What I
am going to share with you today is not meant to be a pity party but to help us
deal with some of the things that confuse us as well the things that hurt us
deeply. To be able to have perspective
when we have questions or when we have big burdens can only be an issue or
better yet a blessing that faith brings.
James
1:2-4 NASB
Consider it
all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may
be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I read
an article a week ago and then had a conversation this week about Pastor David Cho who
has led the largest church in world that is in Korea. Recently he was convicted of misusing
ministry money. It had to do with
something like insider trading. But what
burdens me is the fact that this great man of faith made some bad decisions
that have led many in his church and people around the world to question God. Pray for Pastor Cho, his church and others
like them in other places.
This
week I walked in to the hospital room of a toddler who has been very sick for
the last few weeks. His mom, her
boyfriend and myself talked for a few minutes, and I prayed with them before I
left. Today we learned that Brenton,
this 18 month old little boym has leukemia.
He doesn’t deserve the pain and the struggle that is ahead. I’ve been praying for this family and will
continue. Pray for Shelley and Brenton.
Cancer
is no respecter of persons. It springs
up often in the lives of people around us with no reason to why they are having
to suffer. My heart breaks for a lady in
our church and her family as she has been battling this disease for some time
and recently found out things are getting worse. Pray for Catrina and her family
One of
my closest friends walked in to my office a little over a week ago and told me
one of his favorite friends had died. My
friend and co-worker Scott told me about his mentor who lived past 100 years
old and had spent his life giving away Jesus and teaching many people how to
succeed with their passion to serve God.
In the
last year there have been several deaths around our church family that tugged
at my heart. One family lost their mom
to heart problems. Another neighbor near
our church that attended some but battling addiction was hit by a car and died
due to the accident. This man was gentle
and is missed by our community. Just a
month later another man that attended our church died early one Sunday morning
after dealing with a blood clot. And
there were more. Pray for those who have
lost family members and friends.
I got
a text one morning from one of the ladies in our church because her daughter
was having a strange problem with her eyes.
This family was questioning and hurting, but her daughter is doing much
better. Pray for Anna as she heals from
this sickness.
Another
person in our church sent me a message asking me to pray for them as they were
battling depression and could hardly get out of bed. The next few weeks were difficult, but God
gave them help. Pray for this special
friend.
An
email arrived late one night from one of our church family, and they told me
their fiancé walked away from their relationship. It was unexpected and so painful. Pray for this couple.
Death,
loss, sickness and pain. These are so
real. They hurt, and the pain keep on
going. Yet we can and must trust God to
give us perspective in the middle of the trials we or others are going through.
Whether
you are the one going through the pain or you know someone in the middle of
struggle, it our blessing to be able to lean on God and help others do the
same. The verses above talked about what
we do with our faith during trials. It
actually said “consider it all joy”.
That ain’t easy, but it is right.
It is only possible with God.
God
loves people more than anything. Any of
these situations lead to it being a sad day, but God is our hope and our help
no matter the situation!
Psalm 46:1 NLT
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
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