carlos.c304
July 6th, 2008, 08:05 PM
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed
As we walk through this life, we are faced with so many troubles on so many sides. I, myself, have faced losing loved ones and friends, sickness, divorce; I have faced more things in my thirty eight short years than I ever dreamed I would face in a life time. There have been times when I couldn't find a friend in the world. If I were poor, I would be richer than I am now. So how is it that I can smile as I go through my day? How is it that a man in his middle age, poor, divorced, no relatives close by, few friends can be as happy as a lark? With so little going for me in this life, why am I happy?
Should I be miserable? Should I wallow in self pity? Should I just give up and drown my sorrows in alcohol or drugs ?
The reason I am so happy with so little has nothing to do with what I do not have. I have a loving Savior who my eyes are firmly fixed upon. I have the promises of things to come. I am troubled, I face my share of troubles in this world. I am not excited because I go home to an empty house at night. I am not thrilled about the fact that I just make enough money to make it.
I am excited that in my Fathers house are many mansions, millions of brothers and sisters in Jesus that I will spend eternity with when I go home. I am thrilled that I have treasure in heaven where thief cannot steal and rust cannot corrupt. How can I be distressed in what I don't have now when I know what I have waiting on me.
I am perplexed when bills pile up over my head and I don't know how I am going to pay them. I don't understand why things are the way they are sometimes, why the evil seem to prosper while the children of God suffer sometimes. I am not blind. I can see the injustices in this world and wonder why with no apparent answer.
How can I despair when I realise that the Lord has never let me go hungry, or naked, or without. Time and time again, people who are consumed with greed or power amass great fortunes yet find no peace or happiness in this whole world, what does it profit a man to gain this whole world, and lose his soul? I am not blind. I see the hand of God moving in this world providing for his children and giving them peace in their hearts and peace in their lives, as they put Him first and seek diligently the kingdom of heaven.
There have been a lot of times I have been made fun of for my faith. Not making fun of being a Christian, but rather, saying it won't last, just give it time, he's the drunk's kid, he's good for nothing. Funny thing was, they never said a word about me while I was lost. So, there are times when I am persecuted. There are times when people say mean and hurtful things about me and to me, just because I no longer walk the same path I used to.
But, I say I am not forsaken. There has never been a time when these things happened that Jesus wasn't there to comfort me and reassure me. The more they lay it on, the more the Lord is with me.
I used to say that I have been down since day one, so I guess I can understand being cast down. I have had so many troubles in this life, but still I stand. As long as there is breath in my body I will stand for the Lord. He is my Comforter, my Provider, my Hope, my Lord. He is the reason that I can still smile.
Troubles will come upon us all in this life, whether we are saint or sinner. The difference lies in the fact that, as a christian, I am not alone. I have a loving and caring Savior that I can go to when the troubles come. Everyone will suffer losing a loved one to death, but as a christian, the loss is not a permanent one. I will see my loved ones again. I may be poor in this life, but I am a child of the King, reborn to a royal linage, adopted into the family of God Almighty. In this world I have to work so hard just to keep bread on the table, just as I did before I knew the Lord. The difference is that now, at the end of the road, I will go to a place of rest instead of a place of eternal damnation. At the end of this journey I am on, I will go to a place with no pain, no sickness, no sorrow, and everlasting rest.
So, I can go through my day and smile, not because of what I don't have, but for what is still to come.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us--Romans 8:18
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed
As we walk through this life, we are faced with so many troubles on so many sides. I, myself, have faced losing loved ones and friends, sickness, divorce; I have faced more things in my thirty eight short years than I ever dreamed I would face in a life time. There have been times when I couldn't find a friend in the world. If I were poor, I would be richer than I am now. So how is it that I can smile as I go through my day? How is it that a man in his middle age, poor, divorced, no relatives close by, few friends can be as happy as a lark? With so little going for me in this life, why am I happy?
Should I be miserable? Should I wallow in self pity? Should I just give up and drown my sorrows in alcohol or drugs ?
The reason I am so happy with so little has nothing to do with what I do not have. I have a loving Savior who my eyes are firmly fixed upon. I have the promises of things to come. I am troubled, I face my share of troubles in this world. I am not excited because I go home to an empty house at night. I am not thrilled about the fact that I just make enough money to make it.
I am excited that in my Fathers house are many mansions, millions of brothers and sisters in Jesus that I will spend eternity with when I go home. I am thrilled that I have treasure in heaven where thief cannot steal and rust cannot corrupt. How can I be distressed in what I don't have now when I know what I have waiting on me.
I am perplexed when bills pile up over my head and I don't know how I am going to pay them. I don't understand why things are the way they are sometimes, why the evil seem to prosper while the children of God suffer sometimes. I am not blind. I can see the injustices in this world and wonder why with no apparent answer.
How can I despair when I realise that the Lord has never let me go hungry, or naked, or without. Time and time again, people who are consumed with greed or power amass great fortunes yet find no peace or happiness in this whole world, what does it profit a man to gain this whole world, and lose his soul? I am not blind. I see the hand of God moving in this world providing for his children and giving them peace in their hearts and peace in their lives, as they put Him first and seek diligently the kingdom of heaven.
There have been a lot of times I have been made fun of for my faith. Not making fun of being a Christian, but rather, saying it won't last, just give it time, he's the drunk's kid, he's good for nothing. Funny thing was, they never said a word about me while I was lost. So, there are times when I am persecuted. There are times when people say mean and hurtful things about me and to me, just because I no longer walk the same path I used to.
But, I say I am not forsaken. There has never been a time when these things happened that Jesus wasn't there to comfort me and reassure me. The more they lay it on, the more the Lord is with me.
I used to say that I have been down since day one, so I guess I can understand being cast down. I have had so many troubles in this life, but still I stand. As long as there is breath in my body I will stand for the Lord. He is my Comforter, my Provider, my Hope, my Lord. He is the reason that I can still smile.
Troubles will come upon us all in this life, whether we are saint or sinner. The difference lies in the fact that, as a christian, I am not alone. I have a loving and caring Savior that I can go to when the troubles come. Everyone will suffer losing a loved one to death, but as a christian, the loss is not a permanent one. I will see my loved ones again. I may be poor in this life, but I am a child of the King, reborn to a royal linage, adopted into the family of God Almighty. In this world I have to work so hard just to keep bread on the table, just as I did before I knew the Lord. The difference is that now, at the end of the road, I will go to a place of rest instead of a place of eternal damnation. At the end of this journey I am on, I will go to a place with no pain, no sickness, no sorrow, and everlasting rest.
So, I can go through my day and smile, not because of what I don't have, but for what is still to come.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us--Romans 8:18