The prophet Habakkuk [said]: “Though the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls; yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17–18 NIV) One Christian who found great strength in the Lord, despite much personal suffering, was Edith Reuss, a young wife and mother who died of lupus at age 34. Before her death she wrote: “Joy is knowing that even our crosses in life can be used by God for His glory and our good. We are too finite to see the overall picture, but we can trustingly thank Him even for the pain, because we have the assurance that though He doesn’t deliberately cause us pain, He is still there and in control. Joy is this reassurance, but it is also more. Joy is a deep, soul-realizing knowledge that whatever our situation, God is hanging in there with us. He rejoices when we rejoice; He cries when we cry. He allows us our free will, even though He knows we will hurt ourselves by it, just because He loves us so much. He is always there. Emmanuel, God with us. As far as I know, this is the ultimate joy. It is something that death and depression, doubt and lupus flares cannot weaken. Is there even more joy than this? I wonder and thrill at the possibilities.” Contentment, even in the face of death. It is the art of looking at what you have left, rather than what you’ve lost. It’s looking at the donut and not the hole. It’s seeing a glass of water as half full, not half empty. It’s accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative from your life. It’s a thought worth repeating: The way to change your attitude is to believe through Christ that you can.—Paul Faulkner
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 02:57:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015