Can you be in the will of God and still suffer?

December 20, 2025

Maria 1 Corinthians 4, Answers to Prayer, Decision-making, God's will, Prayer, Psalm 23, suffering , , , , , Leave a comment

Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home.
1 Corinthians 4:11 (NLT)

When we decided to move from southeastern Virginia to the mountains of western North Carolina, we prayed all year long. I had read a book by Kevin DeYoung entitled Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will. His approach helped shape our prayers.

We would speak each night out loud to our Shepherd in prayer, sometimes even physically raising up open hands to symbolize that we trusted Him to open or shut doors. For us, that posture meant that we were willing for Him to redirect us. 

God responded by selling our house in Virginia, locating a mountain cabin on ten acres, and providing me with a French teaching job in Asheville. All in five months and coinciding with Mike’s retirement from federal service. 

With such a green light, we packed up in June 2013, loaded our two cats, and convoyed down to our new life in the mountains. Our plan – Mike would work from home as a subcontractor while I commuted to my school to teach French. 

Naively, we assumed that being in God’s will would preclude major hardships.

Recently I was reminded of that “adventure” and our assumptions while reading the novel Return to Me by Lynn Austin.

Austin takes biblical facts from the first six chapters of Ezra and provides backstory, bringing to life the struggle of the first group of returnees from Babylon. They journey back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. I’ve almost finished the book, which spans almost 23 years. I’m seeing how our God takes the long view. He is in no hurry to have His good plans and purposes accomplished.

Clearly, these families journeyed under the will of God, since Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a proclamation fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah. The Persian ruler even goes so far as to supply the returnees with the gold and silver utensils and cups stolen from the Jewish temple.

But almost as soon as the returnees begin their work, they meet with resistance and violence. Life becomes stressful and terribly hard. Eventually, they are forced to stop their labor.

The reality is that, just like Paul and the early Christians, living according to His plans does not preclude suffering.

Our own personal ordeals since then have changed my perspective. Life is challenging in a world broken by sin and influenced by Satan. But God’s response is His promised presence:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

So, what happened to us in North Carolina? We left after almost six years to move to Huntsville, Alabama. The different adversities and hardships were worth it, though. I came to know Jesus at a deeper level. Our trust in Him grew. And we are both very content living here.

I pray each day that I trust my Savior, who daily leads me in paths of ease?
No—in paths of righteousness for His purposes.

What makes me happy?  What I know!

August 29, 2024

Maria God as helper, God's Peace, Psalm 146, suffering, Trusting God, Truth , , , 1 Comment

Have you ever read or listened to the classic kids’ book The Adventures of Pinocchio, by C. Collodi? He wrote it in 1881 as separate chapters for a children’s magazine before it was published in book form two years later. Mike is reading it out loud for his You Tube channel Papa Mike Reads Children’s Classics. I listen to a chapter at a time, as he uploads them, while doing my morning stretching routine.

Earlier this week, I enjoyed the account of how the repentant yet always backsliding marionette hops on the wagon traveling to the ‘Land of Toys’ where boys don’t have to go to school nor are there any books.  Allegedly, all day and every day they play and have fun.  The journey to this naughty boy’s paradise turns out to be very difficult and uncomfortable. The boys are packed like sardines into a donkey-driven wagon where it’s insufferably hot. They have no food or drink.

In any other circumstances they would have grumbled and jumped off the wagon. Surprisingly they keep each other in high spirits talking up what awaits them. Not a murmur nor a negative comment taint their anticipatory good cheer.

Why? Because of what they know.

Their emotionally-charged happy image of what awaits them softens the hours of traveling discomfort.  Knowing their happy destination makes all the difference.

The same can be true of us. What we know about our God, and our savior, along with our sure and certain future in God’s Kingdom, a place FAR better than what awaits these wayward boys, should kill off any discontent and give us a peaceful and calm attitude.

One of the readings on Tuesday was this psalm:

But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. Psalm 146: 5 NLT

For my benefit, so I could really grasp it, I rewrote this verse to read:

Happy is the one who has a helper who is God and who KNOWS he has one.  Happy is the one who then counts on his helper, the one and only true God.

The verses that follow describe just what kind of helper we have.  The psalmist reminds us of how powerful, good, kind and faithful our God is.

What struck me, resonating with my soul, was that it’s knowing this promise and accepting it as FACT that creates a solid state of peace and contentment. As long as I keep recalling and thinking about what I know to be true, this reality that is God, I can put up with difficult, obstacle-producing circumstances. Knowledge makes all the difference.

For example, when I was pregnant with each of our sons and going through labor, knowing the outcome that awaited me on the other side of the pain helped. Then there have been those times of suffering and frustration in both relationships and work that have taught me the same.  I’ve learned over the decades that no matter the present misery, if the forecasted outcome is delightful or help is available, or I can know and understand the reason for the suffering, I can more easily deal with the pain, pressure and even fear.

Every day you and I live the reality that all of life is uncertain. The market goes up and down. Our kids find themselves included by friends or on the outside.  Our bosses come and go. Health varies. There’s nothing created by us or by God that can bring us perpetual satisfaction. He himself, as God, is our satisfaction. But we have to believe that.

So, if you want to be happy, then write down what you are certain of, what you know.  And focus on that. Since God is God, his characteristics won’t change. His promises to you won’t waver.  And your future is more amazing than you can imagine.

It’s what (and who) you know that makes you happy.

Sobering lesson from the life of a 95-year-old

December 16, 2023

Maria Contentment, Hebrews 13, suffering, Uncategorized , , , 3 Comments

….be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 ESV

My mother-in-law is quickly losing some of her most coveted abilities that have brought her contentment throughout life. Over the past 7-8 years, she has declined slowly, a normal reality for those who live a long time. But losses started accelerating about 4 months ago. 

No longer can she read novels, not even large-print.  She strains to read emails, even with words enlarged in her account. She can’t see people’s faces clearly. Her fingers won’t allow her to participate in the organized craft projects. Her energy is low, her breathing shallower, her voice has become small and she tires rapidly pushing her walker to the dining room of her residence.

Her days loom long, empty of former pleasures. This life-long learner now dozes off a lot, even in the bathroom.

Looking at the positive, she has not lost her ability to be kind and appreciative of the help she does receive, from the helpers who assist her in the morning and evening, from her son and his wife who live nearby, from her excellent primary care physician and for my and Mike’s daily connection with her by phone.

Yet, watching her decline causes me to examine my life. Unless my numbered days in God’s book of life are less, I DO aspire to reach 95 one day. But I hope I am NOW preparing correctly for that stage.  Spiritually, that is.

Yes, Mom is a believer. A basic, baby believer, I would say. Thanks be to God that over the past 10 years she has been slowly growing through some bible study. She even began to read her bible for herself.  But for decades because of her formal catholic upbringing and religious way of worshipping in the Episcopal church her relationship with Jesus has not been intimate, personal.

As a result, when we talk, there is no mention of Jesus unless I bring him into our conversation.  Instead, she unloads all her woes. And I get that. She NEEDS someone safe who will listen and empathize and try to soothe her in her suffering and decline.

Yet……yet, I don’t see evidence of how knowing Christ, how being in union with him, makes a difference in her daily life.  Where is the comfort, that awareness of his constant presence, the looks upward to what awaits her? How much does she consider the reality of the next and far better life?

This close-up walk with Mom, even if mostly via the phone, punctuated by occasional visits, has me doing some self-assessment.

I mentioned the need for us to prepare well for our final stage, whether it suddenly arrives and is short or progressive and drawn out. Without a doubt, I certainly prioritize the necessary physical readiness such as a lot of body movement, good eating, sufficient sleep and stress management.  But what about my spiritual readiness? 

