The people of Israel were up against impossible odds when they found themselves between the chariots of Egypt and the Red Sea. Their God is our God. The God of Israel looks down on us with love and says, "Nothing has happened to you which is not common to all. I can manage it. Trust Me."
He wants to transform every form of human suffering into something glorious. He can redeem it. he can bring life out of death. every event of our lives provides opportunity to learn the deepest lesson anyone can learn on earth, "My present life is not that of the old 'I', but the living Christ within me" (Galatians 2:20). When our souls lie barren in a winter which seems hopeless and endless, God has not abandoned us. His work goes on. He asks our acceptance of the painful process and our trust that He will indeed give resurrection life.
How often I am troubled about something that looms ahead wondering how I am to cope when the time comes. Why do I not bring it at once to the Lord, who stands ready with the next grace for the next thing? Why is it so easy to forget His simple word, "If you need wisdom, I'll give it to you. If you need strength, it will be there in exact proportion to the difficulties of the day. If you need guidance, I'm your Shepherd. If you need comfort, My name is Comforter."
When in pain it is hard to think of anything but pain. Amy Carmichael wrote of being so weak she could not think or pray, but she took comfort from the Psalm, "Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:2, AV). She was able simply to lift them to the Lord --a gesture of acceptance, of adoration, of faith. We have our Father's promise, linking the pain to an unimaginable glory: "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12).
A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot
I highly recommend this book! Get it today and finish this wonderful study!
He wants to transform every form of human suffering into something glorious. He can redeem it. he can bring life out of death. every event of our lives provides opportunity to learn the deepest lesson anyone can learn on earth, "My present life is not that of the old 'I', but the living Christ within me" (Galatians 2:20). When our souls lie barren in a winter which seems hopeless and endless, God has not abandoned us. His work goes on. He asks our acceptance of the painful process and our trust that He will indeed give resurrection life.
How often I am troubled about something that looms ahead wondering how I am to cope when the time comes. Why do I not bring it at once to the Lord, who stands ready with the next grace for the next thing? Why is it so easy to forget His simple word, "If you need wisdom, I'll give it to you. If you need strength, it will be there in exact proportion to the difficulties of the day. If you need guidance, I'm your Shepherd. If you need comfort, My name is Comforter."
When in pain it is hard to think of anything but pain. Amy Carmichael wrote of being so weak she could not think or pray, but she took comfort from the Psalm, "Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:2, AV). She was able simply to lift them to the Lord --a gesture of acceptance, of adoration, of faith. We have our Father's promise, linking the pain to an unimaginable glory: "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12).
A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot
I highly recommend this book! Get it today and finish this wonderful study!
