When you’re going through struggles, do you sometimes feel like God has forgotten you? The psalmists sometimes felt that way (Psalm 42:9).
It can be hard to understand why God allows some circumstances in our lives.
That's when we need to remind ourselves that God never promises to eliminate all of our problems. He promises to bring us through them. When we lean into Him, seeking His help and trusting His Word, our faith grows through hardship in ways it cannot grow during easier times.
Consider the “great cloud of witnesses” who cheer us on in our struggles and the example of Christ (Hebrews 12:1-13).
Christians who have serious challenges and persevering faith are the best examples when we're dealing with difficulties. They prove that God is enough.
In my life, I've been taught by a number of people:
Some are family members, like my grandmother.
Some are friends, like Steve Saint and Ginny Saint and Lani.
Some are well-known authors and speakers whom I’ve never met, like Joni.
Some are Christians who have already died, but I’ve “met” them through their biographies (see list below devotion).
God doesn’t promise to spare us hardship, but He promises to bring us through it and use it in marvelous ways for our good and the good of others (Romans 8:28).
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This is a small sampling of those whose biographies have impacted my faith:
Thank you for the mention of Francis Asbury. As a researcher and writer of Francis Asbury for 31 years, the post's topic resonates with me. Two years into my historical journey, the Lord made it known through a surprising affirmation that I was not only on the right track- researching and writing about this amazing man of God. But that He had a plan for activity in my life. Unfortunately for me, this early confirmation eventually turned into a Caleb-like path of waiting. About 15 years after this initial green-light I had to make peace with the fact that like Caleb of old, I would have to wait. Yes, waiting can naturally lead to doubt, but for me I vowed to push on and I vowed to push in- into His loving embrace. As I chose to submit myself to the Lord's will- this waiting journey, (as mentioned above I'm 31 years on this trail), the journey became a rich discovery process. Every now and then the Lord would once again appear through a new discovery about myself, about Him, or about this journey. It became an enriching pilgrimage allowing me to grow in my faith.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for this post.
Press on, you'll be pleasantly surprised by what God can do. My healing reading- the book of Psalms and Deuteronomy.
I'm glad that the life of Francis Asbury has inspired you and continues to inspire you. We can definitely learn from past saints.
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