© 2004 Dave and Merry Marinello, all rights reserved.
Welcome! Thanks for visiting our little "harbor" amid life's storms. We hope you
will find rest and encouragement in your struggles, big or small. Here you can:
will find rest and encouragement in your struggles, big or small. Here you can:
"And if not..." July 2004 Newsletter
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Hope is My Anchor
Strength for your soul amid life's storms
Strength for your soul amid life's storms
Hope is My Anchor
Strength for your soul amid life's storms July 2004
_________________________________________________________________
"It doesn’t seem like God loves Daddy very much since He won’t heal him. I
thought Jesus healed people quickly?” I knew one day that my children would begin
asking me questions like these, but that didn’t make me feel any more ready for them.
Of course, it’s true. It doesn’t look like love when God allows pain in our lives.
When Joseph was sold into slavery, and later put into prison, I don’t suppose it
looked much like God loved him. And yet—what we see on the surface as
circumstances unveil themselves often has little to do with God’s plan, God’s true
commitment to us, God’s very real and unfailing love. Joseph’s prison term was not a
revelation of God’s attitude towards Joseph—far from it, God intended to save not
only Joseph from prison, but also his whole family and the entire nation of Egypt from
famine!
However, Joseph’s response was a revelation of his attitude toward God. No
matter where he ended up, he served faithfully, as a man of integrity, remaining
steadfast towards God. He had the same attitude as Shadrack, Meshack, and
Abednego, when they were about to be burned for refusing to bow to idols. They
proclaimed that God would save them—“and if not…” they continued—if God did
not, they would still never forsake God. Their faith was genuine.
I find great power in those three little words, “and if not.” They free us from having to
know why God allows things to happen in our lives. They free us from the quagmire
of trying to foresee the future or understand the mind of God that is so infinitely far
above our own minds. It’s not that our questions are unreasonable or without merit,
but that they often lead us from asking the greater question—the one that sustains us
regardless of whether we know what God will do.
Who is God? When we know who He is—when we find our minds firmly set on
God’s goodness, love, sovereignty, when we believe He hears us and He answers,
when we know beyond any visible circumstances that He truly rewards those who
seek Him—then we have a faith that’s genuine. A faith that’s ready to serve God
after years in the dungeon. A faith that says, “and if not.”
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13). A faith that says, “and if not,”
is a faith that stands firm, and a love that does not grow cold. A faith and love that do
not come from us alone, but from a heritage of others who encourage us, and from
God’s very Spirit within us.
Not feeling very faith-full? I think all of us go through times where we realize our love
has grown cold. Carpe Diem! Seize the Day! Don’t worry about what you haven’t
done yesterday, we can’t allow the past to distract us from the question God puts
before us today—do we know the God whose character gives us the strength to fix
our eyes on Him instead of circumstances we don’t like? Are we firmly grounded in
Him, so that we live with faith, love, integrity, steadfastness no matter what happens in
our lives? We can start today, because God is a God of unfailing love, whose mercies
are new every morning, whose grace continues to seek us and lead us on.
Make sure your goals for yourself are reasonable. Hanging onto your faith is often
the only job you need when you are in pain or are struggling with something difficult.
Don't overburden yourself with guilt. Just seek the Lord as you are able, cling to Him,
and try to set aside some time to "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10
Hoping in Him,
Merry
Strength for your soul amid life's storms July 2004
_________________________________________________________________
"It doesn’t seem like God loves Daddy very much since He won’t heal him. I
thought Jesus healed people quickly?” I knew one day that my children would begin
asking me questions like these, but that didn’t make me feel any more ready for them.
Of course, it’s true. It doesn’t look like love when God allows pain in our lives.
When Joseph was sold into slavery, and later put into prison, I don’t suppose it
looked much like God loved him. And yet—what we see on the surface as
circumstances unveil themselves often has little to do with God’s plan, God’s true
commitment to us, God’s very real and unfailing love. Joseph’s prison term was not a
revelation of God’s attitude towards Joseph—far from it, God intended to save not
only Joseph from prison, but also his whole family and the entire nation of Egypt from
famine!
However, Joseph’s response was a revelation of his attitude toward God. No
matter where he ended up, he served faithfully, as a man of integrity, remaining
steadfast towards God. He had the same attitude as Shadrack, Meshack, and
Abednego, when they were about to be burned for refusing to bow to idols. They
proclaimed that God would save them—“and if not…” they continued—if God did
not, they would still never forsake God. Their faith was genuine.
I find great power in those three little words, “and if not.” They free us from having to
know why God allows things to happen in our lives. They free us from the quagmire
of trying to foresee the future or understand the mind of God that is so infinitely far
above our own minds. It’s not that our questions are unreasonable or without merit,
but that they often lead us from asking the greater question—the one that sustains us
regardless of whether we know what God will do.
Who is God? When we know who He is—when we find our minds firmly set on
God’s goodness, love, sovereignty, when we believe He hears us and He answers,
when we know beyond any visible circumstances that He truly rewards those who
seek Him—then we have a faith that’s genuine. A faith that’s ready to serve God
after years in the dungeon. A faith that says, “and if not.”
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13). A faith that says, “and if not,”
is a faith that stands firm, and a love that does not grow cold. A faith and love that do
not come from us alone, but from a heritage of others who encourage us, and from
God’s very Spirit within us.
Not feeling very faith-full? I think all of us go through times where we realize our love
has grown cold. Carpe Diem! Seize the Day! Don’t worry about what you haven’t
done yesterday, we can’t allow the past to distract us from the question God puts
before us today—do we know the God whose character gives us the strength to fix
our eyes on Him instead of circumstances we don’t like? Are we firmly grounded in
Him, so that we live with faith, love, integrity, steadfastness no matter what happens in
our lives? We can start today, because God is a God of unfailing love, whose mercies
are new every morning, whose grace continues to seek us and lead us on.
Make sure your goals for yourself are reasonable. Hanging onto your faith is often
the only job you need when you are in pain or are struggling with something difficult.
Don't overburden yourself with guilt. Just seek the Lord as you are able, cling to Him,
and try to set aside some time to "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10
Hoping in Him,
Merry
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