Don’t we Christians need to practice contentment with Jesus RIGHT now?  If you and I just look around at our friends and their struggles and if we are real about our problems, God is offering lots of practice opportunities. Just consider the natural losses, problems and afflictions that he sovereignly permits on a daily basis.  How do we handle those?  Do we complain and feed the belief that ‘life will be better, once THIS changes, or is resolved, or arrives’? Or, do we receive whatever he allows to disrupt us as ‘homework practice’, meant to strengthen our faith and grow our ultimate satisfaction that come from knowing God intimately through our dependence on him.

My prayer is that THIS day, with whatever God brings my way, I can accept ‘it’ with a different attitude. One that can conclude:

Yes, This hurts! I don’t like it. But Jesus is enough.  I know he loves me, that his plans for me are all good and that one day very soon, I will see him face to face and experience first-hand what the bible means by fullness of joy.  

Just as muscle strength, flexibility and cardio endurance come through practice, so can our ability to rejoice in the Lord always improve.

When God doesn’t remove you from painful situations

September 7, 2023

Maria John 2, Psalm 23, suffering, Uncategorized , , , 8 Comments

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5 NLT

The Lord kept me at a school for 5 years longer than I wanted. Three months into the first semester I felt slammed by attacks on several sides: parents, students, administration.  From my point of view all were unfair and unwarranted. With more than 20 years experiences teaching French, my hurt pride reacted poorly.  I complained a lot to Mike and to God.

Summers, seeking a way out from the pressure, I tried earnestly to find other jobs. But the Lord had his reasons for making me stay put. Thus, each August, I reluctantly returned to my classroom.

But it wasn’t all misery and, by the second year, I started to see the positive. Colleagues embraced me and I started eating lunch with them each day, learning how they approached life. New outdoors adventures, such as practicing survival upside down rotations in a kayak, caused me to cling to Jesus. One year I planned and took students to Québec, witnessing their joy in using the French they had learned. I ‘bombed’ enough French classes, thus acquiring skill and gumption to pivot from ‘failure’ into something creative and effective. Although I didn’t WANT to be at this school, I acknowledge the personal and professional benefits and growth.

But not until this week, while meditating on the 23rd psalm did I understand what God might mean by verse 5 where he promises times of feasting in the presence of enemies.

More valuable than what the Lord gave me through teaching insights, field trips, caring and supportive colleagues emerged from God’s showing himself as more satisfying than pleasant circumstances. Begrudgingly, I started to learn and practice contentment in the midst of suffering.

In the attacks on my person and professionalism, I had no option but to crawl in shame and humility to Jesus’ side. And he turned out to be enough, much more. It really is true that when all you have is Jesus, he is all you need.

So, take comfort in suffering.  Next time you’re in a narrow, dark, tight spot that seems to go on and on, look for the hidden food that will enrich you like at no other time.

And this nourishment is not merely healthy and sufficient as was the manna in the wilderness. No, it’s more akin to that abundant ‘best wine’, reserved for a feast.  Jesus didn’t simply keep the flow of ordinary wedding wine going. Out of love he set up the young bridegroom to be known as a generous and welcome member of his wife’s family and the community.

May we trust our Lord to venture on with him when he leads us through unwanted dark and narrow passages where nothing good looms. Let us believe that he really is good!

How do you name or call your suffering ?

August 26, 2023

Maria Healing, Isaiah 46, Isaiah 54, suffering, Words , , , , , 2 Comments

I (God) declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ Isaiah 46:10 Berean Study Bible

I’ve been reading a book about one’s identity, recommended by Graham, And David Perceived He was King. Dale Mast, the author, reminds his readers that whoever creates has the authority to give his ‘artwork’ a name. But in the Garden, the ultimate Creator, God, delegated that responsibility to Adam. Whichever name our primogenitor chose, so it was. Deciding what each would be called was just the first step in Adam’s given work. God’s mandate to be fruitful, rule and govern this earth illustrates our Father’s intention to transfer some of his power and authority to care for his world.

In one section of the book, Mast circles back to Adam’s first task with the animals by asking his readers: What are you going to name your future? He writes,

‘There are many things and situations that God will bring in front of us, waiting to see what we will name it – and what we name it, it shall be!’

