It's going to be Okay!
“I said
to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,
‘Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown.’
And he replied, "Go out into the
darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than
light, and safer than a known way.”
by
Minnie Louise Haskins
You
make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.
A friend painted the above picture for me a few years ago. At the
time, I did not believe anything was ever going to be ok again, but guess
what? He was right. Things are looking brighter.
We all
struggle. We all suffer. There are periods of darkness in everyone’s
life at one time or another but in the end, it's OK. I think of the verse
in Job that says, "But he knows where
I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold." (23:10)
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold." (23:10)
We go through the fire. God places
us there. He knows where we are headed
and He knows where we will end up. I have
come to learn that the world remains a dark place as long as He is refining me. As long as there are changes to be made in my life, there is suffering I must endure but as I
grow closer to being where He wants me, the light begins to appear and things begin to
be okay. That is where I am now. I have
been through a lot but I did not give up.
I did not lose heart and I did not lose my faith! And now, I can see the sunrise.
You may
not be able to see it yet but I promise you it is coming! I promise you that the best is yet to be.
As
we are dealing with our struggles, we should keep in mind that there are
reasons that we are called to suffer.
We
suffer because:
·
God wants to show us how much we want
what He wants. "For you know that when your faith is tested, your
endurance has a chance to grow." James 1:3
· God wants us to be a comfort to one another. "Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and
salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you.
Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer." 2 Corinthians
1:6
· We are then able to point others to how truly amazing God is. "But it is no shame
to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called
by his name!" 1 Peter 4:16
· It causes our faith to grow stronger. "In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of
Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore,
support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation."
1 Peter 5:10
· It motivates us to follow Him. "Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he
learned obedience from the things he suffered." Hebrews 5:8
· It allows us to identify with Jesus a bit more. "I want to know Christ and
experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer
with him, sharing in his death." Philippians 3:10
· Others will see a life lived out in faith and will be compelled to
follow us to Jesus. "So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring
salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen." 2
Timothy 2:10
· We are made an example of what a life entrusted to God looks like "And we
know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God
and are called according to his purpose for them". Romans 8:28
· It trains us to go to God first for help. "When I was
prosperous, I said,
“Nothing can stop me now!”
Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered." Psalm 30:6-7
“Nothing can stop me now!”
Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered." Psalm 30:6-7
When we
find ourselves in the midst of suffering, we only need to willingly put our
hand in God’s hand and walk with Him into whatever He allows or has planned. No matter the reason we suffer, we must choose to
walk by faith and not by sight. It means
we embrace God’s sovereignty. We
recognize that He sees the end from the beginning and all the spaces in
between. He sees the entire path that
our life will take through the deepest valleys all the way to the highest mountaintops. And as we
trust Him and walk His path, we will encounter a life so full of joy and a life few
ever truly experience.
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