I have to give glory to God for life. I don't always appreciate life until something devastating happens. There are losses that I've experienced that felt as though they were the end of the road for me. But recently, God reminded me that a lot of things that we lose can be replaced. And for those things that can be replaced we can almost always get better than we had before. It's not to say acquisition of them will not be challenging, stressful, or be a devastating setback. However, our lives are far more valuable.
Every other day it seems I'm reading about an accident, a murder; people losing their lives feels commonplace almost. But who among us can replace a human being and borrow from God extra time for a life lost?
Our rising up and going to bed is by grace alone. With these arrows that fly by day, we can't take for granted that it's not by wisdom or meticulous living, but it's by God's that we're among the living.
Recently the scripture that has been in my mind is: "The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord." You'd think that would mean that your steps will only lead through pleasant places, but not quite. Even as your feet traverse thorny, rocky and sometimes complete wastelands, you'll not be harmed. Jesus is still with you. You'll be placed in the fiery furnace, but like the 3 Hebrew boys, you'll come out of it unscathed. Everyone will see that "the fire had no power, nor was[your] hair singed, nor did the smell of fire pass on to you" ( Daniel 3:27). You'll go through terrible situations, but you'll come out not even looking like you went through hell and back.
He reminds us to not be afraid. He is with us, he will not leave us nor forsake us. He'll uphold us with His righteous right hand.
May God give each of us strength to persevere and strength to hold on to our faith. May He strengthen our faith to proclaim His goodness toward us. May He help us, so that we will testify of His faithfulness and of His grace.
