I was talking to a friend last night and we were talking about God's promises and the hope that we can have because we are His children. It was encouraging to realize that these children are legally ours, in the eyes of the Haitian and American governments. Therefore, we have the authority from God to pray for these children as we would our biological children. I was still thinking that God did not have a promise to actually bring these children to us - that He could still keep them from coming to our family. I realize that things could happen - an epidemic could break out at the orphanage, a hurricane could take them, etc. But just like we would pray during a pregnancy, we should be praying for these children. We shouldn't hold back our hearts on the off-chance that it won't happen. God has promised this, and God always keeps his promises.
HOPE
If we choose not to have HOPE, the enemy has won. He has been using the idea of the children not coming home as a way to steal our HOPE. Should we let the enemy win? Because if we become devoid of HOPE, we have let him. Our God is not a God of hopelessness. Can we have bad days, when everything seems to be going wrong? Of course. The Bible does not promise us smooth and easy days without problems. But within those dark days, we can choose to draw closer to God and HIS Perfect Grace, HIS Perfect Peace, HIS Perfect Hope...or, we can choose to be self-contained and try to achieve the world's grace, peace and hope - and I can tell you, there's not much of that to be had from a sinful people and a fallen world.
In Sunday School, we talked a bit about Elijah, and how he was (literally) on top of the mountain, proving God's amazing power by calling down fire to the altar. The next day, he was in a valley (literally and figuratively) - running for his life, downhearted and weak. He curled up under a juniper tree and cried out to God to just kill him. He told God that the job was too hard, and that he couldn't do it. An angel of the Lord appeared twice and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." (I Kings 19). This is amazing! This is how we all feel at certain times. We say, "God, I'm giving up, this job/task/thing is too hard for me". God says, "I know, but it's not too hard for me." We need to rely on Him, and not always ourselves. We must draw closer to Him, because He's calling for us. We must keep our eyes focused up on Him and not down on the world.
So, all this to say...I have renewed courage in this process. It has taken a very long time - much longer than it should've been (according to our ideas). But God knew even this from the very beginning. He knows our hurts and our heartaches. And He knows the very second we will get the call that we can go get the children He has intended for us all along. Thank you Lord, for your patience with us as we wonder "why and how come?" Thank you for taking us on this journey and bringing us closer to You. What a wonderful thing you are accomplishing in us and through us. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment