Rescue Is Coming

There's no escaping it, life can be tough. I have been reminded time after time the past couple of weeks that there are many people out there experiencing hardship and suffering. It seems everywhere I turn I have seen faces filled with pain, voices over the phone battling depression, and even read e-mails typed with a sense of real desperation. My attitude of Mr. Fix It doesn't hold up too long when I encounter so much in such a short time but it has brought a couple of thoughts I'll share with you.

First, I think we have to focus on God's strength and our weakness. All too often I've heard well meaning counsel attempting to either relieve suffering or at least quickly discover its eternal purpose in order to keep a happy perspective on life. But God's chief concern clearly isn't making us happy, He desires much more. No matter the circumstance that we find ourselves in, we know Him to be sovereign over all things and are called to trust fully in Him during all seasons in life. That's why we can read how Paul boasts in his weakness because it is through these very things that "the power of Christ may rest upon me." Why? "Because He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) I preached on this passage earlier today at a nursing home in Southern Indiana and really saw God open eyes to His word by listening to some of the elder men and women I talked to afterwards. One in particular motioned for me to come down to her wheelchair so she could tell me something, "You reminded me that even though my body feels broken in this wheelchair that my soul is still being renewed daily in the Lord," she said. God is truly working all things, including our trials, together for good to them who love the Lord and who are called according to His purpose and that is to make us more like Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

Even though all these things are opportunities for us to love God more deeply and depend on Him, there is also a joyful expectation in knowing that one day Christ will put all things under His feet and return in glory as He promised. Make no mistake about it, He is going to return and when He does He will make all things right. The elder saint I spoke with earlier will not need her wheelchair. My wife's grandmother will no longer suffer from Alzheimers when she is face to face with Jesus. Those who've never known what it means to have a home without abusive dads will have a perfect Heavenly Father. Rescue is coming to those who willfully admit they are truly weak and find their strength in someone bigger. Trusting Christ isn't just a one time event but a lifetime journey we are blessed to be a part of by His grace.

On a separate note: I want to ask everyone to pray for a couple of Mormon missionaries who came by our place this morning. We had a good discussion and I am trying to faithfully present the truth in love to them. They are coming back to our home next Friday, March 3rd. Please pray that God will open their eyes to the truth that is in Jesus Christ. We will be discussing several issues of contention between Christianity and Mormonism. There are plenty of apologetic arguments that we'll be going through, but at the end of the day it comes down to their minds and hearts being blinded by the god of this age. Pray for them and for us as we share with them.