Is it conceivable that God may allow temporary suffering to expand our faith? Absolutely. (See Romans 5:1-5 and James 1:2-4) Our faith, tried and tested, will lead us to our eternal home where pain and suffering will never touch us again. But what if the very thing that God is allowing for our good, our faith, our hope, our perseverance, we keep pushing away and avoiding? We can either move into the suffering within us and around us or we can try to avoid it. But if we choose avoidance, not only will we miss the hard parts but we will miss the best parts, too. - Jennie Allen (Proven)
John 11 - the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is all about our faith and His Glory. I want to live for His Glory and have my faith strengthened. I cannot attest to seeing someone raised from the dead but I have seen miracles in my own life in the midst of suffering that have resulted in a closer walk with my Savior. In August 2010, I was pregnant with our third child, I was 11 weeks along and miscarried. We were grief stricken with our loss but I had a peace that was beyond imagination. Leading up to this loss I felt God preparing me for it, that may sound strange but He did...and He grew my faith and trust in Him in so many amazing ways. Another example, my oldest son walked away from Jesus...and I was devastated. It was one of the most heart wrenching moments of my life, this child that was on fire for Jesus, that was a leader amongst his peers in FCA, who preached in front of youth and adults, was telling his mama that he didn't know that he believed in God anymore. I asked many to pray and then gave it to God, or at least I tried to. During the year or so that followed God did a work on my heart, I lived believing in His promises, trusting Him more, and that whatever would happen in my son's life would be for God's glory. And I began to pray differently for my son...if suffering or the hard things in life will bring my son back to loving Jesus then please Lord, do whatever it takes. When he would call home and be distressed about something I would pray, Lord, use this to draw Him back to You. In times of distress I ask God what He's going to teach me through this (most of the time, I'm still human, ya know). It is freeing, this trusting God, believing He has everything under control. He has proven Himself over and over again, in His Word, and in my own life and He is worthy of our trust and faith in Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment