Friday, August 20, 2010

All Things

When we look at nothing but the ashes of pain and destruction before us, it is inconceivable that God could possibly bring forth any beauty from it. It is overwhelming to try to imagine how he might rebuild what has been completely devestated and destroyed.

But it is when we face the reality of what is before that we must close our eyes to the circumstances and open our heart fully to the truth of Who God is.

It is not what we see that we put our trust in, but rather in Who we know. We must trust in the character of God. We must remember all that He has done before when we are stuck in the moment of deep suffering. As Job cried out, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him." God deserves our trust. He deserves our confidence, and even in our weakest and most painful moments, we must hold to Him with whatever strength we can muster, because Who He is, His character is trustworthy.

We belong to Him, He loved us and accepted us when we came to Him at our worst, mired deep in sin and rebellion. He took us in, made us His very own, and gave us hope and new life. How much more will He care for us, proved us and leave us, now that we are His followers, His children.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3


As the shepherd watches over his flock without wavering, all the more, our Good Shepherd does not slumber or sleep, He continually works for our good, that we would know Him more and we would receive all that He has for us. He is a good God, and that is why we must trust Him in all things.

It may be at times that our prayer is "Even this, Lord, I will trust You in," but we must pray the prayer. Sometimes it may start as shallow words, but we must continue the sacrificial offering of it until our weary flesh and our wounded hearts catch up with it. He is worthy. He can be trusted.



“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1,3