Dear SCC & Friends,
Cease striving and know that I am God… ~Psalm 46:10
Reflection #150
A diamond is just a lump of coal that did well under pressure. We are all a work in progress and process. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. ~Philip. 1:6 When I started out as a pastor, I sometimes got frustrated that I wasn’t doing enough or could be doing more… pray and fast more, study more, network and get with more people, plan and prepare better, disciple more, evangelize more and reach out to the poor… Not to mention the love and focus on my wife and family… Calm and crisis went with the territory. Looking back, I see His hand in it all. He was teaching when I was trying… He was forming when I was forcing… He was loving when I was trying to maintain a living. Adversity and challenge proved to be a blessing in disguise. Indeed, He brought me out of the “miry clay” and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. ~Ps. 40:2
Whatever sojourn the Lord takes you on, be assured He’s faithful, even in the most challenging of times. Extraordinary opportunities are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces. ~Matthew Henry~ Most of us don’t seek adversity, but somehow it seems to find us. John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace” had this to say: God’s people have no assurances that the dark experiences of life will be held at bay, much less that God will provide some sort of running commentary on the meaning of each day’s allotment of confusion, boredom, pain, or achievement. It is no great matter where we are, provided we see that the Lord has placed us there, and that He is with us. If God be for us, who can be against us? ~Rom. 8:31 These are great days to be alive… Nothing is wasted… Keep up the good work!
He’s in it all,
Kevin