Wow, wow, wow! I absolutely love this. I am a widow, had never been laid off until 2023, had to take a job I was neither good at nor liked just to pay the bills, and have a chronic skin disease that sometimes brings me great pain for months at a time. But God sustained me. I even yelled at Him with various versions of "whatever You're trying to teach me, I don't think I'm getting it, but I'm really not feeling good right now. Help!" He housed, clothed, and fed my family and me through it all. I don't know who or how many I may have inspired or influenced as I outwardly endured things with as much patience and joy I could muster, but your words tell me it may have been at least one! Thank you. Happy Christmas to you and yours!
My old pastor once told me that he doesn't trust anyone who doesn't walk with a limp. After my years of pain, I think I understand what he meant... and it sounds like you do, too. ❤️
From a child, I had the presupposition that God is both soverign and good. And as the decades have passed, studying the Bible has confirmed that presupposition. So in spite of whatever suffering or struggles I have faced in life, I haven't been tempted to blame or question God. While that does give me a sense of peace, the downside is that I struggle to be empathetic towards people who do question God. I'm tempted to think "He's God, you're not, so grow up and quit whining". But I realize my ability to genuinely help those people is limited by my own perspective. Just think of the condescention that perfect God must put Himself through to reach each of us in our frailty! Grace truely is amazing.
My first memory of God was Him letting me down. I was 5 and my parents were going through a divorce. They were all I knew. So I cried for weeks, asking God to get them back together. When that never happened, I thought He didn't care enough about me to help my family. As I got older and eventually gave my life to Him, He began to reveal things to me in ways I could understand. He showed me that in order for my prayer to have been answered, He would have had to violate the freewill of both my parents. That's something He just won't do. My parents were better off apart, but I loved both of them dearly. It was such a difficult time for me. Now I understand God a bit more and I am thankful that He gives us freewill. I've learned He loves me very much and He didn't not care about 5 year old Ashley or what she desired. He just couldn't force them to be together. Healing is tough, but when we look to Him as our source, we can see He is right there with us, every step of the way.
Wow, wow, wow! I absolutely love this. I am a widow, had never been laid off until 2023, had to take a job I was neither good at nor liked just to pay the bills, and have a chronic skin disease that sometimes brings me great pain for months at a time. But God sustained me. I even yelled at Him with various versions of "whatever You're trying to teach me, I don't think I'm getting it, but I'm really not feeling good right now. Help!" He housed, clothed, and fed my family and me through it all. I don't know who or how many I may have inspired or influenced as I outwardly endured things with as much patience and joy I could muster, but your words tell me it may have been at least one! Thank you. Happy Christmas to you and yours!
My old pastor once told me that he doesn't trust anyone who doesn't walk with a limp. After my years of pain, I think I understand what he meant... and it sounds like you do, too. ❤️
From a child, I had the presupposition that God is both soverign and good. And as the decades have passed, studying the Bible has confirmed that presupposition. So in spite of whatever suffering or struggles I have faced in life, I haven't been tempted to blame or question God. While that does give me a sense of peace, the downside is that I struggle to be empathetic towards people who do question God. I'm tempted to think "He's God, you're not, so grow up and quit whining". But I realize my ability to genuinely help those people is limited by my own perspective. Just think of the condescention that perfect God must put Himself through to reach each of us in our frailty! Grace truely is amazing.
My first memory of God was Him letting me down. I was 5 and my parents were going through a divorce. They were all I knew. So I cried for weeks, asking God to get them back together. When that never happened, I thought He didn't care enough about me to help my family. As I got older and eventually gave my life to Him, He began to reveal things to me in ways I could understand. He showed me that in order for my prayer to have been answered, He would have had to violate the freewill of both my parents. That's something He just won't do. My parents were better off apart, but I loved both of them dearly. It was such a difficult time for me. Now I understand God a bit more and I am thankful that He gives us freewill. I've learned He loves me very much and He didn't not care about 5 year old Ashley or what she desired. He just couldn't force them to be together. Healing is tough, but when we look to Him as our source, we can see He is right there with us, every step of the way.
I'm sorry you went through that, Ashley... and glad that you learned that God loves us so much!
Amazing!!!
You're very kind, Pastor Scott. Thank you!