Sometimes there are no words—only tears. It’s been a hard, holy season. I thought our years would look different.
“I never imagined my life this way.” We stood there on front porch after catching up, clearing the air, and learning to communicate like kingdom sisters. Both of us now in our 60’s, wondering where our 50’s went, our kids went, and how our grands will ever make it in this tipping world.
You can labor and pray your whole earthly life and still grieve like a graveside mother. Christ broke it to us this way, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
What does it mean to be overcome by the world? I found these words from Alexander Maclaren brilliant: “The world conquers me when it comes between me and God, when it fills my desires, when it absorbs my energies, when it blinds my eyes to the things unseen and eternal.” When troubles and sorrows of everyday life come between me and my Savior, I’m as secure as a fish out of water. No certainty, no intentionality, no contentment whatsoever.
Jesus extends extraordinary peace and comfort to His disciples hours before betrayal, torture, and execution. In a moment when friends aught to be consoling their Messiah—we find the God Man taking confident hold of the hearts of His people.
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” are promises only our Lord can perform. Let’s not adopt them as goals we ourselves can achieve. Don’t make the mistake of testing the holy Scriptures against fallible human beings. Take these precious promises to the bank of faith. Pray, as the apostle Paul did—that from His glorious, unlimited resources, God will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. (Ephesians 3:16)
I’ve been studying what it means to live intimately with Jesus. It’s sounds crazy I know. Doesn’t God already abide in His people? Can you get anymore intimate than that? But here’s what I’m finding out: the only way to learn how to love God, is to trust God. When it doesn’t make sense, when it costs you big, when they look at you like you’ve lost your mind—is when the knowledge of God takes root in your life. It’s very much like those tomato plants along the fence. They start out short, flimsy, and green. With the sun’s strength and consistent rain they mature into sturdy plants. Over time, yellow flowers start to pop. Soon they become plump fruit. Color and texture changes daily. It’ll ripen and sweeten until you can’t resist it.
Just as tomatoes ripen in the absence of light, Christians mature in the trials of life—when all they can trust is the presence of God.
“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9)
Trusting God does not emerge with age and time. It blooms experientially. Each time I trust the Lord to do the impossible in me, I irresistibly fall more in love with Him. The cares of this world were never meant to draw us away from Christ, but rather to teach us how to daily cast each one upon Him, until one day we appear just like Him.
Sometimes there are no words—only tears. It’s been a hard, holy season. I thought our years would look different.
“I never imagined my life this way.” We stood there on front porch after catching up, clearing the air, and learning to communicate like kingdom sisters. Both of us now in our 60’s, wondering where our 50’s went, our kids went, and how our grands will ever make it in this tipping world.
You can labor and pray your whole earthly life and still grieve like a graveside mother. Christ broke it to us this way, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
What does it mean to be overcome by the world? I found these words from Alexander Maclaren brilliant: “The world conquers me when it comes between me and God, when it fills my desires, when it absorbs my energies, when it blinds my eyes to the things unseen and eternal.” When troubles and sorrows of everyday life come between me and my Savior, I’m as secure as a fish out of water. No certainty, no intentionality, no contentment whatsoever.
Jesus extends extraordinary peace and comfort to His disciples hours before betrayal, torture, and execution. In a moment when friends aught to be consoling their Messiah—we find the God Man taking confident hold of the hearts of His people.
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” are promises only our Lord can perform. Let’s not adopt them as goals we ourselves can achieve. Don’t make the mistake of testing the holy Scriptures against fallible human beings. Take these precious promises to the bank of faith. Pray, as the apostle Paul did—that from His glorious, unlimited resources, God will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. (Ephesians 3:16)
I’ve been studying what it means to live intimately with Jesus. It’s sounds crazy I know. Doesn’t God already abide in His people? Can you get anymore intimate than that? But here’s what I’m finding out: the only way to learn how to love God, is to trust God. When it doesn’t make sense, when it costs you big, when they look at you like you’ve lost your mind—is when the knowledge of God takes root in your life. It’s very much like those tomato plants along the fence. They start out short, flimsy, and green. With the sun’s strength and consistent rain they mature into sturdy plants. Over time, yellow flowers start to pop. Soon they become plump fruit. Color and texture changes daily. It’ll ripen and sweeten until you can’t resist it.
Just as tomatoes ripen in the absence of light, Christians mature in the trials of life—when all they can trust is the presence of God.
“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9)
Trusting God does not emerge with age and time. It blooms experientially. Each time I trust the Lord to do the impossible in me, I irresistibly fall more in love with Him. The cares of this world were never meant to draw us away from Christ, but rather to teach us how to daily cast each one upon Him, until one day we appear just like Him.
