What do you think the results would be if we took a survey of people and asked them about their day, week, month, even year? How many of those people would describe their weeks and even years as carefree, fun, delightful, stress free and energizing? There would probably be a few who would fall into that category, but only a precious few, I’m sure. If you happen to be one of those people, I’m honestly glad for you. If you are one of those, you might decide not to bother reading this post, but I hope you will read on, because chances are you know someone who would be very hesitant to whisk their pen across the survey and describe their life as carefree.
What about you? I know on which side of the survey I would quietly write my name and it wouldn’t be with a carefree, flamboyant swirl of my calligraphy pen. It would be written thoughtfully, carefully, and deliberately in the column with the ones who struggle with hard life, hard days, hard decisions, hard conversations, hard relationships, hard diagnoses, burnt meals, messy homes, anxiety attacks, broken relationships, miles of things that never seem to be completed, and you get the picture…
So what is one to do who writes their name in the “hard” column of the survey? There are lots of options and responses to choose from, and sometimes we don’t even have a split second to “choose” because life comes at us just that fast. We sometimes can barely respond and dare I say we may even react, in those hard moments, moments when we just really wish someone would throw us a lifeline and pull us out of all the “hardness” that seems to always be right there.
“But God…” two of my favorite words in all of scripture, two words that my pastor so faithfully reminds us of on a regular basis. Two words that if they didn’t exist together in scripture, would leave us completely hopeless and lost in our suffering and pain and sin.
Romans 5:8 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail me, but God is my strength and my portion forever.”
Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many souls.”
1 Kings 5:4 “But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.”
Psalm 49:15 “But God will redeem my life from the grave; He will surely take me to Himself.”
Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever.”
Jonah 2:6 “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.”
Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
You see, sweet friend, God is enough. Jesus Christ is our salvation. He has provided a way of escape for us from our sin, from our hopelessness, from our pain, from our suffering. He is our only hope. Days will still be hard and all those messy things in life will still be messy. But God redeems us and restores us. He restores us to Himself and to each other. He heals relationships and softens hearts that are like stone. Not every relationship and not every heart, but He is still God and He can be trusted.
He can change our pain and suffering into peace and resolve. Resolve to continue on even when the days might seem to swallow us up, resolve to see things from His perspective, resolve to move and walk in faith and joy, resolve to do the right thing even when it may not be popular with people around you. Days will still be hard and pain and suffering will still come, but God is enough.
Meditate on these scriptures and let God fill you with Himself and His promises. Let Him begin to change your pain and suffering into peace and resolve.
Blessings ~
If you’re looking for more encouragement regarding your walk with the Lord, below are links to blogs that I believe will be a true blessing to you.
http://www.rebekahmhallberg.com
Stop by and give them a visit. You’ll be glad you did.
Your peace and resolve are enough because they came from Him. Enough and more. No matter how bleak things are. He knows and He is enough.
So, so true. I’m thankful to know that He has us in His view and in His hands.