My blog

Tag: trials

  • When God shows up…

    My husband and I are part of a group of couples who pray for the needs of our church.  We get together with the Pastor on Wednesday evenings to pray for one another, the church body, the community, and the world.  We’ve been part of this prayer ministry almost from the first time we attended this church when we moved to North Carolina three years ago.

    One couple out of the four couples on the team pray for people after service on Sundays.  We never know in advance who will pray and it doesn’t matter to any of the couples because they’re usually there every Sunday.  Who prays is at the discretion of the prayer team leader and who is attending church.  We are happy to oblige when the need arises.

    This past Sunday, we knew from the previous Sunday we would be praying.  Sometimes people come to the front and sometimes they don’t.  We’d rather they did but, we know not everyone is comfortable with strangers praying for them. Others have big needs and have the courage to come forward as was the case this past Sunday.

    And God showed up.  It was the right time, the right place for the right prayer partners and the right person.  It all fit together like minute puzzle pieces.

    Scott lost his job and worried about finding another.  Upset by his job loss particularly since it was his dream job and he’d only held the position for several months, he came forward for prayer. My husband and I definitely related to this man’s worry.  Both of us have lost jobs over the years, my husband’s most recent job loss was three years ago and included a move from Virginia to North Carolina.   And my husband had to learn the lesson, the hard way,  of having his identity wrapped up in his work.

    He learned his identity is in Christ and not the position God gave him.  It was a long, tough lesson to learn.  But through it all, we trusted God.  His way is better than ours and there was a purpose to what we endured.  We couldn’t see it then.  Rarely can you see the benefit of the struggles as you’re going through them.  You only see them after you’ve come through the fire.

    Being familiar with this setback, we told several job loss related stories which included an international move.  We shared words of encouragement before we prayed for him.  Our stories and prayers encouraged him.

    We now know God had a plan for us to share our job loss moments with those who are suffering the same fate.  But more than that, we realized God showed up at that moment and put the right people in Scott’s path.

    But those who wait on the LORD
    Shall renew their strength;
    They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
    They shall run and not be weary,
    They shall walk and not faint.
    Isaiah 40: 31

  • Making Lemonade

    Life. When it hands you lemons, make lemonade!

    An overused cliché, but it fits the human condition. Too often lemons hinder the path to the summit. Their sour and sometimes bitter taste can keep us from using them to make a refreshing drink.  Adding a little honey or sugar makes an impact in transforming unpalatable fruit into tasty lemonade, refreshing and oh, so delicious.
    That bitter lemon of failure can squeeze the last ounce of courage a person has within their soul and robs them of the joy of experiencing the mouthwatering flavor when it hits their taste buds.
    That sour lemon of disappointment can ferment when marriages or friendships falter and fail. It can cause a need to eliminate those relationships and purge the acid of destruction in life.  But is it necessary to destroy those bonds to eliminate that sour lemon?
    So what if there are bitter and sour lemons!  Squeeze out the seeds of bitterness and disappointment and add the magic ingredients of honey and sugar.
    The magic ingredients. What are they? The sweetness of God’s love and care. It covers the bitter and sourness of life. He helps us through those bitter disappointments and failures in life. Notice I said, through, and not around. We will still have trials, we will still have trouble. But through His grace, we can get through those valleys in our lives. In the end, coming out stronger, wiser and much more able to move forward. He may or may not remove those trials. His choice. His will.

    God sees the beginning and the end. He lives outside of space and time. Thus, he sees every pitfall we will encounter or and every one we have encountered. His never-ending grace is given to us with love and care. We just need to reach out and grab it! Hold onto it with all our might.
    The refreshing drink? Life with Jesus, of course. He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” [Matt 11:28] He gives us that restful life, that refreshing drink that we long to savor.
    Do you have inedible lemons your life? What will make those lemons into lemonade?  Seek Him. He’s the answer.  He’s always the answer.  He loves you. More than you can even imagine.