I’m not a ‘name it and claim it’ believer.  Yet, undeniably there is power in what we declare.  Through this book, God has been rearranging how I think about one of his purposes in my life.  I’ve mentioned the pain experience God has ‘gifted’ me with in the past six months.  As a data gal, I have kept track of each day’s ups and downs and treatments.  And when people have asked me how I am, I’ve briefly described the seeming ‘ongoingness’ of the pain.

But several days ago, I stopped.  I said out loud: I’m done with this.  I’m NOT going to record each day in my journal. And when people ask me how I’m feeling, I’ll simply say, ‘I’m getting better, thanks for asking.’

Privately, but with my voice so Maria can hear, I DO give thanks to Jesus for healing me.  I sense that I am to declare this truth before I see and feel the evidence of its reality. Afterall, that is what a promise taken on faith is. The Centurion believed Jesus. The prophet’s widow obeyed Elisha. Peter trusted the Savior and stepped out on the waves as though they were solid and immobile. The list goes on.

This lesson in believing and declaring what God says is something I have to learn before the next adventure he has programmed. It’s possible that Satan has wanted to disable me, in order to discourage me. Other physical afflictions over the past 12 months have been bizarre.  But as the Lord says:  No weapon that is formed against you will succeed….. Isaiah 54:17 NASB

Yes, there has been pain, but the rich teaching from God has more than compensated. I have chosen to receive all as gift. Some of his bestowing has stung me emotionally. Once he pointed out, to my shock, the ongoing stream of negative silent judgments I habitually make about people and even about God, himself. I am learning immediately to repent.

Repentance is a good thing. Wasn’t it Martin Luther who said, ‘all of life is repentance.’?

My ‘suffering’ has been minor compared to many.  But suffering is suffering. And we are not to compare our God-ordained path with others so as to minimize ours. 

A friend at church recently shared about the 3 most difficult years of her marriage. Thanks to the providential initiative of a distant cousin with whom she hardly ever communicated; this lonely wife received boatloads of God-centered encouragement.  She felt the Lord’s presence in ways she hasn’t since, ‘almost to the point where I would go through those years again, just to know God’s presence’ she mentioned.

God still calls us to ‘name’ our experiences.  What we say out loud can change us.  So, I am choosing to declare that God HAS healed me. I’m certain that in the coming weeks and months, I will find out all the nuances of this healing.

Why is life so hard?

April 8, 2021

Maria courage, John 16, Psalm 11, Purification, Romans 8, Spiritual Warfare, suffering , , 1 Comment

Why are we surprised by hard things, by suffering? How many times have I thought, “If we can just sell the house!  Maybe when God heals Mike! Once he finds a new job!  Once I get to leave this job!”  But then, on the other side, new situations await.

I just want to be real with myself.  Life is hard because:

  • The world is broken due to sin
  • We have an evil enemy
  • God puts His family members through difficult times to burn away all that is impure, unholy and not of Him.

I am now letting it sink in that there is always another issue, a problem, a crisis, a sticky relationship.  Christianity is honest about life on Earth 1.0 but God doesn’t just leave us with truth, He reassures us that He has overcome the world and that His Spirit is with us to help us.  Remember, too, that suffering is not for naught. May we keep Romans 8:28 front and center.

I selected these two reflections from the past week, a series of days that ‘felt’ hard. But looking back, they were no more challenging and frustrating and painful than most weeks.

**

Necessity teaches the naked woman to spin. Danish Proverb

God’s truth has many sources.

Roberto, a fellow language learner and friend, works on his English as I do with Spanish. But there’s a difference. Yesterday, I complimented him on his progress. He sadly demurred, adding: “I don’t need English here!”

“What do you mean?”  Listening, I realized the blessing of necessity. I volunteer weekly at the local pregnancy center. Growing numbers of Hispanic gals seek counsel and assistance. My intermediate Spanish makes a difference.  This week I spoke Spanish in all three appointments, delighting me. And I long for improvement.

