Tag: hardships

Oh How He Loves Us

- dannalundstrom

I picked up my Bible this morning feeling weary.  World events, daily challenges, people I love that are hurting; it all takes a toll.  I asked God before opening his word, to let my eyes fall on what I needed to see this morning.  Also, that He would equip me with the grace to not just see, but to understand and subsequently live.

With one providentially designed flip of my Bible, my eyes landed on 2 Corinthians 4:10~ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Wow, I love that! It is in no other place than our suffering that the glory, power, faithfulness and love of Jesus can be illuminated so profoundly and with such clarity.  This may sound counterintuitive to you, but I find honor in the fact that we have the opportunity through or tribulations to reflect the image of Jesus to others.

His reflection does not mean pasting on a fake smile every day, and saying God is in control.  It does not mean we say to our friends, “I’m doing fine;” when that is not the case.  Sometimes it means remembering life is hard, and I am human, but I have hope in a Savior who shares in my struggles. He collects every tear and gently stores them in a bottle.   He sees scars inside us that only are visible to Him, and soothes them with a balm that He singularly possesses.

Living as I say I believe means remembering that although God may appear quiet at times, I trust His understanding, not mine. God answers every prayer the moment we voice them with one of three answers; yes, no or wait.  Remembering that and being open to His wisdom, and not bound to my expectations is an ingredient to peace.

Life may lead us down many dirt roads, but with Jesus we never travel those dusty roads alone.  It is on those very paths He reveals Himself to us, and our faith and trust in Him become stronger and real.
Oh, how He loves us!  His love is too deep for us to know easy all the time.  That would only give us a strong foothold in self-sufficiency.

He loves us enough that He wants us to seek and know him in an intimate relationship.  I would never arrive there if everything were always easy.  I don’t enjoy trials.  When my mind is redirected to their primary purpose, though; how can I not be grateful?

This life is not eternal.  It is just our prelude to Heaven.  It is our warm up, our training camp, our one and only run through before we enter Heaven’s gates.  If we are lucky; at some point in this life we authentically mature to a degree where our soul’s deepest desire is nothing this life can afford us.  Our deepest longing becomes to know a Savior with such a thirst that our hearts song is;  come Lord Jesus come so that I may see your face.  My journey is teaching me that we arrive at this destination through the experential character of a loving Father whose faithfulness and glory shine brightest through our darkest days.

The Rescue is in the Relationship

- dannalundstrom

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I know a lot of you are facing some very difficult circumstances. Trails and hardships that threaten your desire to wake up, to get dressed, to smile, and carry on. I can confidently say I am familiar with that place. A few years ago, I went through a trial that positioned me in such despair that I gained a new identity-victim. Life alternates between numbness, crying, anger and fear there. I was drowning in a set of circumstances with no life preserver.

Why? I had plenty of friends for support. I went to a good church, and had all my life. I had a supportive family. I had every provision I needed. I had…I had…I had so much, yet none of it was enough to save me from my own despair. It was there, broken and helpless, that God found me.

It’s a perplexing thing to understand. I had been in church all my life. He hadn’t found me, or I him before? No! I had found a religion, not a relationship. I had found a lot of laws, not a lot of grace. I had found a lot of truth and not a lot of freedom. I had found a book called the Bible, but not the gospel. I had heard but I didn’t really hear. I saw, but didn’t really see, and I knew, but didn’t really know, didn’t really know-HIM.

It was not until I entered the darkest place that I began to find the light. For when things are always bright we cannot see, and when we cannot see we will eventually stumble. I say all this to encourage you that when life feels overwhelming, unbearable and hopeless, we can choose hope and peace, because it is in the darkness that we see the light, and it is only by the light that we find our way.

Rescue comes in the Relationship, and I did very little on my own to initiate that. All I did was start showing up, and some days it was a battle to do that! I can tell you, though, once you have been dragged through a dense forest, once you have been redeemed from victim to victor, subsequent trails, which are no doubt inevitable, become such a different experience! If for no other reason they draw us into compete lack of self-sufficiency, and into complete dependance upon a Savior. The more you need someone, the more you get to know them. Then a curious thing happens, the more you get to know Jesus, the more you want to spend time with him, and it only gets sweeter from there.

I’m not going to lie, some circumstances are outright unthinkable, but you can choose to find one positive thing in the midst of them, and that is an invitation…come broken, come messy, come weary, come over burdened-just come! I will personally testify-HE will meet you there. Trust me, I am there a lot, and I do know!