Lord, Help Me Endure

“Lord Help Me Endure To The End” is a prayer song inspired by a scripture verse that Jesus spoke to His disciples when He was talking to them about prophetic events of the dark last days.

Jesus said, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Matthew 24:13 KJV

What does the word Jesus used for endure mean?

ὑπομένω hupomenō~~Thayer Definition:

1) to remain, 1a) to tarry behind, 2) to remain, i.e. abide, not recede or flee,

2a) to persevere under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ

2b) to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments

This verse with its word meaning has spoken volumes to me as I have studied and meditated over them.

I’m so thankful the Lord gave me this prayer song to encourage me to meditate on this verse as I seek Him in prayer and in His Word, especially now.

No stranger to affliction being a sufferer of chronic daily migraines and fibromyalgia, I was painting to distract myself from pain early one morning last month.

Mark reminded me of an appointment I had to get ready for so I got in a rush to print my painting and get ready for the day.

Alas, as I rounded the corner of my bed I tripped and fell backwards landing on my left side and crashed onto the hardwood floor.

Horrified, I saw my left arm detached from my body. In excruciating pain, I thought my hip and neck were broken, as they were hurting as much as my arm and shoulder, also I could not move. Talk about screaming. My beloved Mark was by my side in a second.

I had to be taken to the hospital where they did imaging. Not only did I have bruises all over the left part of my body, but the X-Rays and scans revealed that I’d severely fractured my left humerus. Thank the Lord I had broken nothing else. I returned home with my left arm in a heavy splint and sling. It was so heavy in fact, I could barely walk. The pain was unbearable. I learned how disabled one is made by such a severe injury.

At first I just felt manacled by that awful splint and was sent into panic mode in certain positions. I was in more pain than I’d ever been in my life and I begged God to take me to Heaven. He kept saying nope. Not only did I find the pain beyond my endurance, I couldn’t tolerate being so helpless and dependent on others for assistance in EVERYTHING.

The Lord said, “ENDURE.”

Hadn’t I suffered enough, I asked.

The Lord was not going to let me off the hook.

He reminded me of the prayer song He had given me, “Lord Help Me Endure To The End.”

He reminded me of the other prayer song with lyrics He had given me on my most recent release Paths of Faith, “I Will Lay Down My Life.”

Migraines flared up the agony in my fractured arm even more. The wretched splint caused huge tormenting tension knots in my back and neck. I could not get comfortable nor sleep in my bed but had to sleep in Mark’s recliner.

Despite my misery, the Lord showered me with rivers of His measureless mercy. He sent wonderful home healthcare people to assist me. They always ended up telling me about folks who were far worse off than I was and this would somehow comfort me because I not only then felt I was not alone in my pain, it motivated me to pray for people who suffered as I did.

Prayer was the only way I could lay my life down in love for others because of my disability, while others were laying their lives down in love for me. The Lord always sent me people with the most cheerful attitudes. They somehow could make me laugh despite my intense pain.

Our son flew home from LA to help my husband with my care.

Our daughter being tied up with myriad issues in Tucson did many wonderful things for us that we needed assistance with by ordering things we required and had them sent to us.

We were surrounded by love. God showed His mercy and faithfulness in so many ways that helped me to hang on when I thought I could not endure another moment of pain. Many from our church sent beautiful cards and prayers while our friend Sharon came and stayed with me twice so Mark could run some necessary errands.

Our Pastor came over and anointed me with oil and prayed for my healing. All of these beautiful expressions of God’s love comforted me, reminding me that our Heavenly Father still loved me despite my suffering.

One night after I finally fell asleep exhausted from the pain, I dreamed that the Lord Jesus Christ came down from Heaven and into my living room. He stood by the recliner where I lay sleeping and He checked on my arm as if He were a doctor checking on my progress. I dreamed this two nights in a row. I woke up very comforted both times, assured of His love for me.

But on days when the hours stretched by and my pain level stayed at a ten I became depressed and wept, praying for God’s mercy and repenting for everything I could think of that might have upset the Lord. For when we go through serial trials we can’t help but look up and ask the Lord, “What did I do wrong?”

Whenever I ask the Lord questions like that He refers me to His Word. From the Epistle of James: “My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you. God wants to see if you really trust Him. Your faith in God will become stronger as a result of these troubles. So you should continue to trust God all the time. Then you will become stronger as a Christian. You will become completely how you should be. You will not need anything more.” James 1:2-4 (*Easy English Bible)

The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to comfort me and assure me that God is using my trials to enlarge my faith.

We thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is so good to us. As our Father, He is very kind to us. He is our God who comforts us in every way. Whenever we have trouble, He comforts us. Because of that, we ourselves can comfort other people. When they have any kind of trouble, we can comfort them, in the same way that God has comforted us. Christ himself received much pain, and God comforted Him. As Christ’s servants, we also receive the same kind of pain. But, God also comforts us very much, because we belong to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 *(Easy English Bible)

Peter the Apostle wrote that we should expect to have suffering and trials as Christians.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13 KJV

Peter asserted that suffering and pain motivate the Christian to do God’s will instead of their own will, even as Christ did His Father’s will on earth.

“Christ had trouble and pain while He lived in His human body. So you should prepare yourselves to have trouble and pain too. Think about it in the same way that Christ did. If someone has trouble and pain in his body, he stops doing wrong things. As a result, that person will want to do what God wants him to do. In his life in this world, he will not want to do the bad things that people think are good.” 1 Peter 4:1-2 (*Easy English Bible)

That is why we never give up.

Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.

For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT (*New Living Translation)

“Lord Help Me Endure To The End”~ Midnight Prayers and Meditations Volume II, © ℗ 2021, by Suzanne Davis Harden, All Rights Reserved.

“Lord Help Me Endure To The End”~ Peaceangel Song, Copyright © 2022, by Suzanne Davis Harden, All Rights Reserved.

Scripture Quotations from the King James Version Bible Translation, the Easy English Bible, The New Living Bible Translation, All of which are copyrighted by their various publishers.

*Created through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God The Father, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Emancipation Day

Juneteenth is a holiday observed on June 19th that celebrates the emancipation of the former slaves in the United States.

“Emancipation Day” is truly a holiday in our country that everyone should honor and consider thoughtfully and with great thanksgiving to God.

For His word says  “…The Lord frees prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are oppressed…” ~ Psalm 146:7- CSB

Was it not the Lord Almighty who heard the many prayers of these enslaved oppressed souls and answered them in His own way and time as He answers all prayer? 

To everything a season… Ecclesiastes 3:1

 Was it not He who controls the destinies of all nations who opened the eyes of the leaders to see their blindness and hypocrisy in harboring slavery in a land founded on freedom and Christian morality?

The Lord is the One who sets the prisoners free ultimately.

I believe that the enslaved peoples of our nation, based on their great spirituals and hymns, would agree that it was the Lord God who had heard their fervent cries for freedom and brought about their ultimate deliverance. 

For they were truly a longsuffering people of great faith. 

Their patience teaches us to trust the Lord and believe and hope no matter how discouraging things look, or impossible or hopeless the situation seems. 

They inspire us to never give up believing. 

Most of these persevering people kept singing, praising, and working for the unseen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom they truly belonged, who had made them His own redeemed children through His death on the cross despite their hardship in the physical world. 

His Kingdom was not of this world and they served Himwho was every and all colors, for He was the Great Creator who had made them. 
And His was the color of love.

The Lord had no favorites. 
They could see this even if those who had enslaved them were blind~though they too claimed to serve Christ. 

The Bible says, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2:11 – KJV)
In Him there was no white nor black, male nor female, slave nor free.

All were one in Christ. (*See Galatians 3:28)

In Christ all were made free, for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17) 

He had made them free in the spiritual realm and one day they knew in their hearts that He would make them free in the material world.

What eyes could not see, their hearts could.

These courageous souls walked by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) 

When their freedom in this world finally came, these former slaves knew that their prayers had been answered and they gave praise and thanks to the Lord their Deliverer.

“For the Lord hears the needy 
And does not despise His who are prisoners.” ~ Psalm 69:33 – AMP

Though this holiday has not widely been observed or celebrated in our nation, many of the children of the former slaves have kept up with the tradition of remembrance since the first Emancipation Day.

For It truly is a Day of Thanksgiving and praise, to gather and celebrate freedom and to honor God and praise Him for the deliverance He brought about for those who were so long enslaved in this land.

He sets the captives free and those who were first delivered from their bondage knew who to praise for their liberty.

They loved the Lord with all their heart and their songs and spirituals remain as a testimony forever to eternity of their faith in Him.

