Do you ever wonder what the why is when things turn out differently than you had planned, scheduled, or anticipated? When a curve ball deters your direction and makes your life just go into pause mode?
There are times in my life when I don’t understand the why. I don’t like things on my schedule being put on hold. I don’t like having to wait for appointments. But that is what I am having to do right now.
Recently our granddaughter Harper, told me she remembers me singing to her “Jesus Loves Me” song when she was a baby. I was shocked she brought that up and remembered it! I would sing to her that song and others to make her stop crying, when we would be babysitting and needing to put the grandkids to bed before mommy and daddy got home. It worked. Harper would stop crying and relax in my arms and fall asleep when I sang to her that particular song.
“Jesus Loves Me” was written by Anna Bartlett Warner and published in 1860. The scripture verses this song points to is from Ephesians 3:17-19: “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This was Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus. Trials in life test the reality and depth of our experience.
“The storm that blows reveals the strength of the roots.” Warren Wiersbe
Then Paul concluded his doxology with verse 20: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”
Yes, there are many things I don’t know or understand right now, but this is what I do know regarding Jesus’ love for me:
Psalm 23:2-3: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
Psalm 25:14 NIV: “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”
Psalm 28:7: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”
Romans 8:34b: “Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Romans 5:2b-5: “. . . We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Are you going through a time of being forced to grow in not giving up, and living out in real life what you believe? Character building always is a stretching and growing experience. We are not always given a choice about the process, but the end result is what God has in mind. It is always about His glory that will be revealed at His appointed time. He is in charge of the “how.”
Adversity has a way of challenging us. Being in physical pain can be a purifying process. It has taught me new things I did not know before. Once again I have had to rely on God’s strength and will for my life one day at a time. He knows what is best for me. God knows the “how.”
Listen to Rye Stevenson’s song, “In the Eye of the Storm” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB0ReTpA6Gg
This song has been running through my mind for a solid week. The words speak of the power of God. It points me back to praising God for all He has abundantly done in my life. It reminds me that He guards me, His loves encompasses me, He is my anchor, and in times of adversity He is there right beside me. Yes! Jesus loves me!
“Life has famines and funerals. Nobody registers for the school of suffering. Don’t mistake the silence of God for the absence of God.” Pastor Todd Smith
The words of the song, “Jesus Loves Me” is still factual truth for all of us at any age or stage in life. I may be physically weak, but He is strong. Yes! Jesus loves me!
Are you experiencing adversity in the form of physical pain right now? Please share in a comment below so I can pray for you and be of encouragement through this time. Perhaps you would be willing to share how people have come along beside you and helped you in special ways that ministered to your life while you were experiencing physical, health challenges. I would love to hear your story.
Our aim still needs to be about bringing glory to God in the midst of our suffering. That is our purpose in life. Satan wants to squelch that. He will not win when our shield of faith is raised. It will extinguish the enemy’s arrows (Ephesians 6:16) when we raise our armor of God. Prayer activates our armor.
In the hands of God, nothing is ever wasted.
If you have not read, Adam Holland’s book, “Anchored In The Storm,” I would highly recommend you buy it on Amazon. Adam has gone through physical suffering from having a brain tumor. He had cancer. He writes of his experience, but every page is written as a devotional for those who are suffering. Adam’s desire is for anyone in this situation, to be pointed to Christ, and the “incredible destiny He has for you.”
Yes! Jesus loves me!