Where the Rubber Meets the Road
"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
- James 1:12
I like to think I have it all together. In all the periods of my life, I can look back and see God's presence
, His guidance, His plan. That's not to say I saw it at the time, trusted at the time, and at one period even believed at the time. But He had a plan. Knowing that, I want to believe I could weather anything now, knowing what I know and witnessing what I have witnessed.
Then reality sets in. I do pretty well with the minor, mundane irritants. The driver who is irritating the soup out of me....the rude person in line..... The appliance I cannot get to work right. It's the big stuff I'm still not very good at. And I wonder, if the REALLY big stuff happens, do I have what it takes to still trust Him?
My last post was all about family...regrets....concerns....and that crazy, all-encompassing love we have for our family. Take my breath away kind of love. I'd walk through fire for them kind of love. And while I tend to struggle with demonstrating that love, it is always there. It motivates everything I do. And that's where the fear comes in.
As I write this, I am reminded that some of you have experienced the horrible type of loss we all fear. Loss of a child, a dear spouse.....anyone you were not prepared to lose. I have watched people live through this with grace and faith. I have also watched people live through such a loss with a devastating impact on life forever. When faced with this situation, we realize EVERYTHING else is small stuff. This is where it gets us....the loss and even the FEAR of a loss can consume us.
I recently watched "Made for Each Other" for probably the 8th or 9th time. It is the 1939 movie starring Carole Lombard and James Stewart. The couple gets married after knowing each other only one day. The next year is extremely difficult, as they are faced with money problems, illness, and a meddling mother-in-law who lives with them. They become so overwhelmed with all these problems they decide to divorce. Then, their baby gets sick. Very sick. So sick they almost lost him. It was really difficult to watch their emotions during this part of the movie, and naturally I watched through tears the entire time. In the end, after being faced with the possibility of losing their child, they realized the other problems were insignificant. They rebuilt their family, the little boy lived, and everyone lived happily ever after.
But it's not always that way. All of us can think of a time devastating loss has happened or when we feared it would. My family has a member with serious health issues. Every time there is a problem, I ask myself....could I do it? Could I lose this person and survive? Could God get me through this? Would I be one to be able to live with grace and faith, or would I fall completely apart if the worst happened?
James MacDonald is a pastor out of Chicago who has an international ministry titled 'Walk in the Word'. I really enjoy listening to him. During one of his radio programs a couple of weeks ago, he gave me some big insight on dealing with the times when "What If?" becomes reality. Using the above scripture from James, Pastor MacDonald explained the difference between those that survive great tragedy and those that don't. Basically, it boiled down to this: when faced with the hardest times of life, those who survive, who 'persevere under trial' are those whose faith rests in their relationship with Christ. He said James 1:12 explains that those who persevere receive the crown of life, not because of that perseverance, but because that perseverance shows the deeper relationship with Christ underneath. My take on that was this: if I have a relationship with Christ, a deep abiding relationship, He will get me through anything.
So I'm going to count on that. If (or should I say when ) I am faced with those horrible losses, I am confident my Best Friend will guide me through it. That He'll be there through it all. Tragedies, the gut-wrenching kind, are where the 'rubber meets the road' in our faith journey. And, with Him, I believe I can do it.
- James 1:12
I like to think I have it all together. In all the periods of my life, I can look back and see God's presence
, His guidance, His plan. That's not to say I saw it at the time, trusted at the time, and at one period even believed at the time. But He had a plan. Knowing that, I want to believe I could weather anything now, knowing what I know and witnessing what I have witnessed.
Then reality sets in. I do pretty well with the minor, mundane irritants. The driver who is irritating the soup out of me....the rude person in line..... The appliance I cannot get to work right. It's the big stuff I'm still not very good at. And I wonder, if the REALLY big stuff happens, do I have what it takes to still trust Him?
My last post was all about family...regrets....concerns....and that crazy, all-encompassing love we have for our family. Take my breath away kind of love. I'd walk through fire for them kind of love. And while I tend to struggle with demonstrating that love, it is always there. It motivates everything I do. And that's where the fear comes in.
As I write this, I am reminded that some of you have experienced the horrible type of loss we all fear. Loss of a child, a dear spouse.....anyone you were not prepared to lose. I have watched people live through this with grace and faith. I have also watched people live through such a loss with a devastating impact on life forever. When faced with this situation, we realize EVERYTHING else is small stuff. This is where it gets us....the loss and even the FEAR of a loss can consume us.
I recently watched "Made for Each Other" for probably the 8th or 9th time. It is the 1939 movie starring Carole Lombard and James Stewart. The couple gets married after knowing each other only one day. The next year is extremely difficult, as they are faced with money problems, illness, and a meddling mother-in-law who lives with them. They become so overwhelmed with all these problems they decide to divorce. Then, their baby gets sick. Very sick. So sick they almost lost him. It was really difficult to watch their emotions during this part of the movie, and naturally I watched through tears the entire time. In the end, after being faced with the possibility of losing their child, they realized the other problems were insignificant. They rebuilt their family, the little boy lived, and everyone lived happily ever after.
But it's not always that way. All of us can think of a time devastating loss has happened or when we feared it would. My family has a member with serious health issues. Every time there is a problem, I ask myself....could I do it? Could I lose this person and survive? Could God get me through this? Would I be one to be able to live with grace and faith, or would I fall completely apart if the worst happened?
James MacDonald is a pastor out of Chicago who has an international ministry titled 'Walk in the Word'. I really enjoy listening to him. During one of his radio programs a couple of weeks ago, he gave me some big insight on dealing with the times when "What If?" becomes reality. Using the above scripture from James, Pastor MacDonald explained the difference between those that survive great tragedy and those that don't. Basically, it boiled down to this: when faced with the hardest times of life, those who survive, who 'persevere under trial' are those whose faith rests in their relationship with Christ. He said James 1:12 explains that those who persevere receive the crown of life, not because of that perseverance, but because that perseverance shows the deeper relationship with Christ underneath. My take on that was this: if I have a relationship with Christ, a deep abiding relationship, He will get me through anything.
So I'm going to count on that. If (or should I say when ) I am faced with those horrible losses, I am confident my Best Friend will guide me through it. That He'll be there through it all. Tragedies, the gut-wrenching kind, are where the 'rubber meets the road' in our faith journey. And, with Him, I believe I can do it.
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