Endure part 4
Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Or so they say. Because life is always changing. It's never just one thing, and it's never anything for long. Taking the good with the bad and learning and growing--enjoying the ride--is a big part of what life is all about. Which is pretty much what 2 Corinthians 1:7 in the Message Bible says. "When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it." What's that old TV song say? "You take the good, you take the bad, and then you look at what you have... the facts of life." Something like that. Point being, you really can't have one without the other. And if you let every disappointment or bump in the road wreck you... you'll end up robbing yourself of the good things that came along with those "other" things. I always talk about how you can't learn from your mistakes if you never make any. Or if you refuse to acknowledge them. There's a silver lining that comes with every cloud. There's a lesson to be learned. Experience to be gained. Longsuffering is a fruit of the Spirit, right? I've Ranted on that before. So I guess my point for today is found in two more memory verses. Nehemiah 8:10, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." And Isaiah 41:10, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." God's strength is made perfect in weakness, right? Which means it's ok for us to be weak, right? Things happen, and the best thing we can do is lean on the Lord. Let Him be involved. Invite Him in to every situation. When you're not fighting against what's happening--and, listen, there ARE some thing we shouldn't stand for. I'm not saying you should accept anything and everything--but when you're not fighting against what's happening, that's when you can learn from it. When you begin to endure what is happening instead of throwing a fit about it, that's when you can see the bigger picture. You can see that all things work together for good. You can see that no matter what happens, God is involved. He knows the throughts that He thinks towards you, thoughts of peace to give us an expected end. He knows how things are going to work out. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows what's best for us. And when we give in to HIS plan, when we be still and know that HE is God, that's when He has the opportunity to really move. To show up in a big way. We can't endure this life all on our own. It's too big. And that's ok, because we're not supposed to. It's not good that man should be alone. We're all in this together. And, above and beyond that, our heavenly Father has our backs. We ARE never alone. Because He has sworn to never leave us nor forsake us. He can keep us from falling. Hold us up when we stumble. He can help us endure whatever we are going through. Because HE endured everything HE had to go through in order to bring us out of the Old and into the New! So it doesn't matter what flavor chocolate life throws at you at any given time. You can enjoy it no matter what. You can endure the good, the bad, and the ugly and you can enjoy the ride!