No pictures today... just some thoughts & sharing from my heart.
I seem to know so many people who are going through some very difficult times right now. Some I know well, some only slightly, some only through others. Some are facing the most difficult situations in life: sudden death of a 13 year old only child; fighting a seemingly losing battle with leukemia that had seemed to be in remission; a 10 year old child with leukemia who suddenly had a stroke; a young father with a brain tumor diagnosed just before Christmas.
Others are facing on-going trials: a friend's daughter determined to end her marriage impacting all of the family including her own two children; a friend who finally had restored use of an injured foot after months of physical therapy only to be "hit" with rotator cuff; fatigue that has no explanation even after a myriad of tests; a marriage that has grown cold between husband & wife (multiplied many times for various reasons in each family); misunderstandings between friends; loss of employment; lack of direction; rebellious children/teens; aging parents; frustrations in relationships; and the list could go on & on.
These aren't just "things people go through"; these are things directly affecting real people that I know! It could be overwhelming, yet God..
These are the trials that test our faith. These are the ones that ask us, "Do you really believe in God's love & sovereignty?"
A quote I read on a Caring Bridge site this morning helps me to look at it from God's perspective.
"There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children ought to more earnestly attend to than the doctrine of Master over all creation- the Kingship of God over all the works of his own hands- the Throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne... For it is God upon the Throne whom we trust.". C.H. Spurgeon
Our human response is naturally to try to figure out how we can fix it, overcome it, deal with it, blame it on someone else, ask "why me??!!!" But if we truly believe what God says, then we have to lay it at His feet & humbly ask for His direction, His peace, His comfort, His presence, and humbly confess our inability to understand, to "fix", or even to accept.
The only true answers we have come from Scripture:
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12: 9,10
It is one thing to endure... it is quite another to be content with "weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, & calamities!" Learning contentment is a process, fine-tuned by God.
My prayer for all who are in the throes of these things is that they would draw near to God and experience His mighty love, the peace that only He can give, and the courage to meet tomorrow with Him.
And I'm asking Him to make me a true prayer warrior, looking to Him to meet the needs and to give the peace available only through Him.
