On this side of heaven, our vision will be dim. We do not
have a blind faith—but only because our faith is in a sovereign, omnipotent
God, not because we can see every step in front of us for miles (that wouldn’t
actually be faith, after all). Sometimes our steps are confident, sometimes
slow and painful. But whichever, God always goes before, protects from behind, strengthens
from below, lifts from above. We are surrounded. We may not always feel His
presence, but we can always know it is there, because that is a promise. “He
has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my
helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” {Hebrews 13:5-6}
Life “lived by faith” {Galatians 2:20} is rarely easy. Maybe
not so fun at times. But in the center can be found a haven of sweet peace and
joy.
I’ve had life shatter before my eyes…a time or two. I’ve
allowed some of those times to fling me at my Savior’s feet and cry out desperately for
Him. Other times I’ve stubbornly clung to the idea that “I can do it myself.”
In all those times, I experienced pain. In a few of those times, in the midst
of the pain, I’ve experienced a precious Presence, a comforting peace, a joy
beyond comprehension.
The heart of God is that one day pain and evil and all that
goes with them will be dissolved. One day Jesus will wipe the tears from my
eyes, and O what an experience that will be! But for now, God has a plan for
the pain.
God is on a mission to draw people to Himself. He woos and
waits… In His sovereignty that we can’t fully understand, He is in control of
the outcome of each soul. Not everyone will come, but many will respond. And God
doesn’t stop pursuing people once they’ve been saved. God pursues first for
salvation and then for sanctification.
God is at work all around me, all around you…in me, and I
pray in you as well. Sometimes that work involves pain. “For the moment all
discipline seems painful rather than pleasant” {Hebrews 12:11}. But there’s
more to life than meets the eye, for the writer of Hebrews continues, “but
later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.”
Will Jesus find me faithful when He returns? Will He find
you faithful? Are you, and am I, willing to be “trained” by the painful
circumstances of life?
Sometimes God asks very difficult things.
Waiting.
A “no.”
To love where love is not returned.
To turn the other cheek.
To take the next step
with my eyes fixed on the One who goes before me, having no earthly clue what I
am doing.
God is working, and as one song we sing occasionally says, “though
there’s pain in the offering,” I want to be where He wants me to be, to be a
part of His work. I want to be faithful. I want to live by faith…
“ Therefore, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of
witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight,
and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of
our faith,
who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross,
despising
the shame, and is seated
at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him
who endured from sinners
such hostility against himself,
so that you may not
grow
weary or fainthearted.”
{Hebrews 12:1-3}