Years ago, a school hired me to teach logic.  Me, a French teacher. I had never heard of logic as a subject, so I Googled it.  You can imagine how motivating a classroom of 8th-graders can be when you have to teach.  Slowly, day by day, I learned about logic and loved it.

If God is calling you to do a difficult ‘something’, about which you know nothing, thank Him!  A new skill is His gift to you.

****

The LORD tests the righteous Psalm 11:5 ESV

Let’s admit it, life is very hard. 

My friend Lisa has a son undergoing a painful life experience. Her favorite promise from Jesus is: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

Today’s assurance from God is that He is going to add more pressure to the righteous, and that on top of the normal suffering on Earth 1.0. What?  Yes, as a good and wise Father, He is training us to resemble the Family. Only by treating us like precious metal needing to be rid of impurities, can we be made pure.  High temperatures!

The rest of the psalm provides two contrasts. How He reacts to the wicked is the first. He hates them!  And second, those He loves (another name for those being tested) will see His face.

Seeing God’s face is Hebrew for finding favor with God! So, take heart.

Is God behind all this global suffering?

June 7, 2020

Maria Deuteronomy 15, God's will, Isaiah 46, Philippians 4, Poverty, Salvation, Sovereignty of God, Struggles, suffering, Thinking, Thoughts, Trials, Trusting God , , , , , Leave a comment

News agencies world wide report droughts, floods, murders, homelessness, job loss, disease and more.

Christian organizations such as Open Doors post pleas for prayer:

  • Unprotected, Christians murdered in Nigeria
  • West Africans suffering from Fulani, sickness and little food
  • Locusts in East Africa destroy crops
  • Daily assaults on Christians in Asian country

Is all this suffering from God’s hand?

I am a Christian who believes that the Bible is the true word of God. I thus accept as fact what God teaches, that nothing happens outside His sovereign will. (some thoughts about ‘two wills’ of God)

Isaiah 46:9-10  I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
 I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.

I am thinking, thinking a lot these days and reasoning from what I know, from what God says in His Word. He doesn’t answer all my questions, but there is enough truth for me to ponder and think clearly.  He expects me, as one of His, to apply my mind. ‘Think on these things’, Paul exhorts in Phil 4:8.

I know that all that has befallen me in my 6 decades: the bad, the painful, the shameful, the sicknesses, the sin, the blessings, the rescues, the deliverances, the joys, the ‘pleasants’….all have been planned for my good, to bring me to Jesus (rescuing me from the right judgement of my guilt and fair eternal penalty) and to make me holy like Him.  If God is God and if He is good, wise, all-powerful, faithful and loving, then He has good reason, good purposes for what He does.  Whether I see His reasons. Whether I agree with them or not.

I don’t struggle with that anymore IN MY OWN LIFE. 

But recently I’ve been thinking those who are REALLY suffering in the world, in what we call the 3rd-world areas. (Is there a ‘second-world’ label??)

My pain and struggles have been those of an advantaged American born in the second half of the 20th century.  Past and present – far more people have been and are overcome by poverty, hopelessness, violence, hunger, sickness, disastrous weather and terrorism.  Does God work all those imagination-defying ‘awfuls’ to bring SOME to Christ and make THEM more like Jesus? Are these conditions His tailored will for their lives, just as my circumstances are for me?

That is what I have been wondering.  And it’s a new idea for me.

Not for a moment do I think this is merely an intellectual exercise, that God intends for me just to ponder logically when I read of 3rd-world suffering.   Why not? Because all through the Bible, God’s people are commanded to take care of and provide for the down-and-out in our reach.

  • Deut 15:11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

In just the week that this topic has been on my mind, my conclusion is that somehow, in God’s wisdom, those who are His, those whom He is calling from each people group, He has placed in the designed location, time and circumstances best suited for their hearing and responding to the Gospel.  No, He doesn’t condone violence and oppression of the poor. But He does ordain what is at the ‘moment’ an evil for a greater good since He KNOWS has PLANNED and will bring about the eventual outcome. All through the Bible we read that His hand is behind droughts (think Naomi and Ruth), slavery (Joseph to Egypt) leprosy (Naaman), murder plots (Esther and the Jews), imprisonment (Paul and the Philippian jailor).

