✝ Daily Encouragement (11/30/23) "Sovereign Over Us"
Published: Thu, 11/30/23
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.
You are receiving this email because you have signed up to receive our Daily Encouragement messages or it was forwarded to you. Don't forget to add [email protected] to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox! Having trouble viewing this email? Click here.
![]() Home Archives About Us ![]() ![]() "Sovereign Over
Us"
Message summary: The powerful assurance believers have is that the circumstances of life are ultimately ordained by God. He is reigning. He is in control. He will be with you. Stay faithful and experience the wonderful assurance of His love and care through the God-ordained transitions of life. Receive the deep assurance that God is sovereign over us!
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8).
There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears And You meet us in our mourning With a love that cast out fear You are working in our waiting You're sanctifying us When beyond our understanding You're teaching us to trust
We
first began serving as part-time chaplains in a large printing plant in New England 25 years ago in 1998. We were there for 2½ years before the corporate office in Maryland chose to close its doors. Many of these people had worked together for over 20 years. I still recall the deep felt emotions that Bruce, a machine operator, expressed as he left work for the final time. He walked through the plant slowly and said a heartfelt farewell to his fellow
employees.
Some
wept as they acknowledged the end of long term work relationships which lent itself to long enduring friendships. I walked to the door with Bruce and saw him off as he left a company
for the last time,
one
he had poured his life into throughout many of his adult years. I found this to be a valuable ministry time in reminding these employees of the things that matter most in life. In fact the difficult circumstances became a ministry
opportunity.
Though
we moved 400 miles away from New England in 2001 we kept in contact with several of these employees, some who may still read our messages. (We will be visiting the church we served in New England in early December. I was invited to speak on Dec. 10 as they celebrate their 95th anniversary!)
Transitions are a part of life. Some people have little stability and in a sense they're accustomed to transition. So many have gone from marriage to marriage, job to job and place to place. It's become a way of life to them. Some people who have had more jobs by their mid-twenties than I've had over my entire
life.
As
former foster parents we had children who by the age of six had lived in more places than we have our entire lives combined, and consider the instability present in far too marriages. Years ago I had a request to perform a wedding ceremony. They informed me they wouldn't need pastoral counseling since they already knew all there was to know about marriage since they had both been married several times before! (I declined to officiate since this marriage was very likely doomed to fail
even before the vows were spoken!)
But others know the blessings of long term stability. We have friends who have raised their families in the same house where they were born or neighborhood where they grew up. Although increasingly rare we know people that keep the same job their entire work life like Fred, a friend my age, who started at Messicks, a farm implement company as a mechanic. He started as a teenager and still works for the same company for over 50 years.
And
although we have seen our share of broken marriages we also know many who have taken their marriage vows very seriously.
But we
will all have some transitions and they can present an especially difficult faith challenge. Later in life Abraham, who was quite settled in Haran, was called into a transition. "He obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going".
Not knowing where we're going is the hard part of transition isn't it? And some of you are there right now. On the short term you simply don't know where you are going. You don't know what tomorrow holds. (I sure hope you do in the long term!) Your transition, like Abraham's, may be prompted by a direct call or leading of the Lord. Or more likely it may be due to circumstances beyond your control, such as a plant closing, a lengthy illness, the death of a loved one or the abandonment of a loved one. For some it may involve a transition with the church you've attended for many years where you have given so much of your time, finances, and developed your spiritual gifts. A friend recently shared a testimony and alluded to leaving a church after nearly 70 years (he was carried in as a baby).
The
text concerning Abraham from Hebrews continues, "By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Hebrews
11:9,10).
The
powerful assurance believers have is that these circumstances are ultimately ordained by God. He is reigning. He is in control. He will be with you. Stay faithful and experience the wonderful assurance of His love and care through the God-ordained transitions of life. Receive the deep assurance that God is sovereign over us!
Your
plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us You're with us in the fire and the flood Oh, you're faithful forever Perfect in love You are sovereign over us
Be encouraged
today,
Hebrews
3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne
Weber
![]() Special Year-end Financial
Appeal
We want to thank all who have financially supported our ministry this past year (and some for many years!). Like most ministries, we typically see a spike in giving at the end of the year for which we are most thankful. Thus we bump up this appeal on each post through the remainder of the year.
We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support at
this time but if you would like information about making a donation to our ministry see here.
In considering support we are so pleased when we hear from you, our readers, that our messages are a source of teaching and encouragement to you. We also urge you to consider the mission aspect of these daily teachings that are freely available and read by many all over the world.
You can send a check payable to "Daily Encouragement Net"
to:
Stephen and Brooksyne
Weber
495 Kraybill Church
Road
Mount Joy, PA
17552
![]() If you desire you can also donate directly through PayPal using this link . This will open to a page that states "Brooksyne Weber". We keep this option available due to the familiarity, convenience, for international supporters, and for those who may not need an official receipt. You can also set up for recurring donations. Thank
you,
Stephen & Brooksyne
"Sovereign Over Us" Watch on YouTube
Shane and Shane
Jesse sent me
these photos a guest had taken on the Old Windmill Farm.
![]()
The eagles
have congregated on the farm for many years due to eating the turkey remains from the next door Esbenshade turkey farm.
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see here to sign up for our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription
information intact.
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2023 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
|
Thanks for reading our message!
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
717-823-0592
Daily Encouragement Net
https://www.dailyencouragement.net
Mail service provider is aweber.com
495 Kraybill Church Rd
Mount Joy PA 17552
USA
Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
717-823-0592
Daily Encouragement Net
https://www.dailyencouragement.net
Mail service provider is aweber.com
495 Kraybill Church Rd
Mount Joy PA 17552
USA
Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options