Jesus feels what we feel because He loves us and aches to see us in pain.
Jesus knows the plans for each of us will ultimately be a source of rejoicing, regardless of Satan's attempt to dismay, distract and harm us. But the marvelous message is that even though Jesus sees the healing, grace, and help that lie ahead on each of our paths, His mercy is still abundantly available to help us through our suffering. His sovereign knowledge will never negate his compassion. He will not let us go through the woundedness alone even though He knows the final, triumphant outcome for each hurtful situation in our lives. His ability to reach our aching places with love-initiated salvation drew us to Him in the first place.
So what are we supposed to do in suffering?
1. Believe in Your Heart that God is in Control
-We need to be brought back to the reality of Jesus' power, sovereignty, and love. Let's jump to the story of Lazurus. Mary and Martha asked that Jesus come immediately but He didn't and Lazurus died. Martha was frustrated when Jesus arrived a couple of days later. Jesus, however, did not take the time to go into the many reasons she should have chosen to trust Him. Instead, He cut to the chase with this magnificent truth about who He is and what Martha could expect from Him. The bottom line in our faith in Him is His ability to bring us back from death to spiritual, experiential and eternal life.
2. Learn to Wait on--and for--Jesus
-We should never run ahead of Him or become weary with His delay. Waiting is hard, and the longer the delay the more vulnerable we are to hoplelessness and despair. We wonder if the Lord has heard us, or if He understands how urgently we need His help. We can be tempted to think that waiting accomplishes nothing. But we aren't idly sitting by. We are actively enduring. But while we wait, Jesus wants us to look at His past record of faithfulness and expect that He will stay true to His character. "Remember all the way which the Lord your God had led you." (Deut 8:2) And we must trust actively that He is behind the scenes working out every element of every situation for our growth and long-term benefit.
3. Learn to Trust His Timing
-How do we do that? Jesus always sought His Father's will and not His own. He spent time in prayer before making a decision. At the time He came to Lazurus, He was not asking the Father to do a miracle. He had already settled the matter in intercession before He arrived. All He needed to do now was thank the Father for his miraculous answer. When Jesus delays in answering your cry for help, He is not doing so to frustrate you. He is interceding for you. The answer will come in His perfect way and time, because God is always on time.
He has made everything beautiful in it's time (Ecc. 3:11)
My prayer is that we would actively wait on the Lord, trusting His timing. That we would accept the grace He freely gives and ask that Jesus would daily conform our wills to His. Jesus, we need You. Please come quickly. Cover this day Holy Spirit with Your presence so that we may glorify You with our thoughts and actions and that we can serve this broken world in hope that one day You will come and restore it perfectly back to You.
Excerpts from the book "The Love Every Woman Needs" by Jan McCray
Jesus knows the plans for each of us will ultimately be a source of rejoicing, regardless of Satan's attempt to dismay, distract and harm us. But the marvelous message is that even though Jesus sees the healing, grace, and help that lie ahead on each of our paths, His mercy is still abundantly available to help us through our suffering. His sovereign knowledge will never negate his compassion. He will not let us go through the woundedness alone even though He knows the final, triumphant outcome for each hurtful situation in our lives. His ability to reach our aching places with love-initiated salvation drew us to Him in the first place.
So what are we supposed to do in suffering?
1. Believe in Your Heart that God is in Control
-We need to be brought back to the reality of Jesus' power, sovereignty, and love. Let's jump to the story of Lazurus. Mary and Martha asked that Jesus come immediately but He didn't and Lazurus died. Martha was frustrated when Jesus arrived a couple of days later. Jesus, however, did not take the time to go into the many reasons she should have chosen to trust Him. Instead, He cut to the chase with this magnificent truth about who He is and what Martha could expect from Him. The bottom line in our faith in Him is His ability to bring us back from death to spiritual, experiential and eternal life.
2. Learn to Wait on--and for--Jesus
-We should never run ahead of Him or become weary with His delay. Waiting is hard, and the longer the delay the more vulnerable we are to hoplelessness and despair. We wonder if the Lord has heard us, or if He understands how urgently we need His help. We can be tempted to think that waiting accomplishes nothing. But we aren't idly sitting by. We are actively enduring. But while we wait, Jesus wants us to look at His past record of faithfulness and expect that He will stay true to His character. "Remember all the way which the Lord your God had led you." (Deut 8:2) And we must trust actively that He is behind the scenes working out every element of every situation for our growth and long-term benefit.
3. Learn to Trust His Timing
-How do we do that? Jesus always sought His Father's will and not His own. He spent time in prayer before making a decision. At the time He came to Lazurus, He was not asking the Father to do a miracle. He had already settled the matter in intercession before He arrived. All He needed to do now was thank the Father for his miraculous answer. When Jesus delays in answering your cry for help, He is not doing so to frustrate you. He is interceding for you. The answer will come in His perfect way and time, because God is always on time.
He has made everything beautiful in it's time (Ecc. 3:11)
My prayer is that we would actively wait on the Lord, trusting His timing. That we would accept the grace He freely gives and ask that Jesus would daily conform our wills to His. Jesus, we need You. Please come quickly. Cover this day Holy Spirit with Your presence so that we may glorify You with our thoughts and actions and that we can serve this broken world in hope that one day You will come and restore it perfectly back to You.
Excerpts from the book "The Love Every Woman Needs" by Jan McCray
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