Walking with Shep

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28a, ESV).

Jason had done well medically over the past year and was thanking the Lord in my office this week.

“You know, when you told me I might only have a few months to live, it devastated me. I went walking in the park that evening. There was this grandfather walking his young grandson. I cried out to God, ‘I’ve got to have that!’ My son’s wife was pregnant then and I begged God that I might be here until the boy was born.  That was 18 months ago.

“This past week my son called me and said, ‘Shep and I are just two hours out. We thought you needed a hug.’ My grandson Shep was born one year ago and has just started taking steps. My son drove over from Fayetteville and brought Shep with him. I was able to hold his hand and walk with him, just like I had begged God 18 months ago. That visit did more for me than all the medicine you’ve ever given me, Doc. And I‘ve got a granddaughter coming this fall. God is so good.”

Life hits us hard and, consequently, we lay a lot of heavy stuff on our Lord. It’s amazing how we expect Him to come through for us each time we cry out; whether He does or not, we don’t quit crying out, believing that He is listening and that He may fix things for us this time.

We do so because we trust Him and we do so because we often have nowhere else to turn.

Realistically, our sufferings are not always resolved…even when we pray earnestly.

So what can we trust our God to do when we struggle through the storm? Surely we don’t believe that every wish for a walk with an unborn grandson will come true.

God is very clear throughout His Word that those who love Him can trust Him through the storms of life in at least four ways.

1.      Sometimes He will come in power, take away the cause of our pain, answer our pleas, grant us our impossible dreams…but not always.

2.      Always, He will bring good out of our pain, beauty from ashes, glory from defeat….someday.

3.      Always, He will accomplish His purpose in our lives no matter our broken we are, if we will trust Him.

4.      Always, He will walk with us through our pain, share in our suffering, hold us in His arms and lead us through the storm.

 

Some of us will walk with grandsons in an impossible future. All of us will walk with our Lord in a glorious future, someday.

 

Dear Father,

Let me love you more, for to love you is to trust you.

Amen