Okay, so last night I was reading the December 26th edition...I'm that far behind....and there is a regular columnist Andree Seu Peterson who often stirs up thoughts for me. Profound. Sometimes a little heady. But this column was hitting me right between the eyes. In my small circle of church friends there are so many going through so many hard things. And we joke, "these are just light and momentary troubles" like Paul talks about in 2 Cor 4:17. (They really are, in light of eternity.) But it's still hard while we are going through them.
Peterson mentioned this vision: one of Paul and Silas SINGING joyously while in jail. They might have been thinking, things look so bad, God must be up to something good! Basically, we should live as Christians with intense anticipation of the something good...right?! And in a situation where she was frustrated with how God was or wasn't working, her husband quipped, "What if the Devil's finest work is to make us give up believing in God, and expecting from Him, just when we should dig in?"
My Bible study group has been reading through and studying Hebrews. A letter of encouragement to the Jewish Christians in during times of intense persecution. So many great nuggets in this book! But the one that I've been camping on this week: "For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Heb 4:15-16)
I cannot give up believing.
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