Fainting

Have you ever fainted?

I haven't.  Not in the literal sense.  I suppose I used to think when young, like Anne of Green Gables, what a "romantic" thing it would be to faint!  But now I would much rather not have that experience.  And I am sad to hear of a dear friend whose fainting spells have been puzzling doctors at several clinics and hospitals.

But there is another type of "fainting" that can be all too familiar.  You've heard of becoming "faint of heart..."

Psalm 27:13 says it this way:
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living." (NKJV)

Older English puts it, "I had fainted, unless..." (KJV)

Or maybe you can resonate with this:
"I would have despaired had I not believed..." (AMP)

While staying in this historic river town for one of our doctor's appointments last year, I noticed a cute coffee shop/book shop and enjoyed a few minutes browsing.

A devotional book with a familiar name caught my eye:
"Streams in the Desert" compiled by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman

What does this have to do with "fainting," you may ask?!  See this excerpt from May 20th:

"...How the soul sinks, the heart grows sick, and the faith staggers under the keen trials and testings which come into our lives in times of special bereavement and suffering...'I cannot bear up any longer, I am fainting under this providence.  What shall I do?'"

"What do you do when you are about to faint physically?  You cannot do anything.  You cease from your own doings.  In your faintness, you fall upon the shoulder of some strong loved one.  You lean hard.  You rest.  You lie still and trust."

"It is so when we are tempted to faint under affliction.  
[Get this... Isn't it encouraging?!!]
God's message to us is not, 'Be strong and of good courage,' for He knows our strength and courage have fled away.  But it is that sweet word,
'Be still, and know that I am God.'"