"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5
I have a travel coffee cup with the Serenity Prayer on it that my husband bought me several years ago that I love to use. It is the kind that was a clear plastic cup that a printed piece of cardboard was inserted into to create the design. At some point, the cup was washed in the dishwasher, and the cardboard became dingy, streaked and stained. When I left for work yesterday, I was trying to decide which cup to use, and saw it sitting there in the cabinet-dirty, stained, not nearly as pretty as I had remembered it once was. My first instinct was to reach for the shiny silver mug next to it, but a thought stopped me. Just because the cup wasn't as pretty as it was when I got it, the message it held was just as true as when it was shiny and new.
How many times in our walk as Christians do we treat our faith and relationship with God like that cup? When the sun is shining, all of our loved ones are healthy and happy, our bank accounts are full, our jobs are going well, our children are doing well, etc., we praise God. We thank him for our blessings and tell everyone about how good God is. We quote Jeremiah 29:11 to our friends who are struggling and tell them that God has a plan for whatever they are going through and tell them we will be praying for them. We treat our relationship with God as a prized, shiny possession.
However, when the clouds roll in, a loved one becomes ill, we have financial struggles, trouble at work, problems with our children, etc., we start to treat God like a dirty cup. Our faith in Him doesn't seem as shiny and beautiful as it once was, and we doubt the truth of what His Word says. We wonder how He could allow such hardships to come our way when just yesterday life was shiny and perfect. We struggle to see that His truth has not changed, just OUR perception of it.
God's word tells us that He is always with us (Joshua 1:5) and commands us to fear nothing because he goes everywhere with us (Joshua 1:9). His love is unfailing and His promises are true.
So just remember, that even when it isn't pretty to keep the faith, believe God and follow after Him, HE hasn't changed-just our perception of Him due to our temporary circumstances. Pray and ask Him to remind you of that, and to allow you to see His beauty in the midst of your storm.
How many times in our walk as Christians do we treat our faith and relationship with God like that cup? When the sun is shining, all of our loved ones are healthy and happy, our bank accounts are full, our jobs are going well, our children are doing well, etc., we praise God. We thank him for our blessings and tell everyone about how good God is. We quote Jeremiah 29:11 to our friends who are struggling and tell them that God has a plan for whatever they are going through and tell them we will be praying for them. We treat our relationship with God as a prized, shiny possession.
However, when the clouds roll in, a loved one becomes ill, we have financial struggles, trouble at work, problems with our children, etc., we start to treat God like a dirty cup. Our faith in Him doesn't seem as shiny and beautiful as it once was, and we doubt the truth of what His Word says. We wonder how He could allow such hardships to come our way when just yesterday life was shiny and perfect. We struggle to see that His truth has not changed, just OUR perception of it.
God's word tells us that He is always with us (Joshua 1:5) and commands us to fear nothing because he goes everywhere with us (Joshua 1:9). His love is unfailing and His promises are true.
So just remember, that even when it isn't pretty to keep the faith, believe God and follow after Him, HE hasn't changed-just our perception of Him due to our temporary circumstances. Pray and ask Him to remind you of that, and to allow you to see His beauty in the midst of your storm.
