I’ve been
posting from “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young on a regular basis, and I have
thoroughly enjoyed what she has had to share finding it to be scripturally
sound and encouraging. Though I have never met the author of “Jesus Calling,”
over the past nine months I feel I have really grown to know her heart. She has
endured many hardships and God has done an incredible work in and through her
to encourage others by what she has learned and seen and known of God. But
every now and then there is a sentence or a thought that I have to step back
from and say, “Wait a minute. Is this really what Scripture has to say?”
Something about the statement just doesn’t sit right.
Today she
encourages us to make friends with our problems. I really struggled with this
statement. I don’t know that I would agree, but I can definitely understand how
she would say this. When we understand that everything that God allows into our
lives has come through His strong hands and is limited to the degree that He
has enabled us to endure and even work toward our maturity and even good, then
you can possibly look at your problems as friends. Rather than use “friends” I
might use the word “embrace.” In this world, Scripture tells us, we will have tribulation,
but we are to take courage because Jesus Christ has overcome the world (John
16:33). So, when problems come I can embrace them and come through them
victoriously because of my God and what His Son and His Spirit have, are, and
will do in and through me.
Today in
“Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (3/5)
Make friends
with the problems in your life. Though many things feel random and wrong,
remember that I am sovereign over everything. I can fit everything into a
pattern for good, but only to the extent that you trust Me. Every problem can
teach you something, transforming you little by little into the masterpiece I
created you to be. The very same problem can become a stumbling block over
which you fall, if you react with distrust and defiance. The choice is up to
you, and you will have to choose many times each day whether to trust Me or
defy Me.
The best way
to befriend your problems is to thank Me for them. This simple act opens your
mind to the possibility of benefits flowing from your difficulties. You can
even give persistent problems nicknames, helping you to approach them with
familiarity rather than with dread. The next step is to introduce them to Me,
enabling Me to embrace them in My loving Presence. I will not necessarily
remove your problems, but My wisdom is sufficient to bring good out of every
one of them.
We are
assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work
together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God
and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Romans 8:28 (AMP)
No comments:
Post a Comment