Tuesday, June 14, 2011

This Too Shall Pass


2 Cor. 4:17 “…For what is seen is temporary..”

Our oldest grandson, Caleb is a bit of a dramatist. He very much enjoys the water and when he was four years old, he took swimming lessons. One day his lessons were canceled as the pool had no chlorine and were waiting for the shipment to come in so the pool could be used. Caleb didn’t believe what he was told and had to see for himself that the lessons for the day were indeed canceled. After looking at the non-chlorinated pool, he dropped his head, slumped his shoulders and told him mom that “his life was over”. Our daughter answered him with “Perhaps, but tomorrow your life will go on as you will have a swimming lesson then”.

This lesson for Caleb reminds me of the lesson that God has faithfully through the years been teaching me: “This too shall pass”. Change is a constant in life. However, there are times in my life when it feels like change is never going to happen or the change that has happened is always for the worse, when I feel as if I am in a never-ending valley. It is then that I tend to focus on the temporary, the here and now.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that “There IS a time for everything”, and as I go through seasons, I need to remember this. Each season, while it may seem lasts forever, really does not. This too shall pass. To endure the some-not-so pleasant seasons, I need to be sure I am grounded in the Word, am truly walking with the Father. For God is bigger than our grief, sorrow, pain and every problem that any of us could face. God is eternal and has a good plan for our future. We are not like those who have no hope. In Christ, our future is full of His promises and we are promised victory over death and the grave!

Dear Lord, as we pass through the seasons in our lives, remind us that this too shall pass, that you are in control desiring to give us a future and a hope. Thank you for that. Amen

Digging Deeper: Ecclesiastes 3:1,14, Philippians 3:13, Hebrews 11:1, Jeremiah 29:11

Monday, June 13, 2011

Standing Firm During Adversity



Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)

I was watching a robin outside my window the other day. The winds were blowing, gusting to 25-30 mph, yet that robin stood firm on the swaying branch. All around the robin, the branches of the tree were swaying mightily, including the branch upon which the robin had perched. Not to say the robin’s feathers were not getting ruffled, for they were, yet that robin did not waver on that branch.

Oh, were I more like that robin, standing firm during adversity. Too often it seems that I give way during troubles, doubting rather than clinging to the Father. God has promised that when temptation comes that He will provide an out for us, that we will not be tempted more than we can handle. “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” (I Corinthians 10:13, NIV) All we have to do is call upon Him.

Prayer: O Father, may I cry out to stay strong with your power, your might during adversity. May I not waver, but stay firmly planted in your will. Thank you that you are faithful, holding me up during troubling times. Amen.

Digging deeper: Matthew 6:25-34; Proverbs 13:12, Psalm 25:2a, 105:4, 118:5-6; Jeremiah 29:11