finding God's goodness among the hurt

Hurt is all over the place.

We see it in the everyday...

...in the parent-less child

...in the destruction of marriage

...in the tearing down of people

...in the the drug epidemic that plagues your neighborhood

...in the mentally sick

...in the weapons that are used in the face of fear

...in allllllll the sickness

and amidst it all, there is goodness.  Goodness for God's redemption story.

It's all about perspective...it's all about how you handle "the news".

Sure there are loads of opportunity to be depressed, and down and feel as if you are never making it out. But what is that doing for you?  Is that forward progress? NO!

When bad news comes it would be unrealistic to be happy when you should be sad.  But Jesus, Jesus is the defining line to sad and depressed...he is what pulls me out from the depths...he is what changes my perspective and shows me that he has SHOWN UP in the terror of the bad news.

Jesus is there.  Among the worry, among the hopelessness, among the sadness...

and if we would just pray and talk to him with OPEN and HONEST lines of communication things could change for us.  Jesus is ENOUGH to change your perspective.

When bad news hits and you pray unceasingly...things change...and the kingdom wins.

To quote my friend, Sarah,  ~"the redemption of Satan's evil has begun"

When your first reaction is to pray instead of worry, your perspective changes. You pray specific, expectant, without boundaries, faith filled prayers.  Because you know GOD is a game changer.  When we pray and listen we can hear what God is saying to us and we notice the goodness that carries us through the rough times.

A friend of mine is sick. And every old part of me just wants to curl up, into a ball, and cry...just cry and cry, until my tears run dry. But my NEW self knows I cannot do that continuously.  My new self knows I can pick myself up because he gives me a sense of well being, understanding and peace. BECAUSE God has given me a spirit of love, POWER and self-discipline (2Timothy 1:7) Of course I can cry and be upset when I hear earth shattering news that could change the course of my friends life; but God helps me reign my emotions in, eventually, so that I can be POWERFUL! So that I can be a world changer!  So that I can LOVE my friend! So that she can feel God's never-ending, beyond understanding LOVE that he has for her.  If I don't fix my mind on greater things...then what?!?! What do I have to look forward to?!?! And what in the world do I say to a friend if I don't look to God for wisdom?

THE ONLY hope I have is in Jesus, and THAT is something to be thankful for...something to be joyous about. My friend's life - and mine - will forever be changed because of this.  I am not the one sick...she is...and she is handling this beautifully.  SHE is seeking God at every chance she can get.  And when the enemy attacks her, she changes her perspective and arms herself with God's wisdom.

This week I focused on these verses to get me through this awful news AND THEN my pastor spoke on this verse as well.

"And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are EXCELLENT and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8

When we notice the goodness, and listen for God's wisdom in the trials, we can find the peace and the joy because we are focused on the EXCELLENT. That doesn't mean you thank God for evil things - they are not of him. HE is goodness. HE uses the awful messes that the enemy brings to the field and HE STOMPS them out! He does not cause the evil, he makes the good - so thank him for the goodness. Things can still suck, but they suck a lot less with Jesus by your side.

Throughout this whole awful situation I have had the pleasure of people sharing with me God's goodness that they have seen.  And I believe THAT is God speaking directly to my prayers of "Show your presence Lord."  He makes himself known...if we just look for the good. A friend shared this verse with me:

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

   and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails,

    and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields,

    and the cattle barns are empty,

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength!

    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,^[a]

    able to tread upon the heights.

When you do not see the fruit and things seem uncertain and hopeless, there is still GOOD.  God is STILL good. We are joyful in HIM, not in the circumstance.  Because he helps me reach above and go beyond more than I could ever understand.