I know some of you are praying you’ll make it through the next few days, not anticipating anything good to come from gathering with extended family and friends. Or maybe the disability in your family member means you can’t gather with other loved ones, and the heartache is almost more than you can stand.
It has become a cliche – right next to the article on what 2nd graders are thankful for is the article on the rise in depression during these last two months of the year.
Yet, you’re in the middle of it, and the holidays really are hard.
Jesus knows.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15 ESV).
More than that, he endured and is victorious!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV).
And there are some of you who can’t see it. There is still hope.
From Pastor John’s book, When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy, p. 216:
It is utterly crucial that in our darkness we affirm the wise, strong hand of God to hold us, even when we have no strength to hold him. This is the way Paul thought of his own strivings. He said, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Phil. 3:12). The key thing to see in this verse is that all Paul’s efforts to grasp the fullness of joy in Christ are secured by Christ’s grasp of him. Never forget that your security rests on Christ’s faithfulness first.
Our faith rises and falls. It has degrees. But our security does not rise and fall. It has no degrees. We must persevere in faith. That’s true. But there are times when our faith is the size of a mustard seed and barely visible. In fact the darkest experience for the child of God is when his faith sinks out of his own sight. Not out of God’s sight, but his. Yes, it is possible to be so overwhelmed with darkness that you do not know if you are a Christian—and yet still be one.
Jesus understands. Jesus is victorious. Jesus is the answer. May you find him, and in finding him find hope and peace in these hard days.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 ESV).
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The Works of God 
God’s gift of friendship through suffering and prayer
Posted in commentary, Prayer Requests on November 29, 2011| 1 Comment »
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.
(Psalm 86:6-7 ESV)
A little boy we know is having exploratory surgery today. He lives with a persistent condition that is as yet undiagnosed.
His parents are wonderful; I’ve known the mom since she was a girl. The boy’s grandparents are pillars of faith, grace, mercy and hospitality. What God did through them for us cannot be measured.
All of them grieve over the pain this little boy lives with.
And the thing they wanted on Monday night was prayer. And we wanted to pray with them.
It really is amazing what God does through praying with other people. The one constant in every prayer was a cry for help, recognizing weakness in ourselves and clinging to promises.
Tears flowed. The sorrow is real.
After we finished praying, we talked and laughed and simply enjoyed each other. What a gift authentic friendship is.
And that friendship is fueled by going hard after God through suffering.
Yes, it is good to experience 2 Corinthians 6:10 with other people and live with gratitude to God for all things: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
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