It's 4:30 a.m. This seems to be my normal wake-up time anymore. This is usually the second or third time I've been up to visit the bathroom, and it is really hard to go back to sleep. It's even harder right now because I have a nasty cough that wakes me up every time I start to drift off.
I have a lot of things running through my mind right now.
A friend of mine is going through something really difficult and heart-breaking and I am hurting for her. Not just because I am sad, but because I have been there and I know the devestation first-hand.
My sister and brother-in-law and my brother and sister-in-law, along with several other people I know, are facing an uncertain future with the recent news of a permanent lay-off.
On the news last night, I saw that a two-story home was burning to the ground at the same time a professional building was engulfed in flames in a nearby city.
One of my dearest friends and her family is going through a very painful and confusing situation with her sister.
A very sweet friend lives a life that is not at all easy, caring for a beautiful little boy with downs syndrome and an infant daughter.
Another friend of mine is watching her father go through physical trials in a nursing home, while caring for a four-year-old son with a broken arm at home.
Yet another friend is facing some more major changes in her life, on top of all of the trauma she has been through in the last two years.
A very close friend of mine whom I have never even met in person has just lost her eighth baby to miscarriage and is also facing some huge health issues in her body.
Life on this earth can be so very difficult. There are times when all you can see around you is the devestation, the hurt, the fear. You wonder why all of this has to be part of life. And of course we know why. Because we live in a fallen world. Because God did not promise us we would not have trials in this fallen world. But he did give us some other promises that will help us survive - not just survive...thrive...in this fallen world.
He promised peace.
He promised joy.
He promised hope.
He promised perserverance.
He promised love.
He promised faithfulness.
He promised forgiveness.
He promised strength.
He promised rest.
Most of all...he promised a new world, a future. A future without pain, without sorrow, without devestation. He promised heaven. This fallen world...it's merely our holding place. It's a temporary residence. Whatever happens here, we can leave here. Our eternity is in another place, a place far greater and more spectacular than we could ever imagine.
I guess the only thing to do is to face our trials head on, with our feet firmly planted, knowing that our future is not so very far off. That no matter what we might come up against here on earth, it fades in the light of what is to come. Here, there will always be struggles, fears, hurts, temptations, disappointments, failures. But there...oh what a day that will be!
And that's not to say we have to live our lives here on earth in defeat. We can be victorious even through our troubles. We do, after all, have the ultimate victory! It's so hard in the moment to reach inside and find that victory. But it is there...if Jesus is there, it is there. To feel victorious, we must keep our eyes on Jesus...on our future...on His promises.
I pray this morning for all of my loved ones. I pray that they will feel God's peace. That they will rest in his arms. That they will be still and know that He is God. I pray for everyone, including myself, to withstand the temptations of fear, resentment, and bitterness. And I pray for victory, in every situation. Whether it ever manifests in the physical or not. Most of all, I pray for God's will to be done. Because "his ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts" and it is so easy to fall into the trap of doing things and handling things our own way instead of seeking after his way. I pray that in all things in this life, we will bring honor and glory to God. And that we will live in hope, knowing that these struggles and trials are only temporary, and understanding that we have a glorious future ahead.
1 comment:
This is really good. I can't believe we were both given almost the exact same word of peace at the same time. God never promised we wouldn't have trials, but he did promise to walk us through them. Thanks for your prayers sis.
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