Finding God's Presence ~ A Song in the Night

by Nan Jones   @NanJonesAuthor

Guest blogger, Norma Gail   @Norma_Gail

What a joy it is to introduce you to my friend, Norma Gail. We first met on Twitter a year or so ago and realized that we are both authors with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Our friendship began with supporting each others work through retweeting and sharing posts, and quickly developed into sister-friends. Norma is a prayer warrior, a faithful friend, and a gifted writer. I pray you'll be encouraged by her post about finding a song of praise in our darkest nights.

Welcome Norma Gail!

I could not remember the last day without pain. A week of small trials, following a prolonged period of physical pain and sleeplessness made me feel trapped, as if the sun would never shine again.

When a painful condition is unseen, others doubt and are quick to accuse. It is all too frequent for people to condemn the sufferer rather than console. The widow receives comfort for a while, and then life is expected to move on. Too often, the innocent spouse receives as much judgment as the guilty. The surgical patient receives more sympathy than the sufferer of an invisible disability.

A bird perched upon a dead tree outside my window, singing as a blanket of fog wrapped me in the silence of unrelenting hurt created a powerful picture. God is as close in the throes of misery and sorrow, as in the sunshine, but it is more difficult to run to Him when surrounded by blackness and thorns.

God spoke to Job in the midst of the storm and to Elijah in a still small voice after the tumult had passed. God answers when I call to Him. He does not leave me alone in the dark, hopeless, and afraid. When it appears He has abandoned, God whispers the comfort of His presence. I only have to sit still to hear. God rarely shouts His answers. He prefers the quiet solitude of our hearts to speak His most gracious words of comfort and peace. He desires me to lean my head on His chest, leaving my burdens at His feet.

It is not chance that Jesus was called the “Man of Sorrows.” He knows my own unique pain. He will not leave me desolate. He will bring balm for my aching soul as He sent the ravens to feed Elijah at Cherith, and angels to Jesus in the wilderness. When the times of pain and darkness come, I must remember the times God has given me songs in the night, adopted children in the midst of infertility, certainty of heaven in the midst of crushing grief.

Look for Him in the darkness. Call to Him from the fog of pain. He may not take away the circumstances, but He is faithful to provide healing balm and restore singing to an aching heart. 

© Copyright Norma Gail Thurston Holtman

May 21, 2015

 

                            After A Long Night

What will it be like

When in Your presence I stand,

When I reach out for You

And touch Your hand?

What will it be like

When Your face I see,

When I feel Your presence

Surrounding me?

I long for the day

When all pain is gone,

When my joy and my task

Is to sing Your song.

How will I feel

When I’ve been set free—

From the pain and struggle

That now enslave me?

I long for the day

When I see Your face,

When all of my sickness

Is healed by Your grace.

You are my strength

While I walk this sod,

But, Oh, what peace

To behold my God!

There will come a day

When I understand,

And behold my scars

Upon Your hands.

When I get lost

In the fog of pain,

I cry out for Your presence,

I plead in Your Name.

You are always there,

You never delay.

But still, in my heart,

I will long for that day

When all earthly pain

And sorrow are gone,

At last and forever,

I will be at home.

© Copyright, by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, July 12, 2002 

A Tweetable to Encourage Others 

Where is God in my pain? Guest, @Norma_Gail shares via @NanJonesAuthor (Click to Tweet)

********************************************

Meet Norma Gail:

 

Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance,

Land of My Dreams, released in April 2014. She has led weekly women’s Bible studies for 19 years. Her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the StitchesthruTime blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. She and her husband of 38 years have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbZIoC_JSE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NormaGailwrites

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2

Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864?ean=9781941103173

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http://store.lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/