Faith is grown and deepened not in the sunny vales of life; nor in the peaceful respites. The man, or woman, who says "God is good" only when everything is going the way they want it to has not shown any trust, any reliance upon the Lord.
Show me instead those in the struggle, in the mire, with their challenges...who hoist up their crosses, and walking into the storm, proclaim, "Blessed be the name of the Lord...for He is my rock and my salvation." There, then, is the man or woman marked as God's own, For in the tempests, and in the fire, and in those lonely valleys...there is where we come to see how deep our faith truly is, and what that faith means to us.
Pity those who only have faith when life is fair, for they are not clinging to Christ...but to ease. Sorrow for those who will only believe if God gives them what they want, and when they want it...for they have traded Jesus for a genie, and forsaking truth, they grasp at idols.
When in trials, when life's waves are crashing about you, when in sorrow, pain or tribulation, seek ever more He who walks with you through all of life's challenges. Hold fast to Christ Jesus, for though the night is dark and you know not the way, He will lead you home. He will keep faith, He will not forsake you. He does not promise us a life free of strain, illness or heartbreak, but He does promise to be in the heart of it all with us. In the storms that come, my friends, look to what...or to whom, you are holding onto; then shall you see where you've placed your faith.
When in the bleakness, or in the time of fear, when the burden is great or the pain crippling, can you say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, for He is my rock and my salvation?" Great is the comfort of the Lord for those who can.
Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto someone else,
-Beth Haynes Butler
Show me instead those in the struggle, in the mire, with their challenges...who hoist up their crosses, and walking into the storm, proclaim, "Blessed be the name of the Lord...for He is my rock and my salvation." There, then, is the man or woman marked as God's own, For in the tempests, and in the fire, and in those lonely valleys...there is where we come to see how deep our faith truly is, and what that faith means to us.
Pity those who only have faith when life is fair, for they are not clinging to Christ...but to ease. Sorrow for those who will only believe if God gives them what they want, and when they want it...for they have traded Jesus for a genie, and forsaking truth, they grasp at idols.
When in trials, when life's waves are crashing about you, when in sorrow, pain or tribulation, seek ever more He who walks with you through all of life's challenges. Hold fast to Christ Jesus, for though the night is dark and you know not the way, He will lead you home. He will keep faith, He will not forsake you. He does not promise us a life free of strain, illness or heartbreak, but He does promise to be in the heart of it all with us. In the storms that come, my friends, look to what...or to whom, you are holding onto; then shall you see where you've placed your faith.
When in the bleakness, or in the time of fear, when the burden is great or the pain crippling, can you say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, for He is my rock and my salvation?" Great is the comfort of the Lord for those who can.
Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto someone else,
-Beth Haynes Butler
No comments:
Post a Comment