We Turned to Jesus

When people seem ripe for the Gospel I usually hear a hint of hardship in their life. God somehow uses the agent of hardship to return hearts to Him or to turn hearts to Him. Amos 4 shows God applying hardship to his chosen people: "I gave you absolutely nothing to eat in all your cities, a shortage of food in all your communities, yet you did not return to me." this pattern repeats:

I with held rain,yet you did not return to Me;
I struck you with blight and mildew, yet you did not return to Me;
I sent plagues,yet you did not return to Me;
I killed your young men with the sword, yet you did not return to Me;
I caused the stench of your camp to fill your nostrils,yet you did not return to Me;  (summary not a quote)...

Its hard to see God as loving in this chapter, He claims responsibility for afflicting misery for a specific reason -just one reason: so that His people would return to Him. I hear the Father crying out to His prodigal people "return". God does not want us to wander off. So to help, God gave us His Spirit, the Bible, other followers of Christ and prayer. 

Hardships make it apparent that God is willing to use pain as a bonding agent for our relationship to Him. Jesus being case and point as He took on our punishment for sin to make redemption and then relationship possible with God. He died most painfully, most lonely, most wrongly than anyone ever. that is why He can relate when we cry out to Him about our suffering. Jesus wants us when we suffer.  God's children have a Rock!!! so hardship for them should never be a slip-n-slide. 

In truth I say that it took weeping over brain surgery at 10PM on a Sunday night to realize (again) that God is more than enough. When I am not filled by His Word and His Spirit, I may still be saved but in my flesh I am restless and moody. I have been wandering a bit out of focus. My hardship with Anna brought me to the cross where again I lay down my moody and restless. God's will for my life is to turn to Him and know He is enough. The fullness of Christ brings us grace, hope, peace, wisdom.

Praise Him for His mercy and grace on Anna, afresh. We turned to Him, we responded to the hardship God placed in our life by running to Jesus. That's all we did. Now we need to do that in times of ease and blessing!!

Yesterday we out, discharged! New mercies at home this morning. Anna keeps on getting better, what mercy!
At the hospital we had many visitors to ease our attention, meet our needs, and comfort us. We had a dear friend who came and prayed with us as we awaited surgery, she dropped off her pack-n-play for Simon. Two of Anna's blind school teachers provided comic relief, two pastors being as friends, and one of our favorite special needs families was inpatient across the hallway from Anna during the whole stay. We are not alone through these trials. Thanks for the Facebook encouragements, the texts, and the many prayer offerings. Nothing is wasted, or taken for granted. Praise God.

"Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blessed; watching and waiting looking above, filled with His goodness lost in His love." -hymn Blessed Assurance

Love Nic, Lindsey, Anna, and Simon

Passing Time During Suffering

I wonder how Job would have fared in his trials if he was left to himself. There were a few instances where isolation was evident, but God gave Job relationship during his grief. Not healthy or edifying "friends", they assumed so much upon Job and gave bad advice. They misunderstood much of what Job was going through, but they were there, walking with Job. God purposed this.

In the last chapter in Job. I love how God instructs Job's "friends" to turn to Job and ask him to pray for them so that God would not deal with them according to their folly. God could have dealt with Job's friends and shown them mercy any other way. Instead we have a scene of God making Job restore his friends. The choice was his. I imagine Job might not have wanted to pray for those guys or forgive them. But Job showed mercy by praying, then God showed mercy. What a strong example of purposeful prayer. In light of this restoration I find verse 11 striking.

 "Then came to him [Job] all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold." Job 42:11

Those same "friends" had to be there, Job's relationship with his friends/counselors continues after the trial. I'm left with an image of a tested friendship, where offenses and sins were forgiven, everybody was humbled, and nobody was ready for what God had next for Job: a supernatural restoration!!! God was bringing His reward and favor upon Job. Job's "friends" must have been so amazed by God given their POV.

I hope everybody dwells on the book of Job when they are in the valley. I hope God brings relationship of all kinds to pass the time of suffering. We have the television nowadays but actors don't know your trials. I have had the company of prayer warriors the past two years.