It was quite the week here in Rock County! Tuesday if you were not inside, you were either pelted with snow or nearly blown to the Iowa border. God’s big world looked pretty small out my kitchen window that afternoon. As the driveway was being cleared on Wednesday morning and I was getting ready for work, Evan approached me and said his head hurt. Determining he had a headache to go along with the yucky cough he had developed, I gave him a little kiss on his forehead and continued to go about my business. A little bit later he was once again at my side. He looked at me with his big eyes and said “Mommy, I don’t feel good, will you snuggle with me?” It did not take much to convince me to sit down with him curled up next to me.
As I sat on the couch with my little man beside me, my mind began to wander to the things that had been hurting my heart this week. It seems like every time my phone rang the person on the other end was delivering sad news. Headlines of illnesses, death, and ongoing issues because of cancer seemed to take the front page all at once. As I sat there, I saw a picture of God looking down at me and my troubled heart just like I was looking at Evan finding comfort in my arms. So, as I sat there, I closed my eyes and called out, “Father, my heart is hurting, can I just sit here with you for a little while?” And that is just what I did.
I am currently working through a Jesus Calling Bible Study Series by Sarah Young with a friend. Part of the reading this week was this:
“Do not resist or run from the difficulties in your life. These problems are not random mistakes; they are hand-tailored blessings designed for your benefit and growth. Embrace all the circumstances that I allow in your life, trusting Me to bring good out of them. View problems as opportunities to rely more fully on Me.
When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to dependence on Me and increasing intimacy between us. Although self-sufficiency is acclaimed in the world, reliance on Me produces abundant living in My kingdom. Thank Me for the difficulties in your life, since they provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance.”
What a great reminder of how we are to lean on the Father in all things. He will walk us through our trials with the promise of us emerging the other side a stronger person who reflects the Master Himself. 2 Corinthians 1 was part of the message above. “8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the trouble we experienced in Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead.”
Even though I do not completely understand all that happened in my week, I know I can depend on my Creator for comfort, protection, and love. As the body of Christ, may it never be said of us that we were self-sufficient and did not rely on our Father in Heaven to provide all we needed. Let us not find happiness in things of this world, rather may we find joy in our sorrow and hope in our afflictions – all while resting in the arms of Jesus.
Becky Ossefoort