Miss Madelyn is a reminder that God brings good to us in the midst of suffering. I think about her biological family and the loss they feel every day without her; they unselfishly made a way for her to experience the best life possible. On the other side of their pain is joy. Without question, our family has experienced joy as she has become a part of our life and we have become a part of her life. But. I also think joy is for her biological family, if, they live in faith, certain God is at work though they are unable to experience Madelyn's life personally.
How do we experience the kind of faith that results in joy when we face adversity and uncertain times? Jesus told us simply and powerfully to seek God first in Matthew 6:33. When you get down to it, seeking God first is key to developing a faith which produces certainty and joy in adversity and uncertain times.
Sometimes life is more difficult than anyone could ever anticipate it to be. But. Something miraculous occurs when humanity seeks God first in times of adversity and uncertainty: Heaven and earth collide and divine power moves in, producing possibilities out of impossibilities, good out of difficulties, joy out of suffering, beginnings out of endings, healing out of hurt, and hope out of hopelessness. In other words, God never leaves us alone or does less than what He has planned and promised to do.
The thing is . . . there's a desire in all of us for a happily-ever-after ending . . . but there's something deeper to be experienced when we seek God first and pay full attention to Him: a divine certainty that God is at work fills us, producing joy in the "now" of our reality, regardless of what we're facing.
I think that's why the end of the book of Job is so profound; we see that though he went through unimaginable adversity, Job had a full life : So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning . . . Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life (Job 42: 12, 16-17, NLT).
The story of Job should change our perspective in the midst of adversity, giving us a bold certainty that God is present and bringing the good work He began in us to completion.
Regardless of what the day holds, we are given assurance that all things will work together for good.
- Trust God.
- Live beyond the circumstances of the day, be certain of the work of God, whether you see it or not.
- Experience the joy through the grace of God, which though it's undeserved and unmerited, is a blessing in the midst of the adversity and uncertainty.
Learning to Kickstart the day with a full life,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)