I choose to hold fast to what I know is true about our God.  I have learned that He is trustworthy.  I don’t have to understand or see His reasons to accept that what breaks my heart will one day be the cause of my praise for the resulting beauty of his Grace revealed.

In the meantime, may He keep my heart soft both to call on Him for justice and relief and to be part of His provision.

Is some pain waking up your spirit?

April 5, 2020

Maria Pain, Purpose, Revelation 21, suffering , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Firm roller I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for almost 3 months to help with severe pain in my left hip.  Four weeks ago, Dr Sarah suggested I use a hard, firm roller to ‘wake up my brain’, a technique designed to lessen the constant soreness in my glute.

“What do you mean, ‘wake up my brain’?” I asked Sarah.  She explained that by rolling sections of my legs, one at a time, with my full body weight pressing on this hard fat tube of cylindrical foam, those movements would send signals to the brain which would help alleviate pain in my hip! when I bend over to touch my toes or walk on the treadmill.

When one of the chiro tech gals showed me the movements, I learned what the IT Band was (“The ITB ,also called the iliotibial band or iliotibial tract, is a thick, fibrous tendon that runs along the outside of each leg “) and how working that tendon with the hard, firm roller would REALLY get my brain going and do something good.

Let me tell you what excruciating pain is like: rolling on my left outer leg with my full weight working the inflamed IT band ligament!!!!

This is supposed to help? Pain is going to stimulate my brain to send a message to my sore glute to calm down?

THAT didn’t make sense. Yet, I was committed to the healing process.  Pain is a great motivator. I also trusted Dr. Sarah.

But I have dreaded those 3-4 minutes each morning.  I know what is coming – the pain that ‘hurts like hell’!

But a month in, I am pleased to report that the pain on my IT band has subsided and I have increased the rolling time from maybe 20 seconds to 40 seconds, all without increasing the discomfort.  That means the inflammation is less.

Did you see my sentence above, ‘Pain is a great motivator’?

I see a parallel with the Covid-19 crisis.  Pain has grabbed our attention. All of us -believers, pagans and atheists alike.  When something hurts enough, we tend to reorder our priorities. Quickly.  Suddenly.

I faced such a crisis years ago in our marriage. We were approaching our 20th anniversary. (Now, we’re one week away from celebrating our 40th anniversary – Yay, God!!!) Mike told me he didn’t know if he loved me anymore.

That woke up my spirit AND my thinking for sure.  I dropped the ‘too many things’ I was doing like hot potatoes to focus on our marriage.  No praying about that.  No going through any decision analysis process. Values seismically sifted during an afternoon walk and talk.  By God’s grace and with much gladness, I can write today about that PAIN at the 20-year point of our marriage, attesting to His goodness and grace to us, a couple MORE in love with each other than we imagined standing at the altar in 1980.

I know what I'm doing, Mother! copy

Do you see what sickness, death and financial pain are accomplishing?  More people all over the world are reflecting on their mortality.  They are thinking about God, and about transcendent values. This is GOOD! If church-attenders who have long thought they were Christian turn to their Bibles to learn who the real Jesus is, that is good.  If complacent believers who function day to day like unbelievers turn back to the Lord, that is for their blessing. If those who have never considered Jesus start thinking about him, that is pure grace.

My meditations these days are not along the lines of:

  • when will this be over?
  • when will life return to normal?
  • when will we be able to travel and see our family?

I’m praying and pondering:

  • Father, may we learn your lessons for good!
  • Father, use this evil to bring many to eternal life!
  • Father, may more come to honor your name and love you through this suffering.

These sufferings are not new to humanity.  Just look in the Bible if you want clear examples.

