The title of my blog is the "Joyful Journey," reffering to the joyful encounters we have on our way through life. Although sometimes your jounrey can seem anything but joyful. Pain, waiting, confusion, addiction, fear ect. all hinder us from continuing on a joyful path.
One of the biggest questions i believe people have about the bible is why God puts us through suffering? If he is indeed a loving God why doesn't he just take away all the pain we ever go through, isn't he powerful enough for that? Of course he is. To my understanding God doesn't cause our pain or addictions, the devil does. He aims to minipulate, decieve and destroy us and our image of our loving creator. He does a pretty good job fooling us that our lives our under control when in reality they are falling apart.
In the midst of adversity it is hard to think that this pain is somehow going to work out for our ultimate good. God uses eachday whether we feel hopeless or not to shape us into being stronger, and more steadfast in him. If we choose we can grow in the process of being broken. Heartbreak and weakness has a strange way of strnthening us and God is faithful for those who are willing to wait. Waiting has become sort of an anomoly in our day-in-age. We are a tomorrow centered society, that in itself can be a little depressing. We never seem to focus on this moment or this chapter of our lives becasue we are so eager to get to the next best thing that will bring us happiness.
Pain is horrible, it's confusing and uncomfortable, but somehow we were called to suffer. Peter writes; " Becasue christ suffered for you, leaving an example, that you should follow in his steps." (1 Peter 2:22) It isn't pleasent or sugarcoated to feel like we are called into a life of suffering. Pain is everywhere; relationships bring pain, loss, addictions, jobs, family and everyday life but God wants us to remember him in the midst of that.
King David in (Palsm 142) is a good example when he is stuck in a cave he cries, vents and tells God how angry he is for his situation. Similarly we should be able to do this, God loves to hear our hearts but often times i want to give God the respect i believe he deserves so i keep it inside. The funny part about that is God knows whats on my heart, nothing is held in secret from him. David wonders why and how he can live another day in this cave and cries to God to give him the strength to withstand it. But every moment he was in there God had a reason for it. He didn't save David from his dispaire until he knew he was ready. David is a good example becasue even though he was king at one point, he was brought down into the depths of hopelessness and choose to trust in God and continually prayed to him. He didn't quit, give up or runaway even when it seemed like the better opyion. Somehow God used this pain to teach him lessons of strengethening and brought him out of it a renewed man. When David switched his focus from trying to get out of the cave to asking God what he could learn while he was in it God used him and raised him up. I don't believe i am far from David.
I constantly wonder through less joyful seasons wondering when they will be over. I plan for tomorrow in hopes that i can run from the cave and the lessons God wants to teach me. Being molded and shaped is a hard process. Flowers are cut back to look almost dead so that in the spring they will regrow more beautiful than before. Through seasons of being like David we have a choice to stay and be cut back for a moment so that we canb become more like Jesus or we can run. Most of the time running seems more appealing and staying feels like your persistance prayers fall on deft ears, but God isn't deft to your cries. In Psalms it says that when you cry out to God, he stops everything and turns to you. He wants to help you, he sets his time aside to listen to just you and to communicate with you. If that doesn't restore confidence in my heart i dont know what will.
So even when your path seems at a deadend and you want to think about tomorrow remember (1 Peter 5:10) "The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Chirst, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and stgeadfast." I dont know about you but i could use a lot more of that at times. I'll leave you with this quote from Mother Teresa; "Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."
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