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By Karen Michener |
| There is no trial too fierce
for the child of God.
There is no pressure too great for the one who rests in His arms. There is no fear that can overwhelm, for a sovereign God can turn our greatest disasters to His greatest good. There is no agony that He does not share. There is no burden that He does not shoulder. There is no outcome that is defeat. There is no setback that does not advance the kingdom of God, for His purposes cannot be thwarted. There is no evil that cannot be overcome with good. There is no ruin that cannot be undone by the One who restores the years that the locusts have eaten. There is no sadness that will not ultimately be consumed by joy and the deep satisfaction of His presence. There is no failure that can ruin our intimacy with Him, as He welcomes the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. There may not be answers for the mysteries of life, but there is comfort in being known by One who experienced all of our temptations and trials, and who himself cried out in despair, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There is no unanswered prayer. God rises to act on our behalf
and moves, unseen, until at last we understand His answer, which comes
on His terms and not on our own. And when deliverance seems so far
off and so impossible, and the wait becomes unbearable, and our faith is
tested beyond our human capacity, then He shows His hand. It may
be a whisper in our ear as the Word of God comes to mind. It might
be a glorious sunset that reminds us that God keeps the universe, not just
in harmony and order, but in the staggering beauty of His artistry.
It is often in the gesture of a brother or sister who seems dispatched
as an angel to keep us from falling. And so we go from strength to
strength, against all odds. We again foil the enemy’s attempt to
destroy us. We stand in His strength, strength nourished by our joy
in Him. Then, when we are finally still standing after all manner
of adversity, our inexplicable joy explains Him to a watching world.
The paradox of our frail invincibility proves Him to a skeptical world.
And our hope, now unshakable, and even unreasonable, is God’s gift of mercy
to a hopeless world.
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Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God Joy is the flag that is flown o’er the castle of our hearts when the King is in residence there |
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This image is copyright and may not be copied without the artist's consent Background design by SilverBerch, copyright © 2000 |