Our suffering...His glory...
I have posted, below, a video on suffering. Some of my favorite quotes from it are:
"So that they might trust God's heart, even when they cannot trace His hand." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
How I love that! :), as we cannot see what His hand is writing right now with my dh's unemployment, but we know we can trust His heart...always, always, we can trust His hand. We have seen this time & again in our lives.
"When we suffer, there will sometimes be mystery. Will there also be faith? Yes, if our attention is focused more on the cross, and on the God of the cross, than on the suffering itself." ~ C.J. Mahaney
The cross IS the great giver of hope...it is the crusher of discouragement...thanks be to God!
"Those who recognize that their suffering in this life is never as great or as serious as their sins, find joy in an unexpected place in the midst of suffering. Because the great mystery is not "why do I suffer?". No. The great mystery is "why would the sinless Son of God suffer as my substitute on the cross, for my sins, receiving the wrath that I deserve so that I might be forgiven and declared righteous?". THAT, is THE great mystery of mercy. And that mercy, can, and will, make all the difference in the midst of the severest forms of suffering." ~ C.J. Mahaney
Thank you Father for this great mystery of your love for us. Everything else can vaporize in this life, but that never can. Thank you that YOU are the great ever-constant, never-changing, life-presever in the midst of the calm, as well as turbulent seas.
T4G 2010 -- Session 8 -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Lastly, Matt Chandler said that he had a B.A. in Bible...that pastoring was all he knew to do, and who else would have wanted to employ him with a B.A. in Bible? I had to chuckle at that, as well as feel a deep comradeship with that comment, as my dh and I have already gone that route. My husband is a quiet man, so kind and gracious at serving those that have lost loved ones. Perhaps one of the reasons he's so good at it is that he doesn't say much, but rather comes alongside grieving families, silently praying over each family as he tends to their funeral and memorial needs and wants. We had viewed it as a ministry, as well...he would mention the loss and impending funeral, and we would join together to uplift those that are hurting so...how we already miss that intimate contact for uplifting them in intercessory prayer.
His college degree is in mortuary science. He's not a man extremely knowledgeable about computers. He knows no other fields. He's quiet and reserved, yet strongly empathetic for others. He is perfect for tending to grieving families, and conducting funerals...but not oh so right for the rest of the outside business world. Gregarious he would not be called. Life of the party, no. Technological whiz, no. But he is always a come-alongside-others person...the strong, silent type, ready and always willing to do what needs to be done...to be the arm that others lean upon. So from a human stand-point, much like Matt had pondered, we wonder what else he can do, since this is what he has always done. This is all he really knows and is trained for. And he is magnificent at it. But nowhere to employ those gifts right now.
Yet we know that God knows all this...just as he knows the very number of hairs on our head. Out of all the innumerable sparrows in the world, He knows when each solitary one falls to the ground. As numerous are the sands on the shore, He knows every grain of them. This did not catch God by surprise, but is something He is intricately working and weaving together, for His glory, and His purposes alone. Which is really what our lives should be about, anyway. Not my life, but yours, O Lord. We may not see the end of the story, but it is being written, and being written magnificently, praise be to God, the master weaver, and author, and loving Father of all things. Somehow, it seems fitting to close with the Doxology. May we each in all the various struggles and trials that come our way in this life, remember that God is always worthy of our praise. Our family's burdens, for sure, are so light, compared to so many...so much to be thankful for....
"So that they might trust God's heart, even when they cannot trace His hand." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
How I love that! :), as we cannot see what His hand is writing right now with my dh's unemployment, but we know we can trust His heart...always, always, we can trust His hand. We have seen this time & again in our lives.
"When we suffer, there will sometimes be mystery. Will there also be faith? Yes, if our attention is focused more on the cross, and on the God of the cross, than on the suffering itself." ~ C.J. Mahaney
The cross IS the great giver of hope...it is the crusher of discouragement...thanks be to God!
"Those who recognize that their suffering in this life is never as great or as serious as their sins, find joy in an unexpected place in the midst of suffering. Because the great mystery is not "why do I suffer?". No. The great mystery is "why would the sinless Son of God suffer as my substitute on the cross, for my sins, receiving the wrath that I deserve so that I might be forgiven and declared righteous?". THAT, is THE great mystery of mercy. And that mercy, can, and will, make all the difference in the midst of the severest forms of suffering." ~ C.J. Mahaney
Thank you Father for this great mystery of your love for us. Everything else can vaporize in this life, but that never can. Thank you that YOU are the great ever-constant, never-changing, life-presever in the midst of the calm, as well as turbulent seas.
T4G 2010 -- Session 8 -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Lastly, Matt Chandler said that he had a B.A. in Bible...that pastoring was all he knew to do, and who else would have wanted to employ him with a B.A. in Bible? I had to chuckle at that, as well as feel a deep comradeship with that comment, as my dh and I have already gone that route. My husband is a quiet man, so kind and gracious at serving those that have lost loved ones. Perhaps one of the reasons he's so good at it is that he doesn't say much, but rather comes alongside grieving families, silently praying over each family as he tends to their funeral and memorial needs and wants. We had viewed it as a ministry, as well...he would mention the loss and impending funeral, and we would join together to uplift those that are hurting so...how we already miss that intimate contact for uplifting them in intercessory prayer.
His college degree is in mortuary science. He's not a man extremely knowledgeable about computers. He knows no other fields. He's quiet and reserved, yet strongly empathetic for others. He is perfect for tending to grieving families, and conducting funerals...but not oh so right for the rest of the outside business world. Gregarious he would not be called. Life of the party, no. Technological whiz, no. But he is always a come-alongside-others person...the strong, silent type, ready and always willing to do what needs to be done...to be the arm that others lean upon. So from a human stand-point, much like Matt had pondered, we wonder what else he can do, since this is what he has always done. This is all he really knows and is trained for. And he is magnificent at it. But nowhere to employ those gifts right now.
Yet we know that God knows all this...just as he knows the very number of hairs on our head. Out of all the innumerable sparrows in the world, He knows when each solitary one falls to the ground. As numerous are the sands on the shore, He knows every grain of them. This did not catch God by surprise, but is something He is intricately working and weaving together, for His glory, and His purposes alone. Which is really what our lives should be about, anyway. Not my life, but yours, O Lord. We may not see the end of the story, but it is being written, and being written magnificently, praise be to God, the master weaver, and author, and loving Father of all things. Somehow, it seems fitting to close with the Doxology. May we each in all the various struggles and trials that come our way in this life, remember that God is always worthy of our praise. Our family's burdens, for sure, are so light, compared to so many...so much to be thankful for....
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." ~ Job 1:21
posted by His Proverbs31 Sparrow at 3:37 PM
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