who celebrate and participate in masses broadcast online. Our parish does a live broadcast on Sundays that brings us into community. My husband and I have started watching live daily masses from around the world on Mass-online.org including a monastery in Ireland and a mass from the Marian Shrine in Lourdes, France. As we gather with our new friends, friends who truly know the Lord and thus know us, we find the peace and the Glory of God. We join in community especially as we all say the Our Father together and the now common Prayer for Spiritual Communion that was written by St. Alphonsus Liguori in the 18th century. By the way, St. Alphonsus had to deal with famine and a typhus epidemic. Yet his love for the Eucharist and for truth caused him to write this beautiful prayer which allows us to return to the last moment we received the physical presence of Body and Blood of Christ and experience a spiritual communion. The cares of this world shall melt away as you become united with the Lord in song and in prayer, and especially in silence.
Like thousands of other families, our “home church” has returned us to the roots of Christianity when early Christians gathered in homes to worship God. In our homes we can enter into the heavenly realm. As we step back from outgoing lives, it is ok to rest awhile to allow refreshing. As home offices and home schooling expand, those who have led shall now follow—those who have followed shall now move forward to take the lead. Like a team of horses or Alaskan sled dogs—all are important. Like a formation of Canadian geese or Stuttgart ducks the Lord is guiding you to restful waters by the strength of your formation and team work. Just as it is in nature, so, too, it is divine design. This much you must know, as the circle is complete so is the Body of Christ.
As you sift through the events of the day know this: God’s love for you is unchanging. It is complete; it is enough for you. Fear not the ebbs and flows of grace. What you need is provided when you need it. Sometimes the world does seem to overwhelm people. Their own choices are a major part of this, but, also remember, that there is no perfection in this world. The decay that is a natural part of it witnesses this truth—however, God is perfection. God is life. God is the hope of many who seek His face. When the eternal moment takes ‘time’ you shall see the heritage fulfilled. Until then, remember to love, pray, have joy, and share. These provide an abundant life—even in the midst of ‘imperfection’.
As you busy yourself with the things of the world: working, cleaning, communicating-forget not the purpose for which God has placed you among the people of the Church, especially your family. You must get ready to minister God’s Word to them. Put on some praise music or a praise YouTube video and in song and dance come before Lord. He will fill your heart with love for your family. He will fill you with His Word to take to your family. He shall instruct you, by the Holy Spirit, in the Kingdom ways that all might come to Him for peace and joy. Continue to seek His face.
Inefficiency of others and of yourself is caused by the lack of focus on the kingdom. Do not worry about those things that the Lord has already taken care! He has taken care of your family. When days are difficult or confusing, seek the face of the Lord in ways that are familiar to you. In song, in dance, in written word—as you focus on the Lord, confusion will be lifted and the way of the Lord will be clear.
Seeking the kingdom of God is not easy when it is done alone. It’s a good thing you are not alone! Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to always be with us! The Paraclete will always aide you in your search. Look into the hearts of man. Encourage the good you see. I am reminded of the Sacred Scripture John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And especially the next verse: “17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” By His Cross Jesus rescued us from death. Life in the Spirit is the result. The hatred sown by evil is overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and Love is restored in the hearts of man. “The Lord God has chosen this moment in time to reveal His love to you. Receive it and be glad. Receive it and enter into the house of the Lord in Glory and in Peace. The Obedience of Jesus to the difficult Way of the Cross shows how much the Father loves the sinners. Jesus suffered and died that all might be free. Show your family the unlocked door. Draw them out of the dungeon into the Light of the kingdom the Light of Christ. Put your light on the hillside that all might see.
The weight of the world was placed upon Jesus’ shoulders. It is not your worry the Lord seeks; yet, your concern lifts the problems to Him that He may grant your petition for relief. The Lord grants that which will benefit your family the most. Benefits rarely are exactly the prayer of the people. The wisdom of the ages of man cannot comprehend the Wisdom of your Lord. Yet as you pray “Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven” you release your prayer for perfect benefits to be received. Most do not align their will with the Father’s. It is difficult for a selfish heart to let go of desire for health, wealth, and happiness in ‘this’ life to attain perfection in the ‘next’. God’s people abuse their prayer with requests that are adapted to their own selfishness. Even so, God listens, He grants, He loves. God’s glory knows no bounds in heaven or on earth – yet boundaries are placed by the receptors of his grace. The discerning heart opens fully to receive Him and all the gifts and grace that He “pours out.” Continue to open your hearts to Him. Continue to eradicate those barriers which limit the kingdom of God in your heart and in the hearts of His people.
Reach out to the lonely and the oppressed. Spread the Good News! God is among his people – curing their illness and restoring their connection with their Creator—Salvation is Mine says the Lord—He gives it to all who profess “Jesus is Lord, God of Heaven and earth!” The difficulties in the days ahead will fade like the dew. His kingdom is established on the earth. Enter into His kingdom and be his caretakers of the fields of harvests. He offers this to you and me because He loves you and because He loves his people. It is time. All the earth rejoices in the Lord. All the earth sings songs of praise. Glory to God, forever!
Psalm 23 shares: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not fear. He makes for me green pastures to lay in; “to safe waters he leads me he restores my strength. Lord, guide me along the right path for your name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil for you are at my side. Your rod and your staff are my comfort and my hope.”
I want to end with a prayer for you that I have prayed for my own family. Lord, please bless my listeners. Remind them they are too blessed to be stressed! Give them each wisdom and strength as they make their daily choices. You have called them each by name, may they each be the apple of your eye. The things of this world that seem so important will pass away. Help them to focus on you, Lord. Help me to stay focused on You, Lord. Don’t let us be overwhelmed by watching the waves of the storm. You provide calm waters at just the right time. There is a benefit of strong wind and stormy seas—it is part of your life, your creation. Each has a purpose. Lord, I ask that we get the full benefit of these difficult times. Draw us nearer to Thee. You are our rescuer, our redeemer, our rock, our hope, our love—I could go on and on! Praise you Lord! Amen.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit. I’m your host Patti Brunner. If there is someone you know that is having a difficult time, please share this with them and invite them to subscribe to our podcast. Then come back for more. Because with the Holy Spirit there’s always more! Amen.