Mike and I are journeying through the depressing book of Judges.  This year, the cycle of peace, complacency, turning to contemporary cultural idols, PAIN-producing subjugation and hardship, calling on Yahweh, rescue, thanksgiving, closeness to God ……with its numerous encores, FEEL REAL and close to home.

Here’s the most important question: Will Covid-19-produced suffering be enough this time to change our world once and for all?  That’s easy to answer – No!

Any serious Bible reader can you that.  But there is a world coming, Earth 2.0, when Jesus comes down with all the angels and those saints already with him. He has promised to redeem, restore and re-create His Bride and our Earth. And be with us forever.  So, take heart and let this pain, sovereignly planned and controlled by the one and only Living God, work its good in you. Let it awaken your spirit. Be bold. Share good news of great joy. Help whom you can. Pray and rejoice!

Rev 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 

 

Does God care about the little things?

November 20, 2019

Maria 1 Peter 5, Anxiety, Dependence, Father, God's Promises, Grace, Gratitude, Patience, Praise, Prayer, Promises, Struggles, suffering, Trials, Trust, Trusting God, Wisdom , , , 1 Comment

“Oh, He is too busy running the world to care about this little issue of mine!”

Have you ever been politely put off by someone pretending to be humble?

Here’s the Truth – our God LOVES to take care of ALL our issues, cares, problems, burdens.  “Cast ALL of your cares on Him, for He cares for you!”  1 Peter 5:7

I’ll tell you a story about one of those ‘little things’ that my Father took care of yesterday and the bigger take-away.

It’s almost Thanksgiving.  We’re living in a rental house with a small frig. Family arrive next week to share the holiday.  I had been fretting on my inability to do any food prep and baking ahead of time due to the size of our freezer section.  Mike to rescue! He seconded my suggestion about buying a chest freezer NOW (instead of waiting until we move into our new house).  Relief!

Home Depot here in Huntsville had a sale. The freezer fit in the back of the Subaru. Mike set it up and turned it on. Monday, I happily purchased the $40 frozen organic turkey, along with some wild-caught Sockeye on sale, also frozen.  Placed them and some bacon in the new freezer.

But the next morning after working out in the garage, Mike reported that the turkey felt soft when he checked it.  Oh, no!  It had been solid as a rock when I purchased it the day before.  My mind flashed to all the rigamarole it would cause us, especially Mike, to have to load the freezer in the car, take it BACK to Home Depot…..et cetera. And when would he have the time to do that?

By God’s grace, I knew immediately what to do:  I handed the entire mess over to the Lord.

“Father, you tell us to cast ALL our burdens on you.  Handle this, please. You know I just spent a bunch of money and that I need a freezer. And how I had planned to do some baking this afternoon.  Help!”

Finishing my quiet time, I bundled up for my walk and prayed on and off during the 30 minutes. I continued to have a steady confidence that this was one of those tests and that the Lord would come through.  Entering the house, I hung up my jacket and took out my phone.  Following Nehemiah’s example, I formulated another quick prayer as I punched in the number for Home Depot, asking God that the manager would be in the store this early (8 am).

He was!  But first I had to go through customer service.  I really hadn’t wanted to explain the situation to the gal on phone duty, but she asked before connecting me to the manager.  Her empathetic response reassured me, “Oh, how awful! Of course, I’ll put you through right away to Drew.”

Drew grasped my situation immediately.  Asking a few questions, he assured me that he would send a replacement over as soon as possible.  By 9 am, I had a new freezer humming in the garage.  And praise be to the Lord!  Per Google, my turkey which had been kept cool over the past 18 hours but not frozen in the defective appliance, could be safely refrozen, if within 3 days.

With joy, I texted Mike to share the good news of how quickly God had worked. Furthermore, by 3 pm I had placed one baked item in my new and fully functioning freezer.

What about that corollary or bigger take-away from this on-time grace?

It’s this:  like all of you, Mike and I have a BIG need that we have committed to God.  We pray every day, asking for a resolution as well as the strength to endure and trust him in the meantime.  And our Father has seen fit to tarry.  Frankly, some days it’s a real struggle to hold on by faith to his promises as well as to remind ourselves of all his past answers.  We intentionally rehearse his goodness as we read about him in his Word and see hourly and daily evidence of his love.

