a child of god
this is the way, run in it
My family and I have been through an earthquake, a seismic change, if you will. I'm not quite ready to write about it in depth; although, there is a lot to be thankful for, glimpses of glory in the midst of agony. My mother had a stroke and died in December. She is seeing more than just a glimpse of glory now! I would love to know what that's like - being with Jesus and God the Father in heaven.
So I was out of pocket from "normal life" for the month of December, and I'm now back trying to move forward in a time period that feels so very different from before. I'm not worried about it. I know who I belong to, and I know God has a purpose and a plan for this time period. He always does. I simply feel the need of His help, and the help of my family, friends and church family, in figuring out how to go forward from here. I was reading in Romans this morning. I love the book of Romans! And in chapter 5, Paul is talking about how when we believe in God, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He came to save us from our sins - when we believe in God, God forgives us our sins and clothes us with Jesus' righteousness. We become right in God's eyes, just like Abraham did when he believed in God. Abraham (Genesis 15) believed in God, in what He said to Abraham, in what He promised even though it seemed crazy and impossible (for nothing is impossible for God), and God equated that belief with righteousness for Abraham. The bit about Abraham believing in God and looking to God even though he couldn't see how God was going to take him forward and fulfill that promise to him - that bit speaks to me now, when I don't see the way forward clearly. And that's ok. When we are walking, or climbing a mountain, and we don't see the path clearly, we slow down, even stop, until we see the path to take. That's where I am now. Romans, chapter 5, also goes on to talk about exulting - love that word. Not only can we exult before God in who He is, but He, Himself, the God of the universe, exults over us - He shouts, sings, and broods with love over us (Zephaniah 3:17). And we can give that right back to Him! But in this Romans' passage, it is talking about how we can exult in difficult times (which blows our minds), because we can know that going through those difficult times with God helps us develop perseverance, sticking with it with the Lord, and helps us by developing our character - who we are when the chips are down, when we are put to the test (and my family and I faced that in December) - and ultimately leads to hope. Here is what the Bible says about this kind of hope, God's kind of hope: "and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." That hope, the living, sure and certain, hope of God, is poured out into us, like custard spilling over and running down over sticky toffee pudding (one of my favorite British deserts), or like a well of living water gushing up, fresh, clean, cold and just what we need on a hot and dry, dusty day. Satisfying, refreshing, delicious, life-giving. That is our God and that is what He does in us when we believe in Him, no matter what our circumstances look like. Let's shout back to Him today how much we love Him and delight in life with Him, even death with Him when we know He is the One who will raise us up again! Our lives are in His hands. Always. When we believe in Him and trust Him.
1 Comment
Les Godridge
1/10/2019 14:53:19
You have such great faith in times of trouble, you know your church family is behind you, and always will be. It's wonderful that you know God is with you in time's of trouble.
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