I was so excited with my last post because I had made it three weeks in a row. And then, well, I was driven to my knees, in more ways than one. Life hit our family hard with several blows in a row that started at the beginning of April and have continued until now. That sent me to my knees. Then, I stayed there (figuratively) because the best thing to get me through was prayer (and humor).
I am not going to go through any sort of description of what has happened to our family, but I can give you a picture (here's where the humor comes in) of what it has been like. It all starts with the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back". So, the camel falls down. Another camel sits on it. Then, a whole herd of camels sits on it. Are you smiling now? Anyway, we have had everything from the "straw" to the "whole herd of camels" since April.
I am not new to camels and I am not new to camel storms. However, this storm has ranked up there with some of the very worst I have experienced. Now, though, it is time to get back to some important things that I dropped while trying to hang on. One of those has been my 1 Peter blog. Where did we leave off? Let's see, the last one was 1 Peter 3:15-16, so that means we are up to 1 Peter 3:17.
Prayer:
Psalm 123:1-2
1 I lift up my eyes to You,
to You whose throne is in Heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till He shows us His mercy.
Original from November 10, 2022
1 Peter 3:17
Examine
17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."
Notice
God
Why would a loving God allow bad things to happen to good people?
Lesson
There are no "good" people. We are all sinners.
God gave humans free will. Our suffering is the result of someone else's actions done with their free will.
Suffering is a refining fire that strengthens us.
Some suffering is just the result of the sinful chaos we live in.
Do/Thoughts
I have been through plenty of hard times in my life - most of which I probably cannot see God's reasoning. The sinful human demands to know why. Faith, on the other hand, says the why doesn't matter. We trust God no matter what happens. That is faith. Faith tells us one day all our pain will be gone. We will no longer care about the "why"s in Heaven. What we experience on earth cannot compare to the joy of being with our loving Father.
August 9, 2024
This reflection on 1 Peter 3:17 is so very timely. I would say that the recent trials that my family has been through would fall under the category of living in sinful chaos. No one has done anything to us. Life has just happened - bringing great difficulty along with it. However, by God's grace we have made it through and will continue to do so. God gives us strength and holds us in His arms when we are weak.
I am not going to speak for my family at this point. I am going to only speak for myself. I daresay that I endured this hurricane of camels better than I have many in the past. There is only one reason for that - my faith has matured through the years. I can look back and see where I have been and thank God that He has been working in my heart to bring me closer to Him through His Word. The amount of time I spend in God's Word has greatly increased and I am so thankful that I have that time to spend. I have not always had the kind of time that I do now. Or, if I have had the time, I have not used it to visit God's Word.
My faith is far from full maturity - that will not happen until I am in Heaven. Some days I still feel like I am in the "mustard seed" category. Those are the times when I lose sight of Jesus and begin to lean on myself. And then something or someone shows me what I am doing and I turn back to Jesus for His strength and comfort.
Are you dealing with your own "straws" or even "camels?" I can give you some ideas that help me.
First of all, do not compare your life and problems to anyone else's life and problems - especially don't look at Facebook or Instagram! FB and IG only show the good things people want to show. After all, who wants to see the ugly side of our lives. Your problems are your problems and they weigh on you the way they weigh on you. Don't let anyone tell you your problem is small compared to others! We all have different problems and we all deal with them differently. What seems small to you may seem large to someone else and what seems large to you may seem small to someone else. It isn't walking in someone else's shoes that does any good. It is walking in those shoes as that person. That is something I don't think a lot of people grasp. We judge people's problems from our perspective and tell them how they should be feeling. What a hurting person needs is for a friend to come alongside and comfort them, acknowledge their pain and not tell them they are making a "mountain out of a molehill."
Second, problems can be incredible refining fires that bring us closer to God. If you have been brought to your knees, maybe it is a good time to stay there for a while and talk to God about what is going on. He can lift you up with his mercy and love.
Third, God is not out to get you. If there is a correction element to your difficulties, don't take it as a harsh God punishing you. No, God loves you and as such He wants to keep you on the path that leads you home to Him. Sometimes, when we stray, He gives us a course correction out of love.
Fourth, God never promised us an easy life. In John 16:33, Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world." Our lives may be hard, but Jesus is with us and ultimately we will prevail along with Him.
Finally, are you suffering some kind of persecution or abuse for your faith. In John 15:18-19, Jesus says, "18 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." I have suffered bully and harassment because I was "different" and I was different because I am a believer. Yet, I took comfort in knowing that I was reflecting Jesus to the world. That is what I want to do as a believer. I want to be seen as different. I want people to wonder why I am different. And one day, this world that hates me will be gone and I will be in Heaven with my Father who loves me.
Trouble in our lives reminds us to cling to Jesus. He will get us through. It may not be easy and it may be painful, but our reward in the end will be so incredible that our current pains will be long forgotten. When life drives you to your knees, it's a good place to start from.
God's Blessings.
In Christ's love
Comments