Take it to the Lord in Prayer!

I have to confess this has been a sad two weeks for this Pastor’s wife. In a past posting I told you how sick my Mom has been, how my good friend was moving home and that my sweet pup was dying of old age; so it’s no wonder I have had a couple of bad weeks. The one thing that these three issues have in common, is love. In our society when we think about love it is most often in terms of gladness, pleasure, and peace. But grief, sorrow, and anguish are feelings of love too.

You may not agree, but all of these emotions are expressions of love. If you really stop to think about it, how can they not be a part of love? How can we experience true love if we only feel one side of it? I have felt anguish for my mother during her illness. I feel sorrow for my friend’s discomfort, as she works to rebuild her life in a new place. I feel grief over the loss of my pet Pebbles and how she isn’t a part of my life anymore. These things make us ask questions like: “Why does it have to hurt so badly; and how much longer will this go on?” In my role as a Pastor’s wife, I have so many women who ask me these questions; I even ask them myself. It makes me wonder.

How do I answer these questions?

How do you give hope to the hopeless?

I had a good friend who was diagnosed with cancer, the prognosis was not good. I wanted to know why; now, I miss her every day. My mother so strong all my life, cries in my arms from the pain. It isn’t supposed to be this way, daughter comforting mother. Good women feeling overwhelmed by life, afraid to go out, so they spend their days hiding in their homes.

Where do we turn when the bad things come to our door?

Where can we find peace and rest?

1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” He wants us to cast our cares on Him, He wants to take our pain and use it for our good. When we are in the mist of our problems and discouragement, we need to go to God in praise. You may not feel you have anything to be grateful for, but that’s when you need to thank Him for healing us or taking away our sadness, even if we don’t see it yet. We need to trust God to know what is best for us because He understands pain and grief. One of the shortest verses in the Bible is John 11:33, “and He wept.” Jesus was with Lazarus’s sisters and He wept with them over their brothers death; even knowing that in just a few minutes, He was going to call him back to life. He heard their cries, their anger at Him “Lord, if You had just come quicker; if You had just loved us more.” But He does come, and He does care, even we don’t see it, or when we don’t feel it. He cries with us and He holds our hand. We are not alone. There has been no greater pain and sadness and tears shed then when our Lord Jesus died for us on the cross. He felt the full weight of all our humanity, and sins, and still loved us. So I ask you,

Can you trust Him to take care of the things that concern you?

Can you cast your cares on Him?

Love isn't just about our words or thoughts, it’s about our actions. We need to reach out to others, giving an encouraging hug, crying with them. Praying with them and sharing praises to our Lord. Thank Him for our trials, the ones that make us happy and the ones that make us sad. Help them and yourself to put trust in our Lord and take comfort in His love. While my friend was dying from cancer, she praised the Lord for His love and told everyone she met that she couldn’t wait to see Jesus. I will not stop thanking Jesus for the gift of my mother, and for the opportunity to take care of her the way she took care of me. Find the lesson you are being given through your trial, and thank Him for it, remember it’s not a curse it's a blessing. This month in church we are singing one of my favorite short hymns as our prayer response “God Will Make A Way” the words go like this:

God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see; He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side. With love and strength for each new day; He will make a way, He will make a way.

He will make a way even if it isn’t the way we think it should be. So my answer to all of those questions is.

Trust, that God will make a Way.