Tag Archives: sorrow

God is love

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God is love. 1 John 4:8

 

Love is not God’s only attribute. He is also holy, just, righteous, all-powerful, wise, and everlasting. But one attribute of God that speaks clearly to us over the ages of time is that our unchanging and timeless God is love.

 

Love is not just what God does; love is who God IS.

 

The best known verse in the bible begins, “For God so loved the world, He gave…” Love is inherently forgiving and for giving. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13) This is the picture of how God loves you and me.

 

Is God love in the middle of your deepest sorrows? Our darkest moments certainly test our faith. What comes out when life squeezes us reveals what is truly inside us. There is no room for pious religion when you are squeezed. In those moments God wants us to be real about our brokenness, our sorrow, and our disappointment. He also wants us to know this truth: None of this has any authority or power over His presence in us. Though my struggles again and again toss me to the ground like a ragamuffin doll, though I feel crushed under their weight, they are no match for Jesus in me who loves me, no matter how I feel.

 

How big is your God? How we view God does not change who He is, but it does change how we perceive our circumstances. Look at the heroes of God, how they are honest about their struggles with life and with God.

 

Rich Mullins was a short-lived Christian musician who gave us such inspiring songs like, “Sing Your Praise to The Lord,” “(Our God Is An)Awesome God,” and “Hold Me Jesus.” Yet he struggled greatly. I like how one writer described him: “A lover of God and a rebel in the church, Rich refused to let his struggles and his own darkness tear him away from a God he was determined to love.” (Or from a God determined to love him!) “Rich desired most of all to live a life of honest and reckless faith.”

 

The truth is God loves you, regardless of how you feel or what circumstances beset you. I hope when the darkness surrounds you that you will be able to sing, “Hold me Jesus – be my prince of peace.” Experience the light of His love as you say to God, “And still I will love you.”

 

“I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be in the all-sufficiency of the grace of God.”
– Rich Mullins

 

 

Patience – Perseverance – Prayer

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We all want to be patient, but we want it right now! Folks have probably warned you, “Don’t pray for patience because God will give you trials to bring it about!” Trials can be an effective way to bring us to consider patience, but how many times in your life do they bring grumbling and resentment instead?

 

The truth is, our life was not designed to be one of self-indulgence and comfort. This short span on earth, relative to all eternity, is full of trials. Read through the New Testament and find that every book  deals with some aspect of trials, suffering, or other woes! Beyond just a learning experience, it is part of our call to follow Jesus:  “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21

 

But that doesn’t leave us to despair, but to hope, because when we are squeezed by all sorts of trials, it brings the opportunity for God’s power to be revealed in us. That is James’ encouragement to us in chapter five. We’re called to be patient. Not just to wait until we get what we want, but to be patient for the Lord’s coming, when our trials and sorrows end.

 

We’re called to patient with each other. It is how we express our love to God Himself. Jesus said our purpose in life is to love God and love others, that others will know we are His disciples if we love one another.  And so James confirms this: “Don’t grumble against one another.”

 

Patience and perseverance are twin sisters. We can persevere because we practice patience. Likewise persevering helps us to be patient – with ourselves and with others.  Perseverance keeps on loving, keeps on hoping, keeps on waiting with expectation. Hope is for the future but faith is revealed in the moment. Perseverance reflects our real faith.

 

Where do we get such a persevering, patient faith?  We pray. If your prayer seems like a waste of time or a mundane routine to be endured, don’t believe it. The prayer of one fully committed to God, is effective. Ask for wisdom, strength, and courage to draw closer to Him so you can persevere. He will show you the way, one trial at a time, one moment at a time.  It’s a daily cycle: pursue patience, perseverance, and effective prayer.

 

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” James 5:7-11 (excerpts)