I started this particular blog in July and life got in the way of posting. Today it seems even more relevant than then. Real life has been hard recently. FOR THIS WE HAVE JESUS!
When God’s Promises and Real Life
Collide
Behold,
the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
Say
to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes;
Behold
His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”
And
they will call them, “The holy people,
The
redeemed of the Lord”;
And
you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.” Isaiah 62:11-12
My best advice to people has always
been, “Find a Bible verse, make it your own and hang on to it.” My next advice
would be to pray. Pray when you’re happy, pray when you’re sad, pray when you
think you can’t put one foot in front of the other to go on. Yet many times, if
you’re like me, you may feel bad when the advice you give to people doesn’t
seem like it’s working. Perhaps God has disappointed you; your prayers don’t
seem to be answered. Is it wrong to feel disappointed with God? Philip Yancey
wrote a whole book on the subject. It concerns many stories of real people
going through literal “hell on earth” and realistically examines their plights
and questions.
“Then you will know that I am the
LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." Isaiah 49:23
For the Christian there are no
guarantees on the outcome of a situation. As noted in Hebrews 11 the great faith
chapter we don’t all see the conclusion of the things God has planted in our
hearts. But we can still look with hope for the promise.
If it costs you nothing, it's worth nothing! Endurance is
the
price tag of achievement. Listen, "We pray that you'll
have
the strength...not the grim strength of gritting your teeth
but the...strength God gives...that endures the unendurable
and spills over into joy" (Col 1:11 TM)
Yet even as I write this word
of encouragement, I know that many of you have lost hope in perhaps your child
who’s gone astray, in your life or even in your future. It is hard to hope in
what you cannot see. But just take it a step at a time, a day at a time, even a
moment at a time. Pray for the strength to just do the next thing that needs to
be done. It may have nothing to do with the child that has gone astray or the
life issue that is bothering you. The next thing you may need to do is learn to
take care of yourself.
You may have beat yourself up
with guilt over the things you think you should’ve done or could’ve done that
you are walking weary and wounded. Learn to be good to yourself. Treat yourself
well. The commandment about loving your neighbor as you love yourself applies
here. You would be kind to a neighbor, so kindly take care of yourself and
those that are right before you. Try to do something each day for someone else
that you don’t take credit for. That sort of living sows seeds of love and
kindness that will return to you.
There are some of you in whom
the Lord would say, “the world was not worthy of them.” He would say to you
that He has seen your walk of faith through the pain of living in this world.
He knows you are not perfect in your endeavors but He also knows you have
tried. He knows you love your child, and you, His child, are loved with an
everlasting love by Him. He sees the big picture that we cannot see. He loves
your child more than you can ever imagine although as a parent yourself, you
feel that no one could match the love you feel. He will draw a hurting parent
close. He does not forget your labor of love towards your child and to Him,
your heavenly Father. Continue to hold on to His promises to you until they collide
into your life.
