Glorifying God In The Midst Of A Storm
Day 7. I can’t begin to address all of the text that mom highlighted in the book.
Certainly, every annotation was an indication that what was written spoke to
her heart in some way. It would not be
appropriate for me to “imagine” what she was thinking. But, I think I can speak
to some of the points that she thought were significant at the time.
"Everything Is For His Glory.” Romans
11:36 (p53 note) What is the scope of “everything” do you
think? Does “everything” encompass all
of the good, the bad and the ugly? Are
you willing to allow God to use your life, your joys and your sorrows for His
glory? So, what is His Glory? I “GOOGLED”
it in hopes of sounding brilliant. No
luck! So, let’s just say that God is good and God is great. He alone deserves all the credit. Jesus, when called good, said “Why do you
call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.” (Mark 10:18) God is always sovereign.
“Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in
your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else.” (p 57 note) My daughter describes
it as needing to change the people, places and things in your life, if you are
going to live for God’s glory. (2
Corinthians 4:8-12) “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but
not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that
the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are
always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be
revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at
work in you.”
Revealing Jesus in our lives, by the way we respond to life’s events brings
glory to God. As I reviewed my mom’s
reaction to the truths that Rick Warren shared in PDL, I realized just how much
I under-appreciated the way that she persevered in her loss of the most
important person in her life. You know, it
is so easy to trivialize the loss of a husband or wife or child. We all know about the grief process. But for the most part, we just want the
person to “get over it”, to “move on”. I
am feeling very convicted because of my lack of compassion and understanding. Perhaps that is one reason why the Lord has
had me helping so many widows here in Texas. (James 1:27) “…Visiting the widows in their affliction…”. If, you
are going to do that, it is going to cost you something. Many, if not most, are not willing to pay the
price. We don’t mind putting our feet in
the water, but we have no intention of jumping in the pool. I
think we can be very selfish in that regard.
We want people to get past their pain so we can be more comfortable
around them. Our concern is really not
about them at all. Does that sound harsh? The truth often does. (Proverbs 27:6) “Faithful are the wounds
of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
I have worked with a lot of volunteers over the years. I have met so many wonderful people. But amongst those wonderful people are those
that are clearly more concerned about what they, personally, are getting out of
the experience. The people they are
helping are just a means to find personal gratification. As soon as the
volunteer returns home, the people they helped are forgotten. That is the danger I am speaking of. We must be on our guard, lest we, ourselves,
fall.
I cannot get over the memory of my mom standing at the back door. Silently,
seemingly lost in her memories and perhaps longings for days gone by and looking
to the hills in her hope for the eternity to come. “Charley. Do you think Don remembers me?” So
telling. I know now that she was asking
a much bigger question.
Isn’t this a curious life we live?
On the one hand we live under the consequences of Adam’s fateful
decision. At the same time, we live with an eternal hope which helps us see
beyond our times of trouble to that distant land that draws nearer day by day.
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