Our current circumstances
will not last forever. God has a purpose in them for us and for those around
us. As we focus on Jesus, God gives us everything we need to live a fulfilled
life in Him, even during negative circumstances (Matthew 6:33). We look beyond the present moment and focus on the
glory set before us, just like Jesus did (Hebrews 12:2). When our faith and hope collide like a car wreck into
some abrupt incident, which life T-bones us with, it throws us off course.
Disappointment, discouragement, depression; and sometimes, even hopelessness
settle into our very bones and they are hard to dislodge.
Our only hope is to draw
near to God. Then as we resist Satan, he must flee from us with his entire
demonic hoard (James 4:7). We can
write in our journal or pour our heart out to God in prayer. We may even read
our words scribbled across our journal and realize that God spoke the answer as
we unburdened our heart on its pages. God gives us a future and a hope (Jeremiah
29:11). We know without a doubt that in
the next instant we will hear God’s voice telling us which way to turn to
escape this gridlock with disappointment. He may use His Word, a thought, a
person or an instance to give us His direction.
My friend lost her baby in
childbirth. In the midst of her anguish, God showed her that although her arms
ached to hold this precious child, God was already holding the baby in His
everlasting arms. What better place for her child to rest for eternity? Life
starts at conception, and her baby's little soul is now in heaven with our
Savior. This is a fact to celebrate, in spite of their sadness at never having
known their child during her temporary life on earth. Their beloved child may
have left this mortal world, with all of its suffering and trials, but she did
not miss her immortal home in heaven. Right now, she is waiting there for us
all.
Once we understand our
feelings we can forgive the one who offended us. Once we sleep on it, few
things are as momentous as they seemed at first. We may realize that we
over-reacted to the situation. We may need to ask forgiveness for our behavior.
Once we understand God’s perspective in the situation, hope rises in our soul.
We see God’s direction for this new day and we walk in His ways by the guidance
of His Holy Spirit. God has a perfect plan for every life. Even a fatal illness
is nothing to fear. God has His plan in it and He will work out His purposes
through it. We can rest assured that it will accomplish results for our good (Romans
8:28).
Prayer:
Father God, You make all
things beautiful in Your time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). You help us to keep our perspective centered in Your faithfulness
whenever we experience tribulation in this world. We often allow minor issues,
which will have no meaning a week from now, to bowl us over and knock us for a
loop when they first occur. Remind us that You are the Father of all mercy and
comfort. You calm us in our sickness and trials, so that we may share this same
consolation with others when they experience similar situations. We experience
suffering for Christ’s sake, but we also receive abundant comfort through Him
as well (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
Thought for the Day:
Faith
provides us with total surrender and trust in the faithfulness of God, over a
future outcome, which we cannot yet foresee.
