Cherish Hope

Good Morning Everyone,

Last night as I was pondering over what to write today,
it came to me how weary most people are in their
spirit right now. They are worn down from life,
they are fearful about what will happen next,
and they feel lonely, and sometimes helpless.

Lately my life has been a big battle physically.
I am unable to sleep much due to asthma, and I am
in pretty severe pain most of the time from degenerative
disc disease. Its pretty challenging to keep a good attitude,
I am tired, worn out and sometimes I think God, I don't want
to go through all this. I know many of you are going
through the same thing, in one form or another.

Then... I meet someone who needs a word of encouragement,
and they tell me what is going on in their life, and because
of what I have gone through, my empathy is greater,
my ability to understand their position stronger,
and my desire to pray for them deeper.

Hard times produce patience in us, they produce
a resiliance in our spirit we would not have otherwise.
These things strengthen us, teach us courage,
and wisdom.

How very selfish and self focused we would be if
everything went smoothly all the time. We would never
have a reason to change, or learn or grow, because
everything was perfect.

I am not sure why people have to suffer so much. Its
no fun not being well, or being able to get out and do
things your heart longs to do.

But this I know. Each morning, I can crawl into
God's arms, and feel them surround me as I draw
close to Him in prayer. I can feel his utter, unconditional,
sustaining, precious love that loves me as is, because
I am his child. I feel that comfort, that everything is
going to be ok. And that He will be with me through it all.

Sometimes our struggles are lessons.
Sometimes our lessons are struggles.

But through all of this, if we learn, and allow God to
permeate our lives, our spirit, our being, we can
be a light to all who meet us. Hey, look at all they
are going through, and still they have a spirit of joy
and compassion.

And if we are (his) children, then we are His heirs also;
heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ -- sharing His
inheritance with Him, only we must share his sufferings
if we are to share His glory.
For I ocnsider that the sufferings of this present time
(this present life) are not worth being compared with
the glory that is about to be revealed to us and for us
and conferred on us.
Romans 8:18-19

For whatever was written in former days was written
for our instruction, that by our steadfast and patient
endurance and the encouragement drawn from
the scriptures we might hold fast and cherish hope!
Romans 15:4

Hope.. is eternal in God. Don't let go of it.. cling to Him,
and find useful things to do, no matter what is going on
in your life today.. someone needs you, and God needs
you to be faithful, resiliant, wise and remember you
are not going through anything alone. Many besides
you are suffering, yet God loves us all and will be with
us to the end.. Cling to your Abba Father.

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and
of good courage, and let your heart be stout and enduring.
Yes, wait and hope for and expect the Lord.
Psalms 27:14

I will never leave you or forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5

Love always
millie

Proverbs 3:5-6






MY STRUGGLES ARE ABOUT HIM - - -


by Max Lucado

What about your struggles? Is there any chance, any possibility,
that you have been selected to struggle for God's glory? Have you
"been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also
to suffer for Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29)?

Here is a clue. Do your prayers seem to be unanswered? What you
request and what you receive aren't matching up? Don't think God is
not listening. Indeed he is. He may have higher plans.

Here is another. Are people strengthened by your struggles? A
friend of mine can answer yes. His cancer was consuming more than
his body; it was eating away at his faith. Unanswered petitions
perplexed him. Well-meaning Christians confused him. "If you have
faith," they said, "you will be healed."

No healing came. Just more chemo, nausea, and questions. He assumed
the fault was a small faith. I suggested another answer. "It's not
about you," I told him. "Your hospital room is a showcase for your
Maker. Your faith in the face of suffering cranks up the volume of
God's song."

Oh, that you could have seen the relief on his face. To know that he
hadn't failed God and God hadn't failed him-this made all the
difference. Seeing his sickness in the scope of God's sovereign plan
gave his condition a sense of dignity. He accepted his cancer as an
assignment from heaven: a missionary to the cancer ward.

A week later I saw him again. "I reflected God," he said, smiling
through a thin face, "to the nurse, the doctors, my friends. Who
knows who needed to see God, but I did my best to make him seen."

Bingo. His cancer paraded the power of Jesus down the Main Street of
his world.

God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and
stars. History and nations. People and problems.

Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most
of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God.

Through your problems and mine, may God be seen.
_______________________________
From It's Not About Me
Copyright 2004, Max Lucado