Job 23:10-11 “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside.”
Have you ever noticed that the storms in our lives not only drive us into the arms of our Savior, but our faith seems to grow exponentially in the midst of them? In Texas, the weather changes from moment to moment, and there was recently a heavy rain storm that came out of nowhere, causing the river to swell over 22 feet in 4 hours, surging over its banks, wreaking devastating havoc, snapping trees like they were toothpicks, swallowing up cars and homes and sweeping away sleeping children and families. The fallout was overwhelming. There are personal storms that each and every one of us face every day, and those storms may come out of nowhere and blind side us, knocking us off our feet, and, at times, may leave us debilitated. It seems that so many people I know are going through such difficult trials. One friend’s husband just died suddenly; another friend is going through treatment for stage 4 cancer, and another friend just lost her daughter. Faith is that God-given ability that allows us to put things in perspective, even in the midst of such unbearable tragedy.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” The Lord never ceases to amaze me that He strategically put these three beautiful ladies into my life right here and right now, just when I need them most and just when they needed our Savior’s hope. I know that my Father has equipped me and has prepared me for such a time as this and He has given me a divine opportunity to give away what has so freely been given to me. I can’t help but think about my eternal home in Heaven and my beautiful child who is waiting there for me there. It’s almost as if God has given me a whole new perspective about why I went through my own affliction and there is a yearning in my soul to share the peace He has given me in my own grief journey with those who are suffering in the same manner. What a beautiful story of redemption.
Hebrews 13:14 says, “For this world is not our home, we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come.” I don’t understand everything God is doing, but I do know this, apart from Him there is no hope. And when we have hope, we have faith. We have a tendency to think that all the things happening on earth is all there is and we certainly live that way much of the time. I know that God has given me an eternal perspective since the loss of my son and I make every effort to live my life being about His business. I make myself available to Him in any capacity and it is my greatest desire to be in His service. And you know what, He has always honored that longing by allowing me to comfort others with the comfort I have received from Him. When we walk down the path together, with each other and with our Lord, He knows the way we should go as we walk closely in His footsteps without stumbling.
– Melody
