Poignant statement: When pain can’t bless, heaven quits in despair. Sarah William
Subject: Why it has happened to me
Scripture: Genesis 45:3-11
When Joseph was sold in slavery by his own brother, when he landed up in jail for no fault of his own, he must have wondered what is going on. Is he forsaken by God or did he do something so bad that he actually deserves these cruel punishments? Like any frail human being he must have had been totally out for a spin and fully confused. Many years later he fully understands the workings of God and tells his brothers that it was the divine and eternal plan of God.
When Amy Carmichael was a little girl she wondered why she had brown eyes whereas all the little girls around her had green or blue eyes. She was confused and not happy to have such eyes because she looked odd among other girls. Many years later when she comes to India as a missionary there she finds that the people of India have brown eyes and then she understands why God had given her brown eyes instead of blue eyes.
When in 1988 we were forced to leave Nepal and came to Dehradun, India I was very unhappy, confused and even angry with God. There were myriads of questions and doubts floating in my heart. Now 20 years later we know that God brought us here to bring many people to the Lord and most of them Nepali. Today we lead a fairly good size church in Dehradun. We also have ministry not only in Nepal but also in India. The Lord even blessed our children with the best education and today all of them are graduates and able to stand on their feet. So God had a specific plan to take us out of Nepal. Now we see and rejoice but then we clould not see and cried and even rebelled.
We like our life to start with warm sunshine and end with soothing orange sunset. In between sunrise and sunset of our lives we like perennial summer and nothing else. But many of us go through all sorts of upheaval in our lives. Some have more of unfortunate occurrences and some less but we all have to go through dark patches of life. Life is not easy everyday for anyone.
When things are tough and hard, our action and reaction will weigh and test our faith. In fact it is at the point of low in our life we really are given glimpses of our situation. When things go contrary to our wishes and expectation we do not know how to react and most of the time our reaction is not healthy. It is only the first natural reaction but as children of God we need to recover from first and initial jolt, calm down and then seek God’s grace.
I am by nature an inveterate pessimist but by God’s grace this is slowly changing. I am now more in league with those who think that a cup is half full rather than half empty. This attitude change by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit has immensely encouraged me and I would urge the same thing to you when you go through a dark patch of life. Cultivate always the habit of optimism which is Biblical. Phil.
One of the things to have is patience when we are going through a hard time. The Bible talks a lot about endurance. The original Greek word for endurance is not just resign to being helpless but be able to make the most of the present plight. Someone has said the word crisis is made up of Chinese letter which means Challenge and Opportunity. When we are faced with problem then we see this as a challenge and opportunity.
Dear saint, are you going through hard time and you feel the pain in your mind, heart and body. Ask God to give you endurance and seek His face. King David went through many clouds of despondency and many times gave up hope but we see him repeatedly resorting back to the mercy of God and seeking His solace. Think of Job who was stricken with disaster of every kind you can imagine. He lost his children, his wealth and his health. In this hour of loneliness and sickness his wife became bitter and his friends who came to console him, questioned him. He did have his doubt and tears but in all these things the Bible says he did not sin. He said “Though he slays me yet will I trust him” In the last chapter we see all things are restored to him seven folds.
Being a Pastor and Christian workers I am constantly confronted with painful situations and at times I do not know what to say. This past week I went to see the house of one family coming down due to heavy rain, two teenage kids hungry because the father is a drunk, a poor man who has blind wife, a 13 year old girl getting pregnant out of wedlock, a couple in the process of divorce, a long awaited child is born deaf and I can go on with the litany of woes. It is hard for them to see that our God is a good God and He loves and blesses people. I know that many are in this situation due to their own foolishness yet there are those who for no fault of their own are in this plight. It has been a constant challenge to me. At times I am full of tears and cry publicly and at times I am angry or speechless. My emotion goes through an upheaval of raging storms because I feel totally helpless to offer any help. I do not want to offer meaningless words but then what do I say to these hurting people. I do what I can and try to encourage and build broken lives.
Here is a simple poem for you to read
I was once told that as time goes by
everything changes with no reason why
Explanations we won’t receive
we’re just told we must believe
The Lord has a plan for each of us
This I Believe – This I Trust
Doctor – Lawyer – Teacher – Wife
Lord what’s your plan for my life?
Explanations I don’t expect
just some guidance down the right track
Show me Lord your plan for me
I ask this of you while on my knees
Praying to you helps me to see
The wonderful plan you have for me
The Lord has a plan for each of us
This I Believe – This I Trust
Poignant statement: When pain can’t bless, heaven quits in despair. Sarah William
Prayer:
Lord, as I go through a tough patch of my life I am confused and uncertain. Please help me to go through this time and at the end make me strong. Thank you for your grace and strength.
Republished in new layout on 8/20/2013
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