Dear Precious Friends,
I am writing our devo for Thursday before I go to bed. I need to share because of what we are ALL going through. It will help me rest well. I was directed to share a post of what A.W. Tozer and a summary of his thoughts of enduring hardship and I was struck deeply. The last few days at Walk on Water and being in touch with many different friends of all different seasons of life, we have had the privilege of talking to a lot of precious people and have had a lot of conversations and hardship has become a way of life for many. We know "Jesus wept" is one of the shortest scriptures yet reminds us that Jesus heart was also broken over the deep sadness of seeing those He loved mourn. I will say I have had a restless heart and needed to spend time in scripture. I want to share a few things with you that have really spoken to me.
Our heart is restless until it rests in Him....
Enduring Hardship
A. W. Tozer shares:
It is possible to be beaten until you are numb. You can smile and praise the Lord and say, "Jesus, I my cross have taken," for a while. But then you are slowly beaten until you are numb, and you get into a sort of a rut where you cannot fight back. Timothy had been with Paul a long time, and Paul had been in so much trouble so much of the time. Timothy was tagging along behind in the same trouble, and Paul had noticed a little temptation to be ashamed of the cross. Essentially, Paul was saying, "Don't be ashamed of the cross. Don't shrink from the affliction of the gospel. God has not given us the spirit of fear." Then in Second Timothy 2:3 Paul said, "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." It is as though he might have detected in the young man a little temptation to recoil a bit from the hard life he was called into. Paul knew that Timothy was basically a sound man. He knew Timothy had been reared in a Christian home. He mentioned Timothy's grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. The grandmother and mother were both Christians, and good ones. Young Timothy had learned and become a Christian early in life. Paul knew that he was basically sound. But Paul was afraid that the pressure of things and the boredom of always being in the minority might put Timothy in danger of leveling off.
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Have you felt anything like Timothy lately??? - NEVER ashamed of the cross by any means, just WEARY.
ARE ANY OF YOU WEARY? I'm Praying for endurance for all of us that feel like this.
Desert streams puts it like this:
"I wonder how Moses's mother felt when she laid him in the basket. She didn't know the end of the story, she just trusted God and did what was right.
I wonder how Daniel felt when he learned of the Kings decree that everyone should only worship the king himself. He didn't know the end of the story, he just trusted God and did what was right.
I wonder how David felt before he went to battle against Goliath. He didn't know the end of the story, he just trusted God and did what was right.
I laid in bed last night unable to sleep, and I wondered how these heroes in the Bible felt. I wondered if they felt like me, worrying and praying about what will be.
I don't know the way in which God will provide for us, strengthen our faith, and work things for our good. I don't know the end of the story, but I do know my God.
(WE FOCUS ON WHAT WE DO KNOW IN TIMES LIKE THESE!)
He is so good. He is faithful. He comes through for his children. He is never cruel. He never forgets us or abandons us in our time of need.
He is on our side.
At the end of my story, by the grace of God, I simply want it to be said of me that I trusted God and did what was right even when it was hard or scary, even when I was worried. I want my life to prove the goodness and faithfulness of God. I want to be an example of how He shows up in the best and most perfect ways for his children.
I will trust Him no matter what."
Now my friends, I pray this encourages you as you begin a new day! I know I needed to re-read these truths!
AMEN
