Hanging On

Somestimes we feel wiped out, burned out, worn out. We have given to our children, our employees, our friends, and our neighbors until our well of compassion is empty. We have changed so many diapers, written so many papers, worked so much overtime, or gone to so many job interviews that we are exhausted. We feel hopeless, helpless, and worthless. We feel we can't hang on much longer.

To all who wonder how much longer they can endure, help is on the way! We can delight in our weaknesses, knowing that Christ waits to make our weak things strong.

Three times Paul asked God to take away his thorn in the flesh, but the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." The pain God did not soothe, He sanctified.

A courageous man fought bone cancer until he was finally confined to bed. One night he collapsed beside his bed in agonizing pain, pleading with the Lord to better understand his plight. He told his son, "The Lord has revealed to me that he needs courageous sons."

So, today, while you wonder why you are enduring so many trials, remember that the Lord need brave sons and daughters.

C.S. Lewis said, "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

So let's all hang on. Even though we may want to remain a cottage, God would have us become a mansion. As we trust in Him, He will hold us up, sustained by the power of His love. He will create in us a new heart and a new spirit.
© Carol Brown