Rod & Rose

THE WORD: “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea…Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world” ~Psalms 46.1-2,10

I have been through many dry spells during my 55 years of living. I have suffered great loss, have experienced betrayal and have been wrongfully accused. I have been mocked because of my faith in God. My faith has been tested and tried, and every single time, regardless of the outcome, God has never failed me.

To say that I did not allow anger to overwhelm me when the circumstances seemed insurmountable would make me a liar. I have experienced a state of depression so great that I have uttered the words of Job, “May the day of my birth perish…That day, may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it.” ~Job 3.3a-4 NIV. Like Job, there have been times in my life that I questioned God; never His sovereignty…it was His silence that I found most deafening.

“Suffering is not always the result of sin, just as prosperity is not always the result of faithfulness. In fact, at times just the opposite appears to be true. Only God understands why things sometimes work this way. Very often God is beyond our comprehension, and that is not easy to accept. What we can accept, however, is that God wants us to remain faithful to Him, just as Job did” (authors, Bickel & Jantz).

Just as it happened for Job, it was in the midst of my deepest, darkest hours that I have raised my voice to the heavens, cried, and repented of my unbelief. My heavenly Father has always answered. Time and again He has breathed life back into my dry bones. In those desperate moments, His sovereignty has been magnified…His undeserved grace…His everlasting love…all freely given for us on Calvary’s Cross.

As I look back, I now try to see my past through my “God’s lenses.” I see clearly that it was in the valleys where Papa God has dealt with me most intimately. He has proven time and again that His mercies are new every morning. As Jeremiah wrote, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’” ~Lamentations 3.22-24.

I have made peace with God. He has restored all that the locust ate in my life [Joel 2:25] and has placed a joy in the center of my heart so great that I cannot contain it. “I lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” ~Psalm 121.1-2 NIV.

My prayer for you and me today is that we trust in the ONE who can make all things new. Let go of the worries – let go of the doubt. Let us be grafted into the ONE TRUE VINE, and allow His Spirit to flow freely in unencumbered souls.

May our heavenly Father bless your day! May He fill you with hope and renew your strength. Let this be the day that you turn challenges into opportunities. And in all that we say and do, may our Heavenly Father receive all the glory and praise!