Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
-The Bible
scripture friday.
Month: October 2016
how?
I’ve said it before.
I don’t know how people face difficult times without faith in God.
You have to have something that you know is going to change your situation, even if it’s only at the very end of your existence.
With God, you know what the end of the story is. Eternity. Reunion. Restoration.
That feels like a long time off, doesn’t it?
It is. But it’s coming.
It doesn’t take the hurt away but it fills us with hope, believing God will do what he promises us.
Without this assurance, how do people live?
How do they process the sorrows of life?
To believe when life ends it’s over doesn’t line up with how we think now. We were made to hope in the smallest of things.
Shouldn’t we naturally hope in the biggest thing?
friday quote.
“The meaning of life in the United States is the pursuit of pleasure and personal freedom,
that suffering is so traumatic for Americans.”
– Dr. Paul Brand
why choose God.
I know.
There are multitudes of belief systems out there.
Do they work for people? I don’t know.
I do know the Christian faith has worked for me.
It’s natural for me to choose God because I am about bottom lines. Give me the starting point so I can understand. Don’t skip steps and go to #3 or #4.
Yet, everyone of us have a longing in our hearts to know the Creator. He designed us that way.
And everyone of us have a different way of attaining that.
I do believe what Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father except through Me.”
I am rock solid in this belief.
And when you are suffering through tragedy, pain, or heartache, you want sure footing.
You need sure footing.
That said, people without God to turn to, what do they turn to?
Lots of things.
One thing is they turn to the “experts”.
But even the experts don’t always agree. That can cause someone who is already overwhelmed to become even more overwhelmed and want to give up.
Listen. I’ve done it. I have always thought most people knew better than me. It’s my nature.
Thankfully, I’ve grown since then. Yet, I remember being in a place where I sought answers and expected solutions from trusted people. There are so many differing opinions – even from the experts – psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists – and all of the others with letters after their name.
I’m not discrediting them. But if you find yourself on this quest to get help, get comfort, get understanding, get relief – you might find yourself going around in circles.
Some of us get lucky and find the perfect counselor or support group.
Some of us don’t.
When it is all said and done, God is always there. And he left his words to guide, direct, strengthen, and comfort us.
Words of truth.
Truth that has the ability to cut through it all, and yes, set you free.
Free from confusion, frustration, bitterness, sorrow – all of it.
You know in your heart there is a longing for God.
Why choose God? He is always there.
Get a Bible. Open it up. And read.
God will do the rest.
~~~
Photo credit: Freaktography via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
focus.
While driving today, once again I found myself marveling at the splashes of autumn color.
It never gets old, does it?
Then I thought about what is coming : winter.
That can mean lots of snow, negative temperatures, and a bitter cold wind.
It means long, dark days that stretch into early March.
But set before, is this spectacular show that God paints across the landscape. I thought about how God does those kinds of things – like giving autumn before a pretty but often brutal winter and then the hope of spring.
The father heart of God toward humanity: He is with us.
It’s understandable how anyone would want to run from him, shake a fist at him, or worse yet, deny his existence. And still, God loves. Because if anyone understands pain, it’s God.
Yet, his world his filled with beauty in the midst of it. He made it that way purposely. And everything has perfect timing.
We can focus on the pain.
Or we can focus on the beauty.
And you can only focus on the beauty if you know the rest of the story.
***
photo credit: kathy moulton
when it hurts 