Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Recently, I have been thinking quite a bit about what life is all about in the wee hours of the night. It sort of “comes on you” over a short period of time. I wonder have you ever felt the same way before?

These days, my heart is heavy from the challenges that many of the people around us are facing. One is filled simultaneously with the joy of a newborn son and heartache from the loss of a father. Another aches from his wife’s recent cancer diagnosis while continuing to shepherd a flock of believers.

I have been trying to grasp what God has purposed in all of this. For each of these people, and so many more, I am overwhelmed with concern and filled with emotions that expand in my heart. But I am also lifted in spirit by their words. There is no resentment, no bitterness, no crushing anger. Instead, there is hope. Great, encompassing hope. I praise God for it. He is the source of such freedom. We certainly can’t reach such a place through human power. Jesus gave us example after example of how to live — and I mean live — in the midst of crushing opposition and uncertainties, and God sends us His Spirit to carry us through those dark and difficult days. He allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. Without Him, there would be no hope. And without hope, there would be nothing.

I am encouraged today by the words of strangers, people who are willing to share their life stories with me. In the midst of such potential anguish, each and every one has hope. Each and every one is finding joy in these challenges. We don’t have to understand. We may never get to that point. But we can find unspeakable joy in the center of despair, and I am thankful for these living examples of Christ’s heart. For this, God gets the glory.