11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2Thessalonians
You just never know who might be praying for you at this very moment. If you have let your needs be known to anyone who is faithful to pray on occasion, it is very likely that at some point in time you are being lifted up before the God of the universe for His gracious care. We might never know when that moment occurred or what was said. We might feel a lightness in our human spirit or we just many never feel much of anything except our suffering. But we can know this for certain: that the God of the universe, the one Who made you and me, was listening at that moment. His heart moved with compassion as your name came before His throne of grace that day. And His thoughts towards you then and now outnumber the grains of sand on the earth (Psalm 139:18). He loves you and me so much more than we can ever, ever imagine . . .
Our Heavenly Father has His hand on us. His hand both reaches out to us and carries us through the mire in our lives. We know that all things work together for good for His own, even the suffering. Sometimes we get to see this in our lifetimes and sometimes we do not. Our awareness doesn’t change the truth of the matter. He is in charge and will use our suffering for His glory: a greater purpose than our own lives (Romans 8:28). Wow. We may be relieved, blessed, redeemed, or justified too as he pours out His goodness. We must hang in there for we cannot know what the next moment or next day may bring. Even when the troubles continue on and on, in the words of Job to the Lord,
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
This is such an incredible witness of humility coming from a man covered in oozing boils, having lost all of his earthly possessions and children as well. I cannot imagine such suffering even on my worst days. Despite the episodes of wretchedness that continue to plague most of my mornings, afternoons, and evenings I will remain faithful to my call to love Jesus and trust in His plan for my life. Otherwise this journey of mine could be deemed meaningless. Suffering for nothing is the alternative. Holy cow, that would never get me out of bed in the morning! A searing post-seizure neck headache and global pain puts the creamy taste of even the best bulletproof coffee down the drain every time. NO WAY! Only the promises and reassurance of my Lord and Savior are enough at these times.
The only way for me to endure the stress of my life at the moment is to let Jesus take the wheel. Sometimes I just sit and stare for many minutes at a time. Sometimes I am not “productive” in a day until what others would call dinnertime. And sometimes I get a few things done then go back to bed for a long time. Graciously there are a few other times of late when I can get up earlier while it is still morning and remain out of bed for the rest of the day. Hey, I might be getting better after all! I used to go to bed between 3 and 5 in the morning! That pattern is generally broken and for that I am grateful. Like my Grandma used to say, I’m getting there, “slow but sure.”
The How Long Song must leave my vocabulary. Like the Ann Lander’s article quoting Robert Hasting’s article called The Station, we will “get there” when it is time. Life is about the journey dontcha know? Further, we will “get there” when the Lord wills it. My job is to endure well, the journey I am called to take, seeking His will and keeping an eye out for His fingerprints along the way. Let me not miss any measure of His sweetness in the sound of a calling bird or the bloom of a wildflower in unexpected places. He will never lead me astray (Hebrews 13:5) and never require more of me than I can handle (1 Cor 10:12) with His grace. He is with me now and until the end of the ages (Matthew 28:20), the end of my life. That is reassuring indeed.
I’ll close with an unexpected blessing that has come right in the thick of all things stressful over here. Twenty minutes of bliss. Cool beans, eh?
Jesus is for the Wounded 