January 20, 2008

"Every person and every nation must take lessons in God's school of adversity. "We can say, 'Blessed is night, for it reveals to us the stars.' In the same way we can say, 'Blessed is sorrow, for it reveals God's comfort.' The floods washed away home and mill, all the poor man had in the world. But as he stood on the scene of his loss, after the water had subsided, brokenhearted and discouraged, he saw something shining in the bank which the waters had washed bare. 'It looks like gold,' he said. It was gold. The flood which had beggared him made him rich. So it is oftentimes in life." H.C. Trumball

I often meditate on the verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 5) It reminds me that everything I see in the natural is always subject to change, and that no matter how hard I try to figure things out, some things are beyond my understanding. When I see adversity or strife, God sees opportunity. When I see loss, God sees gain. When I see certain defeat, God sees great victory. Which is why I must stop looking at things through my own eyes, and through the eyes of the Great I AM.

The kids and I have been talking about Moses and how he lead the Isrealites out of Egypt. It was amazing to me while we were discussing this, how many miraculus signs God gave Moses to use so that Pharoah and the Isrealites would know he was sent by God. And yet, it wasn't enough for Moses. He was still scared and asked to have someone else go. He was still looking in the natural. He wasn't looking with God's eyes and he was leaning on his own understanding. Interestingly enough, God got angry at him, but still was willing to use Moses and allowed him to bring his brother for moral support. Isn't that just like us? Here God is showing him his power and might, giving him all the tools to be successful...and yet Moses still feels better having another human to go on the journey with him. I'm so thankful that even though our faith waivers at times, God has compassion on us and allows us to bring others along while we face our trials and tribulations.

I guess we can be such "big picture" people that when we come up against adversity and sorrow, we immediately want to know how this is all going to go down. How are we going to get through the rest of our lives. But, that's not how God works...not in my life anyway. He already has the big picture figured out and wants me to not worry about it. To trust him with the process. How many times have you watched Oprah or some other show and people are there to share amazing stories that almost always start with an incredibly difficult circumstance? I almost always here the same response as their story unfolds..."I never would have believed this could happen to me in a million years." There's no way in the middle of pain, loss, struggle, or complete discouragement that we have the capacity to ever imagine what God has in store for us.

Psalm 126:5 says, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy." It's the law of sowing and reaping which never fails. When we choose to not give up during times of great trial, and choose to trust God still has a plan for our life, the reward will be great joy. "There is no strength in unbelief." "Has the life of God's people reached the utmost limit of what God can do for them? Surely not! God has new places, and new developments, and new resources. He can do new things, unheard-of things, hidden things! Let us enlarge our hearts and not limit Him. We must desire and believe. We must set our faith on a God of whom men do not know what He hath prepared for them that wait for Him. The Wonder-doing God...must be the God of our confidence." Andrew Murray.

"The Wonder-doing God can surpass all our expectation!!!!"

God is good!
Blessings, Tanya