“The traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys” (Isaiah 21:2).
Later in this chapter in Isaiah it says, “Morning comes, and also the night” (Isaiah 21:12).
Sometimes life is great.
It is all sunshine and blessing.
However, there are also times that life is more difficult. Especially as we move more into the last
days. Prophesy tells us that it will be
more difficult for people.
Some time ago, I felt God speak to me about anguish. And seemingly, we have seen more difficulty
than we have in the past with natural disasters, wars, disease, and
uprisings. It has been a difficult
time. Even one of my friends who always
seems to be counting her blessings and seeing great things happen was told her
daughter is in prison in another country.
What? How devastating for her and
all her grandchildren.
At the same time, we have seen more people come to know the
Lord amidst the difficulties. It has
turned people to be open that they may not have all the answers and need to
turn seek God. Whirlwinds of trouble
draw people to find shelter.
When we experience difficulty, we have two choices: One is that we can panic and cling to our
circumstances, trying to control them the best that we can. We can try to manage and manipulate things
in our direction. We can try to minimize
our pain and maximize our gain. Or, the
other is that we can choose to trust God in the midst of our difficulty and let
our circumstances run their course with open hands and hope in our hearts.
With Saul and David, we see examples of both of these. Saul experienced difficulty and threats to his
leadership and he became controlling. He
did whatever he thought would advance his leadership and secure his position as
king. He even went as far as trying to
kill David to protect his family line. Out
of fear, he manipulated and controlled his circumstances at every turn. And he demanded everyone’s loyalty while
showing none for himself.
At the end of Saul’s life, knowing he is unfaithful by contradicting
his own policy of no fortune tellers and summoners, he goes to one, calls back
Samuel from the dead, and hears Samuel tell him that both him and his sons
would be with him in the place of the dead shortly. If he processed this at all, he realized that
instead of protecting his kingdom, he caused his own demise and that of his
children as he chased away David’s protection of his family. He derailed his calling by fear and suspicion.
The irony of believing lies is that it usually derails us to
believe them. Rather, love hopes all
things and believes all things (good) instead of suspecting others. Love calls forth the Kingdom from a place of
trust where suspicion causes greater and greater division from a place of fear.
“You turned my fear into faith” sings.
The opposite of operating out of fear is faith. When we step out in faith, we have to release
our circumstances to God and allow Him to manage them. Can I say this again? We have to RELEASE our circumstances to God
and allow HIM to manage them rather than control them for ourselves.
With David, he constantly showed faith rather than
fear. When he was sent running from Saul
and having to hide in caves, he could have given up. He could have become angry and resultful and
saw the situation as hopeless.
Afterall, he was about as far from king as he could get being chased
down and forced to leave the land of his forefathers. But rather than fret, control, and manipulate,
he continually trusted and honored God. He
refused to touch Saul even though Saul was seeking his life. He also helped others and defended them in
this place of his own poverty. And even
when David’s men turned on him in Ziklag, he strengthened himself in the
Lord. He demonstrated open hands and an
open heart to God. He never got resentful or fearful which would not have
benefited the situation.
When I got my middle child as a foster child, I did not have
the youngest yet. The county ideally
wanted to find a place for them to live with relatives or in the county in
charge of his foster care. I prayed
about it as, since he was not going to go to his folks or close relatives, I
wanted to keep him. In my heart, I loved
him as my son. But initially, rather
than move the youngest into our home, the foster system was considering moving my
middle child into another home with his brother that was in their county. I was distraught but heard the Lord speak, “What
door I open, no man can shut’ and “What door I shut, no man can open.” I trusted and things all worked out as I ended
up with both the boys.
Just recently I am going through some trials in my own life
that seem insurmountable. They are huge
issues. Part of me wants to panic. Ironically, a week before all this came
about, someone pulled in front of me with license plates that read “DNTPNIC”. I looked at them and knew God was giving me
a word for the coming season and shuddered.
But this word has helped me greatly. I have told myself this every time
I am tempted to panic.
I have had to come to realize that God has not promised me certain
circumstances. He has not guaranteed me
an easy life. But He has promised that
He will be with me in all things –difficult and easy. He has also given me prayer to seek His best
for my family.
Trusting God is a choice.
When we stand at the crossroads let’s take the path of trust and
abandonment. I saw this in the last year
with the loss of my best friend. Also,
the year or so before with the loss of my mother. They both chose trust in the face of
death. They went home singing with
faith. I could only hope to finish as
well as these two ladies when my time comes.
Timothy Geoffrion, in the Spirit-Led Leader, challenges
leaders that rather than letting their troubles turn them inward or undermine
their confidence, vitality and ability to lead, they choose to trust God and
look for his activity in the midst of their life and leadership. He writes.
“Faith does not dictate to God what the results of our work must be, but
trusts that God is producing valuable outcomes in one way or another.”[1]
What if that situation results in a loved one going home
early? For me, facing my own death, I
could embrace it with seeing the goodness of God but don’t know how to see
goodness in the death of a family member. Geoffrion notes that life is on God’s terms
and writes, “Faith clings to God, even if all our hopes, dreams, loved ones,
and life itself perish.” He notes that
faith does not gibley call suffering “good.”
Rather, it looks to the source of hope when all else fails us or falls
away. [2]
Geoffrion mentions that God does not guarantee us health or
anything else, but rather that He is at work transforming our painful ordeals
into outcomes that help us become more like Christ. We need to continue to rest
in the unbreakable bond of our love relationship with God and in His
sovereignty and ability to accomplish His will.
[3]
Sometimes He does heal, deliver, and perform amazing miracles. In all circumstances we should hope and pray
for this. We are not to forget all His
benefits, He who not only forgives our sins (so easy to believe for) but also
heals all our diseases (not as easy to believe for).
As we look to Christ, we get strength to go through the
difficulty we faith. In the midst of
suffering, distress, and uncertainty, we can count on the Lord to be faithful.
He will be faithful to be there for us, to comfort and console us, and to even
strengthen us to help others.
When my first pastor was in the hospital and spending her
last days, she was witnessing and praying with many nurses. Besides praying for them, she gave away
copies of her books to others struggling with the same life and death circumstances.
Geoffrion writes about handling our difficulties, “The way
we respond will make all the difference in the world. The more we choose to trust, the more we will
stay attuned to the good that God is producing through our circumstances, and to
our opportunity to be part of God’s activity—consciously, fruitfully, and
joyfully.”[4]
Mary from the Bible is a great example of suffering and enduring
while drawing closer to the Lord. She endured ridicule and doubt with her
pregnancy but instead of blaming God for this, she proclaims, “Blessed is she
who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” She then
breaks out in this incredible song of praise.
Simeon then later prophesies over Jesus with incredible words
that left them speechless. And in the
midst of this proclamation about Jesus, he proclaims that a sword would pierce
Mary’s heart. How immense the pain to
watch her son die in such a horrific way as being tortured and hung on a
cross. Yet, it did not cripple her. She
kept hoping in the midst of circumstances that appeared hopeless.
“He’s still moving, still proving, how great He is” sings in
the background.
Lord, help us to embrace You and grow from difficult
circumstances that we face. Be in our
midst and give us peace. At the same
time, give us faith to hope and pray for Your best. Let us not grow weary, hopeless
or resentful in suffering but become more like You. Let us see incredible miracles as we
surrender all to You.
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