So, in his very rapid handling of our freezer problem, I see reassurance from a loving and kind Father that he really does care about us. Through this quick supply of grace, it is as though he is reassuring us that he IS indeed at work in our big need. But that in his perfect wisdom, he has planned a wait.  So, we await HIS timing and continue to pray.  But not frantically, not desperately.

Oh, by the way, the next time someone thinks to put me off with a quip about God having more important things to do than handle a problem like a defective freezer, I’ll confidently say:

The one and only true, living and loving God cares about ALL that concerns me, AND you, AND the nations at war, AND the environment, etc. And compared to his GREATNESS, and from his point of view, all these problems are little items!

Trying to get back to ‘pleasant’ or ‘normal’?

June 12, 2019

Maria 2 Corinthians 2, Affliction, John 16, Opposition, Pain, Problems, Struggles, suffering , , , , 3 Comments

 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved. 2 Cor 2:15

Where do we get the idea that problems and crises are NOT the norm?  That when they occur, top priority is solving them, getting through them, so we can ‘get back to normal’? What IS normal? And why do we view life without suffering and hardship as the norm?

I grew up believing that ‘a pleasant, mostly problem-free live IS natural, to be expected‘. That ‘fact’ formed part of the bedrock of my heart. Ever since my early teens,  I have been pushing back against all those OBTRUSIVE trials and painful interruptions and sufferings as though they were something to get through, to get solved, to get over with SO THAT life can ‘get back to normal’.

The other morning as I was reflecting and journaling,  John Piper’s advice to adopt a ‘war-time mentality’ popped into my head.  The ”war’ he refers to is the one against the very real and vicious, dark, murderous, evil spiritual forces operating in our fallen world.

The reference to war brought to mind an historical novel I read last month about French resistance workers during WW2.  The main character risked her life, time and time again. Even when she was hurt and wounded, she still carried out dangerous missions.

Up until now,  I have applied Piper’s message to how I view money, how I think about and allocate disposable time, and how I pray.  But yesterday the image of this courageous young woman began to guide my understanding of our present ‘wartime’. As I was praying through some current suffering affecting Mike and me, I began to realize, that being wounded oneself doesn’t mean I can’t serve as God’s covert worker behind ‘enemy lines’.

In fact, I started realizing that suffering is part of the war in this ‘present darkness’ on our post-Edenic planet.  Physical and metaphorical bombs befall us; we step on ‘landmines’ that rain pain and destruction; snipers take aim at our loved ones.  None of this trouble is outside of God’s sovereign reign.  All of these events are part and parcel of the trouble that Jesus announced we would encounter in this world.  Our enemy MEANS them to destroy us, but God MEANS them for our good and the good of others.

But THE question for me, what has stayed with me this week is this:

Maria, YOUR sufferings and those inflicting your family and friends, must they hinder you from giving aid and encouragement to fellow, but wounded image bearers?

Hearkening back to the dangerous work of resistance workers in Nazi-occupied France, I ask myself, can I not offer material and spiritual bread and water to the hurt?  Even as one of the wounded, can I still GIVE in the midst of this war?

Yes!

  • whether I am operating on little sleep,
  • whether I, myself, am crippled by my own sin or suffering,
  • whether my heart sorrows over the many cares of those I love,

Yes, I CAN be a giver of comfort, of encouragement.

Spies in EVERY war have carefully learned how to maneuver around and through enemy forces.  Now is no different. Warfare IS normal life, here on earth.  The good news is that there is a definite endpoint when the war will be past. Final victory has been legally declared by Jesus, the ‘Lamb who was Slain before the Creation of the World’ and He is coming back to claim His own.

In the meantime, as a crushed servant in the Lord’s Good News army, let me be a giver of cheer and comfort and leave a fragrant, lingering aroma of a Christ-filled servant.

 

 

 

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