Light & Momentary
It's been since August that I have posted. Unusual for me to take such a hiatus from blogging. I have been under a bit of stress, and to be honest, wrestling it through with myself, and the Lord.
I feel like the proverbial tea bag in hot water. My circumstances have heated up and it's causing not such good stuff to come steeping out. Frustrations, anxiety, stress; add physical exhaustion in the mix and it just isn't a pretty picture. I don't like what I look like when the "water heats up"... but I also know that it is in these "trials like fire" that my faith is strengthened, ugly dross comes to the surface to be washed away bringing growth and transformation. It's uncomfortable to say the least, it is hard, I have cried my share of tears in the last weeks. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 comes to mind:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Then, this last week another wave of totally unexpected loss came: one of the dearly loved pastors in my church collapsed while playing sports. He stepped through the veil into the Presence of the Lord. In a moment, he was gone. A 32 year old, loving father and husband, gone. The shock was deep and strong; as a Body of believers we have felt the wind knocked out of our lungs. Incredulous, almost surreal; we are reminded, life is a vapor. We are moving from the shock to the reality that it will take a while to walk through the grief process, we will be sad and miss him. We grieve for the huge loss, we weep, and ache for his wife and children, together holding onto hope we will see him again.
The morning following his death, I read this passage:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 has become the most significant passages for all, this being the last text his wife sent to him the morning before his collapse:
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
As our pastor shared at the funeral: none of this seems or feels, "light" or "momentary" yet Paul calls us to see it in perspective of eternity - this is indeed light compared to the WEIGHT of the ETERNAL Glory.
My personal affliction and circumstances have gone through a bit of an adjustment. They are still painful, and I feel the burn, yet I know He will not fail and will work through all these things for good, for His Glory.
So... I blog as I want to remember the lessons He is faithfully teaching me.
"You are good, you are good, when there is nothing good in me..."
I sing... and remind myself to be thankful in ALL THESE things.
I feel like the proverbial tea bag in hot water. My circumstances have heated up and it's causing not such good stuff to come steeping out. Frustrations, anxiety, stress; add physical exhaustion in the mix and it just isn't a pretty picture. I don't like what I look like when the "water heats up"... but I also know that it is in these "trials like fire" that my faith is strengthened, ugly dross comes to the surface to be washed away bringing growth and transformation. It's uncomfortable to say the least, it is hard, I have cried my share of tears in the last weeks. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 comes to mind:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Then, this last week another wave of totally unexpected loss came: one of the dearly loved pastors in my church collapsed while playing sports. He stepped through the veil into the Presence of the Lord. In a moment, he was gone. A 32 year old, loving father and husband, gone. The shock was deep and strong; as a Body of believers we have felt the wind knocked out of our lungs. Incredulous, almost surreal; we are reminded, life is a vapor. We are moving from the shock to the reality that it will take a while to walk through the grief process, we will be sad and miss him. We grieve for the huge loss, we weep, and ache for his wife and children, together holding onto hope we will see him again.
The morning following his death, I read this passage:
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
As our pastor shared at the funeral: none of this seems or feels, "light" or "momentary" yet Paul calls us to see it in perspective of eternity - this is indeed light compared to the WEIGHT of the ETERNAL Glory.
My personal affliction and circumstances have gone through a bit of an adjustment. They are still painful, and I feel the burn, yet I know He will not fail and will work through all these things for good, for His Glory.
So... I blog as I want to remember the lessons He is faithfully teaching me.
"You are good, you are good, when there is nothing good in me..."
I sing... and remind myself to be thankful in ALL THESE things.
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