The Rescue

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.  (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

I saw this verse in passing a couple of days ago and book marked it.  I felt it needed some thought and I have had such a busy week, I haven't had time for spare thoughts.  This morning, however, I was finally able to sit down and go through my email - looking back at those I had saved for more consideration.  This verse was in one of those emails and it really spoke to me.

I spent a great many months.... no actually many YEARS in an internal battle over marital issues.  My emotions have run the gamut from sadness to anger to heartbreak and I'm sure the fallout is not ever really over.  However, the battle is.  I'm not even going to proclaim victory from that battle because in conflicts of that nature, no one is ever victorious.  But I do believe that there was purpose in that.  I'm not at all saying God caused it - quite the contrary.  However, God USED it. God used that battle (which was a consequence of human choices) to teach me so many valuable lessons and cleanse me emotionally.  I've used this quote before but it is so meaningful to me:  "God does not always calm the storm.  Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child."

Today I have experienced the calm after the storm and now the sun has come out!  I know others that are in similar circumstances but in different stages and I ache for them.  However, I've come far enough to know that those struggles are necessary and I hope that somehow the blessings I've been given lately can be an example to those still suffering that God is faithful and will provide if only we will trust him.  There were a few who encouraged me during my stormy days and those who offered the most hope to me were the ones who also had a relationship with Christ.  They offered credibility whereas my secular friends gave even more uncertainty.  I'm not sure how one truly gets out of the storm without a rescue.    My rescue was from Christ but came in the form of friends and family who cared.  I see His handiwork not just in the storm but in the rescue itself - through this I see that somehow He has equipped me to be part of His rescue team as well.

I'll never know when my new skills will come in handy, but for now I get to carry the comfort and confidence of having lived through the storm only to see brighter days ahead.  When life brings me down, all I have to do is remind myself just what I've been through and how it turned out just fine in the end.  This is part of practicing faith.  I've learned that practice does not actually ever make perfect.  We are always subject to errors and flaws.  However, practice DOES make progress and I'm thankful to see the evidence of progress in my life.  I plan to keep practicing because with each new day, I get a little bit stronger and that's really what its all about anyway.  

One of my storm crew had this to say to me once and I couldn't help but take it to heart.  He was in the midst of his own storm at the time but knew exactly what to do.  

"I've walked with God through enough yesterdays to trust Him with all my tomorrows" ~D. Moore

God has this!  He's got us in His palm.  Sometimes that's all we need to know.