Trying to remember that His name is always Blessed.
I find it quite easy to be excited about serving God, following Him, giving my life to Him, etc. while attending a nice Christian conference or retreat, and having one of those mountaintop experiences that we all seem to love. I also find it easy and joyful to follow Him when things are going the way that I (admittedly in my fallen state) would choose for them to go. When my personal life, financially stability, love life, etc. are all going according to my liking and choosing, I find it easy to excitedly follow God.
It is in these times that I begin to wonder if that small, light colored, #1 New York Times bestseller book that talks about “enlarging our territories” might actually be saying some things that I agree with.
But what about when it seems like nothing is going according to my plan? What about the times when I am watching my mom die, or loosing a friend to an early death? What about the times when I am not in a carefree place financially? What about in the times when “ministry” is seemingly not moving forward? What about in the times when I’m hurt because a romantic relationship isn’t working out and I’m having to watch another guy get the girl I like? In these times will I still choose to say, as Job did, “blessed be the name of the LORD?”
Will the young mother who has just lost her child to a preventable disease, simply because she didn’t have the money needed to purchase medicine say, “blessed be the name of the LORD?” Will the single woman on the mission field, who seemingly has no prospects of a husband say, “blessed be the name of the LORD?” Will the teenage children of a mother who died from a brain tumor say, “blessed be the name of the LORD?” Will the parents of a child who committed suicide say, “blessed be the name of the LORD?” Will the wife of a husband who was unfaithful to her say, “blessed be the name of the LORD?”
Will I choose to say this today in the midst of hurt and pain that arise from personal circumstances? Will I choose to say this knowing that in my own life “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away?”
Father, help me to say and believe that Your name is blessed in the midst of painful and trying situations. Help me to believe and to trust in Your ultimate sovereignty. Help each of us to follow You when life does not seem fair, when we don’t understand why things are happening the way they are happening and when the walls seem to be tumbling down all around us.
Help me, and help each of us, to remember and say as Job did, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21
Peace,
Me
posted by Matthew Pascal @ 2:15 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Lately I am reading a book of prayers by Walter Brueggemean, called Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. This is one that I want to give to you.
"After the bitterness"
It is enough, sometimes, to make one vomit,
and to have long periods of upset stomach.
Our vomiting over injustice and recalcitrance is a social problem,
not done in good company.
Your vomiting over arrogance and recalcitrance is more dangerous,
causing upheavals that shock the markets,
disturb the peace, and
destabilize our way in the world.
Give us, after your upset, a better taste;
give us, after your rage, sweetness in our mouths;
give us, after the bitterness, a cup of blessings.
You are the one who
takes...and blesses...and breaks...and gives,
and gives,
and gives,
and gives,
and gives.
We, in the end, receive that Easter cup, and are grateful. Amen.
Peace to you, brother.
Amen.
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