“I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.”
Isaiah 57:18
At 24, the hardships I have faced, still facing, and watched, and still watching others around me face, has honestly been challenging. I come from a place where abject poverty and hopelessness is a norm. Even after my move to America, I grew up in a community (suburb and all) that fell from grace each time a young life was gunned down or another young life turned to the path of destruction.
So, admittedly, I have asked inwardly and outwardly over the years, through my personal pain and my heartache over the world around me, ‘where was God?’
It took time, prayer, and more prayer to tap into the grace of God, to trust His Way above all other thoughts.
See, God’s Higher plan goes beyond what we see or how we feel even in the face of havoc and discomfort. And I know how hard it can be to keep that in mind sometimes. We have to remain grounded in faith and hope and trust God, and know and know and know that we serve a loving, merciful, and powerful father!
Friend, there is purpose in your pain.
Over 4000 homes were lost in this one tornado. 4000 lives halted, scattered, shattered with one event. I can’t begin to imagine the pain and tiredness from such a life-changing occurrence.
But God’s purpose for the community of Moore was greater than the material things that were demolished in the storm. God’s purpose proved powerful in love and togetherness that became greater than the anguish of losing loved ones. The community of Moore did not wallow in pain. They worshiped IN FAITH AND HOPE… How great is our God?!
Hearts were restored with the fullness of God’s mercy and grace as families drew nearer to one another to comfort and help carry each other’s burdens. Wounds (present and past) were healed as former addicts opened up to the Lord seeking forgiveness and a new start. Faith was strengthened as survivors who clung to the mercy of God in the eye of the storm, praised God for preserving their lives and loved ones…It wasn’t all good, but it was all God.
So I wonder today what parts of your journey the enemy has convinced you was a waste. What has the voices of doubts and hopelessness told you over and over again? What lies of worthlessness and inferiority have you succumbed to in the past? What tragedy has left you without solid grounds to stand or walk on?
Will you please bring it to God today? Will you please come into the arms of your Maker for the comfort you desperately need and has been seeking for in all the wrong places? Do you know that healing comes from God?
Friend, I cannot stress it enough that there is NO waste in God’s process. It is all for His glory!
May your heavenly Father in His tender-mercy, pull you close in your time of loss and despair. May your Almighty father restore your faith and hope today to behold the fullness of His glorious plan in Jesus name. Amen.
