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"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
Jeremiah 29:11 is a favorite verse of mine. I have committed it to memory and often recite it during times of crisis and uncertainty in my life. Recently I had a need and after repeating the verse, I said to myself, there is hope--a wonderful eternity lies ahead. Soon there will no longer be any suffering, heartache or disease. Soon I will not have to wrestle with difficult issues in my life.
Even though I understood these truths, they did not offer me immediate relief. As I pondered why, I realized I had not appropriated God's promise of hope for today. I had to admit it was much easier for me to believe in God's hope for my future in eternity. So I had to ask myself a hard question--did I really believe in God's promise of hope in the difficult issues I was facing right now? I thought of my father who is suffering from a severe stroke. The doctors tell us there is no hope. I thought of other situations in life that appear hopeless: the death of a loved one, a family tragedy, the dissolution of a marriage, the devastation of abuse or a financial crisis. Where, I asked myself, is there hope in these calamities?
God graciously answered this question for me the other night while I was watching a movie about two sisters who had suffered sexual abuse at the hand of their father. The movie portrayed the horrible effects of this abuse in all their relationships. Their lives were a hopeless mess. At the end, one sister was dying. She stated proudly that if she had achieved anything at all in her life, it was her steadfast refusal to forgive her father. Looking at her sister she stated, "This is my accomplishment!" Her sister nodded.
How tragic! They were unable to forgive because they didn't have Christ in their lives. They didn't have His mercy and forgiveness, His presence, His strength in their weakness, His healing power for their lives, His unconditional love, nor His sure promises. I thought of how privileged I was to have Christ in my life. He is with me and He is in me and He is there for me no matter what I must face. The Word of God further substantiates this by explaining that even though we must suffer while sojourners on this earth, we do not have to suffer or grieve as those who have no hope.
Why? Because we have Christ present in us. He is the One who gives us hope and helps us to rise above our most difficult circumstances!
Speculation and doubt abound in the lost, synthetic views of life under God's grace prevail. Ignorance to the meaning of Christianity as a life style is prevalent in all societies today. Constant badgering of religionist opinions is not wanted by the majority. Can the human mind not grasp the feeling of peace? Is the thought of giving up what is fun the driving force of non-surrender?
Thanks giving is plentiful in the life of a Christian. We thank Jesus for a life of peace, contentment, love and relations. We thank Him for each day we have to spend drawing closer to Him. We rejoice in His blessings in our lives and the ones that lay in store. We are constantly thankful for fellow Christians to share with.
Why on earth do people still live with out Christ? I come across individuals everyday who would rather live their life by themselves than to believe there is a God --a God who loves us and will always be there to hold us in His loving arms, a God who will guide us through life to a full and happy existence.
There is power in God. I would like to share an experience. Frank is a friend and coworker I see every Monday through Friday. Each morning, without exception, he looks exhausted. This past Thursday morning I asked him why he always looks so tired. He told me he couldn't sleep at night. I then asked him if it was like I used to be, where worries of this world would go round and round in my head. I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. Frank said it was just like this for him, except worse. I told him I had accepted Christ into my heart and life and now with him there, I no longer have any problems falling asleep. I added that sometimes I have to wake up just to say Amen to my prayers. He said he didn't know about this religion stuff, and I told him it wasn't religion. Christianity was a way of life and a love for Jesus Christ our Savior. He seemed interested, so I asked him to try something for me that night.
"When you lay down to go to sleep say to your self 'let go and let God' over and over." He said, he would think about it and left my office.
The next morning when he came in I asked him how it went. He said "When I went to bed last night I tossed and turned for a while, thinking the same old stuff and decided that I would not turn my nose up to new ideas. So I lay there and started to say 'let go and let God' over and over. It seemed like 5 minutes had past and my alarm clock went off. I sat up in bed and looked at it like, what is wrong with this thing. I soon realized it was time to get up and get ready for work."
He said it was the best night of rest he'd had in a long time and would like to know more about being a Christian. So I printed out some literature for him to look over and I plan to talk to him again real soon.
Due to other commitments, five days had gone by since I talked to Frank. I had received a new bible in the mail that Wednesday and was on my way back to my dorm room. As I reached the third floor hallway I saw Frank on the hall phone and it hit me, "I no longer need my old bible". As I past Frank I asked him to come to my room when he was finished. Not long after, we were in my room having a nice conversation about my new bible and I asked him if he would like my old one. He said, "a bible, sure!" I told him to start reading in Romans as I had been instructed when I accepted Christ. Frank immediately started looking for the book of Romans and I showed him where it was. He went back to his room, bible in hand, and seed in his heart for God to water.
Praise be to God, He works in so many different ways. The power of God is great and I'm thankful every minute of every day that I found a life with Christ.
Copyright 1997 Gordon Raistrick