The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
When my wife was in the hospital for the second time all I could do was trust in the Lord. I had to take my eyes off the current situation and put my faith in Jesus. I held on to the Word and read it daily. These are some of the verses that kept me going.
Psalm 25:3
No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Romans 5:1-5
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Since my hope was in Jesus I knew He had the best plan and purpose for our lives. I knew that whatever happened God was in control. I was hardly a super Christian. There were times when my faith was weak and I would ask God the hard questions. But God saw me through it all and He took my wife out of that hospital bed, into rehab and now she is recovering. God is faithful.
There is a purpose for our suffering. There is a purpose for our waiting. There is a purpose for our trials and our storms. You might not see it right now but God knows.
So what are you hoping for? What are you trusting God for? Is it a new job, a family member’s salvation, a husband or wife, a baby or God’s healing touch? Let us partner with you in prayer. Share with us what you are hoping for or how God has been faithful in answering your prayers. You never know how your comment could bless someone reading BGO.
6 comments:
indeed.. Hebrews 11:1 keeps me grounded and believing that all things are possible with hope and faith. My fatih wavers more than i would like it too but I hold on to Romans 5 where it says that suffering produces perseverance and in turn character and then hope..
My whole life had seemed it was about waiting and hoping and yearning. All the 'good stuff' I'd envisioned and wanted was deemed for other people!
I wish now that I had known Jesus during this time. I would have known that there was a plan for my life - one that He had purposed just for me.
I didn't trust then...didn't lean on anyone except for myself. It was hard then...not knowing there was someone as BIG and powerful and loving as God on my side.
Since submitting to God's authority over my life, I can't get over how there has been an abundance of blessings showered on me! Can you imagine?
My entire life I was in control - and got nowhere: was in dead-end relationships, sought materialistic things, wanted to please only my fleshly desires and cursed my way through my existence without looking up - without seeing the Godly. I was living for myself, but wondered where my good fortune was?
Since then, the Good Lord has spoken to me about patience, about planning, about Faith. So yes, I did wait after my conversion, and I did question God and His plan. But He taught me that we can rush, and finangle, and manoeuvre, but the best things are from Him, and in His timing, and there is reason to wait, to suffer, to hurt, because I do suppose He has shaped me and grown me for this life now.
Would I have appreciated His blessings had I not known the alternatives for my life?
Thanks Andrew for this post. Hebrews 11 is a real encouragement for me as well, and as Grown mentioned, if I did not become a believer, I truly don't know where I'd be by now! (Be encouraged that Romans 8:28 applies to our lives before Christ as well ... God can redeem even that time when we walked without Him! To show us that He loved us even then ... was caring for us and following us even then.)
Knowing that God is in full control of our lives is what can give us confidence and peace about things even if our lives are not going according to others' expectations, or even the way we had hoped. It really does ground me...keep me from trying to "do my own thing." That would lead to even more pain and frustration, based on the testimonies I have heard from people who did just that when they got tired of waiting.
Life's disappointments or pain is deeper for some more than others depending on God's plan for each of us, but as long as we are walking in His will, as far as I understand it, our trials and frustrations are tailor-made for what He needs to do in us and what He thinks we can bear.
I am waiting for quite a few things ... family salvation, healing for family ailments, a godly spouse, a first home, starting a family, a closer network of trustworthy friends, to feel a bit more settled or effective in the ministries God gives me ... For each of these things it helps tremendously to think of God's sovereignty and wisdom. His timing is pefect, so the fulfillment of these desires will be so much more wonderful when they come, knowing how I had to wait for them to come to pass.
When this earth passes away and He reveals His precise purposes behind all the events of our lives, even the delays and setbacks, I know we will be just filled with awe and gratitude! That truly brings hope ... everything is in His hands, and He knows how to give good gifts to His children. No pain or disappointment is trivial to Him, or wasted in His plan. Awesome!
Anonymous we will keep you in prayer. Before Natasha became my wife I wrote a letter to a God I did not know asking for a wife. Within a few months Tash came back in my life. She brought me the Gospel and I became a Christian. The rest is history. His timing is perfect.
Sometimes when God has us waiting it may seem like a life time but He knows best. We are trusting that God will answer your prayers.
Thank you for your prayers ... praying for you both too!
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ dear Andrew and to all those who belong to Christ welcome!
Suffering and sorrow are a part of life. Knowing this, however, doesn't make it any easier to cope when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith. I was sitting on the bed in my hotel room in Los Angeles when suddenly a feeling of sadness and despair came over me. I hadn’t the fuggiest idea why I felt so sad. Since I could not fall asleep that night, I picked up my Bible and began to read Isaiah in the hope that I might get some peace and fall asleep. Instead of falling asleep my anxiety brought on a headache and all kinds of images flooded my mind. It was 1:45 a.m. and I was still awake. I decided to call home in New York, not even considering that my husband might be deep in sleep, he picked up the telephone on the first ring. I thought that was strange because he never picks up the phone on the first ring. I asked him if everything was okay. He didn’t answer me for a second, and as we continued to converse, he burst out crying. I was flabbergasted by his actions because I have never heard him cry before. He said, “Aunt Kopelia is dying and the doctors fear that she wasn’t going to make it through the night, so I am on alert.” I said to him, are those doctors responsible for life or death? She is going to be okay and we hung up. I looked around the room and said, “Lord, you never wait for anyone to finish anything, do you?” I fell asleep and woke up at 8:15 a.m. the following morning with such a peace I knew everything was left in the master’s capable hands. I called the office and told them I had an emergency at home and that I was going back to New York. I had no reservation for a return flight back home and had to wait at the airport on standby. Thank God I did not have to wait very long because the master planner, the Author and Finisher of our faith took care of everything, including getting me safely home.
As I sat on the flight back home I thought to myself: So you board the plane and you do not know if you're going to make it to your destination alive or not, but you rely on faith. You put yourself in the hands of these pilots and hope you have a safe journey home. As God calls each Christian to "die to self" and promises "new life", the flesh protests. But we have the gripping example of Jesus' faith. On the cross Christ willingly took on our sin and bore its penalty. Nothing was pushed on Him. If He had not willed to take our sin and accept its punishment, as sinners we would have borne the punishment of sin in hell forever. Christ's work on the cross wasn't unfair--it was God's love in action!
God requires us to hear his word and believe on Him who sent Jesus to die for sin of the world (John 5:25). We praise and thank Him for the wonderful gifts he has bestowed upon mankind through his death and resurrection. The words of Hebrews 11 is dedicated to all those who live and walk by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To all who endured trials and hardships, do not ever give up but remain faithful to the end. Upon all rests the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To all, forgiveness is freely offered. Whosoever will may have peace with God, and inherit eternal life.
Amen
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