All in Adversity
Have you been to the coast of Maine? It is beautiful, dramatic and rocky, just like a Thomas Kinkade painting… lighthouses and all! I recently went on a mission trip there. Jesus used this experience to make helpful and beautiful changes in my heart. This is a journey that I chose and enjoyed.
The giant and grasshopper mentality of the Israelites brought Moses to his knees once again, pleading. God’s reputation was at stake: “If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you (that you are with these people, v.14) will say, ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert’” (14:14-16)
Have you ever felt an impending “shipwreck” looming on the sea of life? The waves of distress feel insurmountable and going under for the last time inevitable. Looking off in the distance, only the disaster seems visible, not the remedy.
Our eyes locked momentarily. I knew in that instant that he was the one for me! The adorable dog paced energetically. His barks echoed above the other dogs in their chain-link kennels at the pet adoption center.
How long was your longest wilderness? A time when you walked on and on without seeing an end, an answer. Perhaps you are still there now. Have you asked God what He was up to in the midst of this wilderness?
A parent with devastating news posted a prayer request in our group. While the rest of us stumbled with our responses, one woman wrote, “I have no words.”
On a calm day as I sailed across the Sea of Galilee on a boat tour in Israel, I could not help but think of this story…
We have all had those days of facing more complications than smooth sailing. We long for the postcard picture of the quiet beach, beautiful waters, and golden sand. Our little paradise far from problems.
How easily we can slip into outright sin and its entanglements. Tie on your godly truths securely; or like your dangling shoelaces, the ways of the world will trip you up. Sir Walter Scott's quote may possibly encompass all the devil desires from us: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Deception could be the root of all evil. The serpent in the garden used that ploy, and look at the sin that entangled us all.
My Sunflower Vine vigorously twined up my garden trellis. I allowed a wild vine to grow nearby thinking they would just mature side-by-side. However, by the time I realized my mistake, the damage was done. The wild vine had choked my Sunflower Vine!
On multiple occasions God lifted David’s feet from the slimy pit and gave him a new song of praise. David faithfully documented those rescues with pen and parchment.
I walked through the pasture attempting to solve a mystery, an unusually large tangle of feathers hanging from the fence. However, upon closer examination, I gasped to see two large eyes from within the tangle staring directly into mine.
In deepest grief, the writer of Lamentations wrote of the destruction of his beloved city and nation. Even though his people had experienced terrible atrocities and even though they were still experiencing pain and suffering, he made an amazing statement about God: …great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23).
I was selecting lettuce in the produce section of the grocery store, when someone called my name. There stood my friend, who looked quite different from the last time I had seen him. He was thinner. He had no hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. This friend was being treated for cancer.
Sandwiched! Troubles behind and troubles on the horizon. We’ve all been there, right?
What is your typical response when difficulty hits?
Have you ever wrestled with God? Did you intellectually wrestle with God until you finally surrendered, believing Jesus is indeed who He claims to be? Have you wrestled with God in earnest prayer, refusing to let go of that which you believe to be God’s will?
Hezekiah, king of Judah, was one of the few kings to earn the distinction of doing what was right in God’s eyes. His father, Ahaz, however, did not. Ahaz established idol worship in Judah, encouraging God’s people to sin.
Well, Hosea did as God told him to and married Gomer. She conceived and bore him a son, a daughter, and another son (1:3). Then things went awry. Gomer became restless, in spite of the love of Hosea: “I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink” (2:5). She had totally forgotten who had rescued her, protected her, loved her, and supplied all her needs.
