Joyful are those...

This week I have heard two stories of God's faithfulness...and a few huge prayer requests.

My friend writes to me about her new job and her message is full of happy faces and words like "superb...hilarious...incredible...ridiculous...happy!"  I feel full of laughter that's half choked with tears as I read.  Months ago she boldly turned down a job that didn't seem right, but then there were no other offers.  We prayed.  She did a mission trip.  Waited.  Prayed.  Wondered.  Did she make the right decision?  Her bank account dwindled and she dared to give some more.  Still no job.  Then suddenly!  The job is perfect--all she hoped for and more!

I think of her heavenly Father smiling on her all those months of waiting and wondering.  I think of the angels cheering her on as she took courageous, faith-filled steps that seemed only wondering and trembling to her at the time.  All the while her Papa knew that He had this wonderful surprise in store for her.

The second story is of praying parents watching their daughter stand at a crossroad in her faith walk, knowing they can only pray and love and wait.  The daughter has taken small steps toward the light.  The parents have lain awake, praying in the darkness.  This week they met a total stranger who had encountered their daughter months ago...and has been praying for her ever since.  The parents are filled with joy realizing that God is at work, has been at work all along, and they don't need to be afraid.

These stories encourage and excite me!

But what about...

My friend who has a lump in her breast.

A friend who believes God has abandoned him because the circumstances of his life are so difficult right now.

The baby girl I've been longing to see healed for two years but open-heart surgery is now imminent.

A woman is still barren...a marriage is still falling apart...

When my thoughts dwell on all these things something icy cold fills up the center of me.  I want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head.  These challenges are big.  Real people are in pain.  How can I rise up and face the day?

Unless I surrender my right to understand for now.  Unless I believe that God is at work, even now, behind the scenes...that glory is yet to be revealed...that I'm someday going to use words like "superb...hilarious...incredible...ridiculous...happy" to describe the end of the story.  Unless I believe His promise that He is willing and able to make something beautiful out of messes.   Unless I choose to give thanks before I see the miracle.  Unless I begin to worship the One who is my only Hope...  Then a fire fills me and I overflow with laughter.

That is how we can rise up and face the day.  Worship.  Giving thanks in all things.  Remembering what He has already done...which gives rise to more worship.  Then we are filled with hope and laughter...and it's contagious!  It's a hope and a confidence that you can bank on.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

I will praise the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath

...joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, 

whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Psalm 146:1-2, 5

An Audience of Angels

When I was a child someone told me about the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1). Somehow I got the idea that angels and people who had gone to heaven before me were watching over my shoulder and keeping track of all my mistakes. This was a fear-filled thought because no one knew better than I how often I failed to do things perfectly. I'm pretty sure I got that idea because it's not an uncommon thought...

The truth is so far more glorious and exciting. First Peter 1 tells us that our faith is on trial. It also tells us that "God is protecting you by his power" (v. 5), "that your faith is far more precious than mere gold" (v. 7) and that "it is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen." (v. 12) Words like "protecting", "precious", and "wonderful" are not words to inspire fear, but hope!

How is our faith being tested? In the opportunities to believe that God has good plans for us...even when things look like they're falling apart around us. (Jer. 29:11) In the opportunity to forgive, not because someone is sorry, but because we've been forgiven. (Matt. 6:12) In the opportunity to sing praise to God when we feel like we're surrounded by a challenge much bigger than we are. (2 Chron. 20) If you pause and consider your life for a minute, you'll know where this particular trial is for you right now.

In the moments when we're facing these struggles it's easy to feel weary, condemned or insignificant, but if angels are watching "eagerly" because "it is all so wonderful", we can be encouraged that something very huge, amazing and eternal is happening when we lift our hands in praise and confess God's truth in the face of difficulty. It's breathtaking to think that the angels who stand in the presence of God are eagerly watching the seemingly mundane events of our lives with excitement.

May God bless you with hope and encouragement and the knowledge that He is protecting you by His power!