“Hello, my dear friend!!!
I love how the Lord often reveals the same or similar lessons to His children even when they are hundreds of miles apart! I too have been reading in 2 Corinthians this summer and have fallen in love with the book. I love chapter 5 when Paul talks about us being ambassadors for Christ. Being on a secular campus with many non-believers this summer is such a wonderful place to be a picture of Christ to the kids I’m interacting with and the teachers as well. I soooo want them to see and notice a difference in me (because of the work Christ has done and is doing in me) from their public school teachers; I’m still trying to figure out how to do that…I’ll admit it’s not always at the forefront of my mind. But I know that the Lord can use me to impact these kids for His kingdom. I so greatly want to show them the love of Christ through being patient or encouraging or to show them the joy of Christ through my smiles, “good-mornings,” and through my cheerfulness. Realizing that there are so many kids watching me is sort of scary but also so exciting! I get to give them a picture of my God and Savior and have the opportunity to do that well or to mess up that opportunity; puts a lot of things in perspective, huh? Hopefully I will portray Christ well!
I also love how Paul talks about hardships and suffering. It is so true! Growth comes uncertainty, pain, and through being totally reliant on the Lord. I am reminded of having horrible growing pains in my legs when I was little; they hurt so badly that they would keep me up at night sometimes. There were even several occasions I would go wake my parents up and one of them would come back to my room and rub my legs until I fell asleep. Although those times were painful, they were needed and beneficial to my growth and development into a young woman. I feel like that is what life is like. Verses 16-18 in 2 Corinthians 4 portrays this perfectly: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Our trials change us into the image of Christ which is what I ultimately want more than anything because that brings the most glory to God.
I loved the quote you wrote down by C.S. Lewis: “We’re not doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” It reminded me of a quote I came across just yesterday on a blog I was reading. It was by Elisabeth Elliot: “God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God’s refusal are always merciful—‘severe mercies’ at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our heart’s desires except to give us something better.” What was SUPER neat about that quote and its timing was that our pastor had just been talking about prayer on Sunday. One thing he talked about which really struck me was in regards to what waiting on God in prayer is designed to do; there were 5 things: waiting on God in prayer is designed to 1) draw us under His loving authority, 2) teach us to walk as children of light, 3) purify our love for God and people, 4) live for His glory, and 5) strengthen our faith. All of these boil down to the fact that God sometimes withholds answers from us (or says “wait”) because He first wants to work in our lives. He wants to put us through the fire to refine us into the image of His Son because we might not be ready to bear the weight of the consequences (good or bad) of our prayers and requests. God will always give us what is BEST for us whether we see it as good or not. Praise God that He sees the whole plan of life and does not leave us to our foolish selves! Pain may seem severe at the moment but in looking back we can see them/it as mercy; even in the moment we can see it (pain) as mercy because God is refining our patience, trust, and faith in Him. It’s soooo hard for me to keep that in perspective at all times!!!
One thing we’re doing in small groups as church is encouraging and keeping each other accountable to memorize Scripture. Each person can pick whatever chapter, verse, or even phrase they want. I chose Psalm 33:20-22 because I think it really encapsulates what I’m learning at this time and needing to focus on in my life. For some reason I’m having a really hard time getting the verses to stick but I got to meditate on them on my way to work today which was really neat!!! I wanted to share my thoughts on it with you. The passage says:
‘My soul waits for the LORD;
He is my help and my shield.
For my heart is glad in Him,
Because I trust in His holy name.
Let Your steadfast love, O Lord,
Be upon me, even as I hope in You.”
So a lot of times we have the opportunity to sit and wait for the Lord to act or reveal His will to us; during this time of waiting we often struggle with wanting to know answers. In these times, God “help[s]” us be patient and to endure the waiting. He also is our “shield” and protects us from temptations to doubt Him or get impatient with His timing; oftentimes the Devil pelts us with these temptations and they seem inescapable…but God shields us form these attacks. So while we wait the Lord helps us wait and protects us from temptations to doubt or despair.
The second sentence is super cool in these verses. When I was meditating on them I realized, grammatically, it was correct to flip flop the phrases so it reads: “Because I trust in His holy name, my heart is glad in Him.” When I think of God’s name I think of Moses and the burning bush and the name “I AM.” God’s name and He Himself has, is, and always will be in existence. I can trust that He will always be there for me even if He is giving a “wait” or “no” answer. (Or a “yes” answer for that matter.) He and His name are holy, perfect, without blemish, and they will never be ruined or made unholy; He will never leave or forsake me and He will always take care of me wherever I am or whatever situation I am in because He will not and cannot go against His holy and righteous nature. And because of all that, because I trust in His holy name, my heart, my very essence, is glad and is joyful; actually, when I think about all that I am ecstatic!!! =D When I wait for Him He is faithful to give me help to endure and he gives me protection from doubt and impatience; when I trust in His name and unchanging character I am rewarded with gladness and joy.
And lastly, the psalmist implores upon himself God’s “steadfast” (unmoving, everlasting, unchanging, “will-always-be-there-and-will-never-ever-ever-fade-or-go-away-or-get-lesser”) love as he hopes in the Lord. The psalmist does not back away from the fact that he is hoping in something…the thing to note is what exactly the psalmist is hoping in: You…a.k.a. God! Our hope needs to be in God, in His will and plan, and in His promise to not withhold that which is best from His children; and this hope can stem from remembering, feeling, and experiencing the love of God. As we see His love which will never end, our hope will increase as will our trust in Him! Sooo…in summary in this passage there are:
*3 actions required of God’s children
AND
*3 rewards/results of obedience…or sort of 4
And what’s great is that even when we fail to wait, trust, and hope, God is still faithful to help, protect, give joy, and love. Praise the Lord!!! Another thing I noticed and found interesting about the passage is that the 3 actions are all focused around the same things: God! Help/protection, gladness/joy, and hope in God’s love are experience at their fullest when we have God as the focus of our waiting, trusting, and hope. The Psalmist did all of those actions “for the Lord…in His holy name…and in Him” and felt an overall sense of peace, protection, and joy.
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