I was diagnosed…
So after five months of being sick and countless friends encouraging me to blog about what the Lord has been doing in our lives during this trial, I am finally beginning the process.
I feel that I need to share what the Lord has been doing. First to bring glory to our God and secondly to bring encouragement to someone else who is suffering-whether it be with Lyme’s disease, cancer, Crohn’s disease, financial problems, or marriage problems, etc.
A dear friend of ours asked us a while back to write about what the Lord was teaching us during the storm. Most of the time people don’t talk about what God did during the trial until after it is over.
Let me tell you, friend, this trial is not over for us, we are still living and walking through this trial every day.
God’s grace is so sweet, and it is enough for us! He is holding us in the palm of His hands.
He has already answered so many prayers and blessed us so incredibly much. I am excited to share the truths that He has been pouring into our hearts through this time.
Dear friends, He is not surprised by this trial, but instead, He has a plan for this trial.
He allowed it and ordained it.
1 Peter 4: 11–13 says, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.”
As 1 Peter 4 tells us that because of the suffering we go through we will have great joy in seeing Christ revealed to the world because we know that we have suffered along with Christ.
What does HE tell us in verse 13, are we to be bitter or sad, or depressed?No! He tells us to be GLAD because these trials make us partners with Christ because we are sharing in his suffering.
Finally, when He takes us home to heaven the suffering will be over, and we will spend eternity with our Savior.
During the process of being so sick over the last five months, We have learned in this season of suffering that the ONLY thing we can do is cling to Christ and be washed with His word every day-or we will fall apart.
Joy doesn’t come from our circumstances, but it comes through Christ. We (my husband Justin and I) are trying to be joyful and focus on Christ during this trial. He is our treasure and our foundation.
There were days when I didn’t even want to open the blinds or get out of bed because I was just so sick and my soul was so cast down.
He just wrapped His loving arms around me and reminded me that this earth and the pains and trials we go through are things of this world and as a follower of Christ I needed to focus on eternal things. I needed to focus on the gospel and spreading it to the lost. (Colossians 3:1–4)
I am looking forward to sharing with you more about what God has done in and through us during this trial. In the next few posts, I will start at the beginning. (5 months ago) and walk you through what the Lord has done up to the point through our suffering.
I will end this blog post with His word.
Psalm 110:1–2
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
I will praise Him through this storm.
