”What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.“
1 Peter 1:3-7 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/1pe.1.3-7.MSG
REFLECTION
When affliction comes suddenly without warning, after faithfully doing everything one knows to be good and right in God’s sight, it can be very unsettling and I find that I need to fight the good fight of faith to focus on the truth of God’s Word while the word ‘why’ fights for front and centre in my thoughts. Why would God allow me to feel so much pain after I’ve sacrificially given so much and truly sought to be fully obedient and faithful? But, as I draw near to Him, as I am, in the thick of it … the ‘why’ word is replaced with trust. God’s ways are higher and while we know in part, He knows in full. So I invite you to join me in the battle for truth and let’s ponder the wonder and ways of our caring Creator, who is always perfectly wise, loving and trustworthy…and is with us in suffering as well as celebration. Scripture makes it clear that suffering and sorrow are part of our experience on Earth, but we are not without hope – we who seek to know, love and serve Jesus Christ, our Living Hope. So let’s stay prayerful and praiseful as we process pain (and everything else), with Him.
Therefore we do not become discouraged [spiritless, disappointed, or afraid]. Though our outer self is [progressively] wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day by day. For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.(2 Corinthians 4:16-18 AMP)
PRAYER POEM: Hope
Loving Lord, You are indeed my Living Hope. As I stay close to You I am strengthened to cope.
The wonder of Your wisdom is infinitely higher so I praise You in the refining fire, for You are truly totally trustworthy at all times and the light of Your redeeming love forever shines.
