Seasons of waiting. Winters of the soul. Where is God during our darkest hours?
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I am learning that God is with us always. Always. When I think He is farthest away, He is actually right there holding me, sheltering me beneath His wing - the darkness is but the shadow of His Presence. I may be such a basket-case that, in my distraction, I can't recognize Him with me, but that doesn't change the fact that He is. He is not a man that He should lie. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
I want to share a beautiful passage with you from Frances J. Roberts' Come Away My Beloved. It touched me deeply. I pray it will do the same for you and give you strength for the journey.
"Bring Me your sorrow, and watch for the sunrise of the resurrection. Yes, truly there comes always a resurrection - a morning when hope is reborn and life finds new beginning. Wait for it as tulip bulbs anticipate the spring. The rarest blooms are enhanced by the coldness of winter. The snow plays her part in producing spring's pageant. But when the blossoms break through, we do not then turn back to thoughts of winter, but instead, we look ahead to the full joys of the coming summer.
"So you must do also. Your God is your maker. He is your defender. And he is mighty to save. Yes, He is not only mighty to save from sin, but He is mighty to save from despair, from sorrow, from disappointment, from regret, from remorse, from self-castigation, and from the hot, blinding tears of rebellion against fateful circumstances. He can save you from yourself, and he loves you when you find it hard to love yourself.
"Let His peace flow in you like a river, carrying away all the poison of painful memories, and bringing to you a fresh, clear stream of pure life and restoring thoughts."
I know, right?
I especially loved this sentence: "But when the blossoms break through, we do not then turn back to thoughts of winter, but instead, we look ahead to the full joys of the coming summer."
Moving forward with healing. With new life. With full assurance of the sovereignty of God in all things.
"To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under heaven ...
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Also He has put eternity in their hearts,
except that no one an find out the work
that God does from beginning to end."
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1,11
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Tweetables to Encourage Others
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If you received Morning Glory through email, please take a minute to visit the Morning Glory page. I'm featuring a young man, Shawn McDonald, singing, "Through It All." Shawn's testimony is powerful and speaks of God's amazing grace and redemption through a lost childhood, drugs, and alcohol. I know it will speak to your heart. Here's Shawn's testimony:
Hi Nan! I seriously honed in on the same sentence you restated. Isn't that wonderful! No more thoughts of winter, only the sunny skies ahead. That's for me!
ReplyDeleteGod is with my always, I just make it harder than it has to be sometimes to recognize that. Thank you for this reminder of his constant presence and love.
Blessings!
Ceil
Hey sweet friend, we are two peas in a pod, aren't we? That sentence spoke to me too. Looking forward should be as natural as breathing because "this too shall pass."
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