Wednesday, June 10, 2020
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10
A Little While…
Sometimes we may think there is no
way that God could have possibly meant for us to end up on some of the paths we
find ourselves on in life. We might even
convince ourselves that He has turned away and does not care about us
anymore. Maybe we even tell ourselves that
we deserve this because of the sin in our past, present, or because of our many
faults. God does not purposefully
inflict pain on us, but He will allow some things in our life that will make us
stronger, and more pliable for Him. His
desire for us is only the best and the best never comes easy. The harder
the path, the sweeter the destination.
There is
not one person in the Bible that we read about that had an easy, unencumbered
jaunt through life. In John 16:33 Jesus Himself promises us that there will be trials - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have
peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. We can take heart because we know that we have a Lord and Savior that
is the only One who can provide this peace for us – despite the tribulation of
the world. These obstacles we must
navigate on our paths help us learn to cling to Him; to trust Him and rely upon
Him. And in the process, He molds us and
prepares us for what lies ahead.
We talked
about Paul and Joseph yesterday and the obstacles they faced on their paths. It was over two years from the time Paul
received the vision from God that he was supposed to go to Rome that he actually
ended up in Rome. Joseph spent twenty-two years from the time he received God’s
vision until it came true with his brothers in Egypt. God’s idea of time is way
different than ours. The scripture above
says After you have suffered a little while… God’s
version of a little while is usually very different than what we imagine, but
the most important work He is doing is happening during that little while.
When that little while stretches
into years we sometimes give up and think He has forgotten or forsaken us. We prefer our human version of A little while over His Godly version,
especially if we are uncomfortable.
Hope deferred makes the
heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
Sometimes
in the journey of the path, we do start to feel hopeless and disappointed. We
must remember it is a season and the road to God’s plan for us. It may take
twenty-two years, or two years, or two months. Or longer than twenty-two years!
He has a reason for this time in our lives and we should patiently trust in Him.
Remember the promises – Christ will himself
restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Any discomfort we experience for A little while is worth the changes He is making
in our hearts and the blessing or assignment He is preparing us for ahead.
Lara Cook