“…The Lord loves the righteous…” Psalm 146:8 CSB

Happy Juneteenth Card available at Peaceangelsongsgifts.com

Peaceangelsong’s Gifts, Copyright © 2021, by Suzanne Davis Harden through the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by the Holy Spirit, to the Glory of God the Father, In Jesus’ name, all rights reserved.

A Christmas Blessing

May the Lord bless each of you this Christmas and throughout the New Year and keep you all healthy, safe, and near to Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In Christ’s love, Suzanne ♥️

Prayer For Miss Phee

Miss Phee

Dear Friends,

These past few days have been very challenging for my husband and me. Our little Yorkie, Miss Phee, has been suffering from an illness that is difficult to treat.

I ask you to join me in praying for her healing.
I’m truly devastated over her illness.

She is eleven, so she’s not a young dog, but she’s a Yorkie and has always been full of life and energy up until this year.
However, she has suffered from a liver shunt since she was three years old. Right now she is dealing with related issues, but not the liver shunt directly.

She hurt her back several months ago by jumping too much off of the furniture.
I found that I could not prevent my little dog from hurdling herself off of things when she was excited~alas! Now she has pain associated with all that leaping about.

Alas—everything is painful for Miss Phee right now. And she needs much prayer.
I remember my late dad saying as he got into his eighties that growing older was not for sissies. He even had a small pillow with that saying embroidered on it.
Miss Phee must be at least eighty or ninety in dog years by now.
I guess if she could talk she would agree with my dad’s bit of senior wisdom.

I am so grateful to the Lord that I have had my little Phee for eleven years, for liver shunt dogs aren’t usually as healthy as my little Miss Phee has been up until a few months ago.

Her vet said before she hurt her back that she was the poster dog for liver shunt dogs! Then back in the fall it all went downhill.

Miss Phee~ Tough Doggie 🖤

From the get-go Miss Phee was a fierce fighter. For when she was just a wee puppy, the vet had to redo her sutures about two months after she was spayed because she was allergic to the sutures and they caused her to have a bad reaction. She became very ill and had to go through that surgery twice.

I wept and prayed before the Lord for her healing for she had to be hospitalized for a week. It seemed I’d only had her for three months though it truly had been since August and now she was going to be taken from me. How could that be possible!
But at the time the Lord promised she would be restored to me. He even gave me a promise that not only would she be healed, but she would be a healthy and strong little dog and that I would have her with me to enjoy for many years.
He even gave me a sketch of her to go with my prayer.

Miss Phee had come to me through a dream that summer ~and a sketch.
Now God was giving me another promise.
Another sketch.
He would not take her away.
I stopped crying.

The previous spring and summer were among the worst of my life health wise. I had suffered the worst migraines ever up until that point.

My daughter was planning an early September wedding and I wanted very much to help her with her big day. I felt bad that I was bed ridden with allergies and severe migraines and was unable to be a part of the planning.
The doctors could do nothing for me.
I was losing hope that I would even be able to attend her wedding as mother of the bride. I was very depressed.


I had loved to walk before I got sick and had a particular route in my neighborhood that I took every day. As I walked I memorized the psalms and prayed for family and all kinds of needs as the Lord led me.

When I reached the summit of one particularly challenging hill, there was a panorama of the most beautiful mountains off in the distance. And I was always on a particular bible verse at that time.


As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever.” Psalms 125:2 KJV

The Lord was around me. I knew He was with me just as those mountains surrounded me.


One night I could not sleep, the pain in my head and neck were so severe. The Lord then encouraged me to say in my mind the Psalms I had memorized when I had been able to take my walks. He encouraged me to pray and meditate on His Word despite my pain
.

He said to walk with Him in the Spirit, to walk our route in my heart while saying the psalms I had memorized.


The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1

As I began to repeat the Psalms over and over I drifted off to sleep. I saw my walking route. It was a beautiful summer day, with a bright blue sky and lovely white clouds drifting above me. Having walked down our big hill, I now found myself on the flat road saying Psalm 27. The Lord was with me in my heart.

Suddenly there was a little dog with me! I didn’t know what kind of dog this was. It just was a tiny little dog. We walked down the flat road through the neighborhood and on to the next one. Soon we came to the big hill.


I had to carry the tiny puppy in my arms because she could not walk up the big hill.

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even to forever.” Psalm 125:2


We got back home and sat in the swing out back and looked up at the blue sky filled with clouds and prayed. In my dream, I saw Mark come home from work. He came up to the swing and looked at the little dog and lovingly smiled at her.

