John 16:31-33
Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I was visiting with a friend who is fostering a very young child. She said, “I have grown so much in the last three months.” She shared a few things with me about her difficulties… and friends shared even more about how the child who had come into this woman’s home had some pretty serious issues. I was told of the incredible progress this child has made since coming into the care of my friend and her husband. Clearly their love and nurture have done wonders for him. And she told me, “We have gotten the bigger blessing.”
I totally understand the concept of “growing from difficulties.” And I bet many of you do, as well. You know what it feels like to bear unbelievable challenges, worries and concerns… to operate totally on faith that God will fix things…because honestly, trust in God is all you have! We know this is all we need… more than enough, in fact! But when your back is to the wall, and the only choice you have is to look up to heaven and say, “LORD, this is bigger than I am. You will have to handle this!”… you may not feel so unshakable and assured – at least initially.
The more I experience, the easier it becomes for me to trust God for an outcome. Honestly, it’s fairly easy to say this today… because for the moment, everything in my life is going along quite smoothly. But I know that the day will come again when there will be challenges… heartaches… disappointments… concerns… and plenty of reasons to feel unsettled and frightened. How will I respond in that moment? I would love to say that I will take heart, totally trust God, and forge ahead… unshakable, assured, and deeply at peace. I pray this will be the case. But I know it’s not always easy for us to do this as mere humans! In fact, you may be feeling unsettled and frightened at this very moment.
I believe God is using this scripture passage to reassure each of us today that He is in control… that we are not abandoned… that He is with us. We know that He has done amazing things in our lives already. We’ve seen Him handle crises and conflicts, struggles and disappointments, challenges that appear to be insurmountable and heartaches that seem impossible to bear. All of the trials yet to come are no different. God never changes. So take heart! Let go and let God. Trust Him in all circumstances… and feel His presence. Grow in the difficulties God enables you to handle… and live deeply in His peace in all circumstances.
©2013 Debbie Robus
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