Why me? Are these familiar words? We’ve all said them – I know I’ve said them many times. This past week, I’ve been tempted to say them as I’ve prayed about a possibly difficult situation I find myself faced with. It scares me to think that the Lord is preparing my heart for some hardship, yet I find my thoughts drifting there often.
How do you face hardship? Is it your friend or your foe?
Jesus seems to promise us trouble in many verses such as:
Luke 9:23 says, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily , and follow me.”
Luke 14:27 says, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
So why do Christians have trouble? My husband was recently told by a man he is mentoring that he responds better to mercy than to tough love. Oh, if only that was true. I don’t know about you, but my sinful heart tends to drift when everything is going well.
We sang “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” this Sunday at church. If you aren’t familiar with it, you can h ear it at: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comethou.htm
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood-washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
I always relate to the third verse where it says “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.”
God uses suffering to bind our wandering hearts to Him. When I look back at the difficult times in my life, it’s always during times of great difficulty that I’ve grown closer to the Lord.
He also uses suffering to teach us how to comfort others. Our son Eric has special compassion for anyone with cancer – because he’s been there himself. I remember an older woman at our church whose husband eventually died of cancer. Eric made a point of hugging and greeting her every time he saw her. He was quite young at the time, yet I know he sensed a bond between them due to similar suffering.
This verse from I Corinthians says it well:
“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” I Corinthians 1:4
God also uses suffering to increase our faith in Him as these verses teach us:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1
Finding peace amidst the pieces isn’t always easy, yet I’ve experienced it and if you haven’t I hope and pray you will have an opportunity to do so.
So what is my prayer during this time? When I find my mind wandering to all the “what ifs” I am comforted with this verse from Luke 22:42 – Jesus words in the Garden of Gethsemane:
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
I would appreciate your prayers for me and my family.
Finding Joy in the Journey,
Phyllis
Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com
© 2008 Phyllis Sather
All rights reserved
Contact me at: Phyllis@Phyllis-Sather.com
1 Comment
Joy Younts
Great article, Phyllis! My daughter has epilepsy and Marfan Syndrom. There was a time in our life when I felt we spent more time at the hospital than at home. I remembering commenting to someone that those were the hardest years of our lives but in some way they were the best. The Lord held us close during those times and we clung to Him. Whatever you are going through, I pray that you will cling to our Lord! I will be in prayer for you and your family.
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