Just two weeks before I had prayed for a little dog and then asked Mark and he had said, “I don’t want to have an indoor dog, or any little dog in our house! I really can’t stand little dogs!”
I had been praying and having my quiet time downstairs and started crying. “Lord I wish I had a little dog. But Mark doesn’t want one.
The Lord spoke to my heart.
I will change Mark’s heart.

Did I hear God right? I didn’t ask Mark again.

In my dream I thought about what God had promised me about changing Mark’s heart, when he came up to me and the little dog in the swing. God had promised to change his heart. Now Mark joined us and picked up the little dog and smiled. He lovingly petted the puppy’s ears who licked his fingers.
In my dream we all three sat in the swing in the backyard under the trees in the beautiful golden afternoon sunlight as the bright clouds drifted across the sky above us.

I then woke up and looked at Mark sleeping beside me in wonder.

“HONEY! I DREAMED ABOUT A LITTLE DOG!

Mark groggily woke up and asked me about my dream. I told him all about it. He sighed.


The next day he asked me to draw the little dog. I drew what the dog looked like in my dream. We took the sketch to the library and started searching through every dog book we could find. We finally found the breed that matched the dog in the sketch. It looked like a Yorkie puppy!


That morning I had another dream. In it the Lord Jesus was giving me that little Yorkie puppy from my earlier dream. He said this was my angel dog. I was responsible to take care of her now.
And so was Mark.
Then He released her to me.

Down, down, down from His arms into my space she came! Then I awoke filled with joy at this beautiful new gift!

~Mark and Miss Phee~

Later that day Mark called around and found a breeder in a town a couple of hours away. We went to see her and she had two female puppies. The smallest little one seemed to choose me! The little dog clung to me as I sang to comfort her on our way home that afternoon.

My neurologist found a medication that stopped my migraines just in time for my daughter’s wedding a couple weeks later. I was able to attend and we took little Phee. I named her Phoenix and Mark promptly renamed her Phee.

The Lord truly did change Mark’s heart because he has loved little Phee from the start. And she loves him. He has even bought clothes for her. That would never have happened had God not done a miracle in his heart.

She was God’s gift not only to me but to Mark as well.
Then when I almost lost Miss Phee after she got spayed, God restored her to me with a promise and another sketch.

Now she is sick again.

You may wonder how if God promised she would be a healthy and strong little dog, did He then let her get the liver shunt?
Why did she have health issues then?
Because I have learned that God does not define good health the way humans do.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” saith the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV

Miss Phee has always been healthy and strong in her own way, despite her liver shunt. Her doctor even said she was the poster dog for liver shunt dogs.
This was true as long as she stayed within her boundaries and was given her meds. If she would eat the right things, she was healthy and strong and filled with energy and life.

“… they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,
and He saveth them out of their distresses.
He sent His word, and healed them,
and delivered them from their destructions.
Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
Psalms 107:19-21 KJV

I ask you to join me in praying for my little Phee. If it is God’s will, He will heal her once again as He has before.

Thank you so much. God bless you,

In Christ’s Love,

Suzanne

Please Pray for Miss Phee 🖤

Lord, Please Heal Miss Phee

Lord, I ask You hear my prayer
Please heal Miss Phee I pray
Oh Jesus, Lord, have mercy
On her where she lay.

Have mercy on her, Jesus,
Heal my little dog,
Help her bark with joy again
Her tail to wag with love.

Lord Jesus, help her eat
And food not be her foe
Help her body process food
The way it’s supposed to go.

Lord Jesus, send Thy word,
And fill her heart with life
Let her legs be strong again
And fill her eyes with light.

Wrap her in Thy arms,
Lord, she is so cold!
Help her not to be in pain,
For Jesus, she is old…

Heal her, Jesus, give her back
Her little life, I ask
Hold her Jesus, hold her now,
Heal her with Thy hands.

Lord Jesus, see her suffering!
She’s suffered long with this!
Heal her now, help her get well,
Lord Jesus, let her live!

Oh Lord, she is so precious,
Hear my cry, I pray!
Make her well and let her live
In Jesus’ holy name,
Amen and amen.

(Prayer Poem for Miss Phee) All Glory To God, Copyright © 2020, SD Harden, All Rights Reserved./Prayer For Miss Phee, All Glory to God, Copyright © 2020 by Suzanne Davis Harden, All rights reserved. Photos, All Glory to God, Copyright © 2020, by Suzanne Davis Harden, All rights reserved.

After the Bath~ Miss Phee 🖤