“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul “ (Jer. 32:40–41).
Victoria pressed “send” as she completed her online order and sat back smiling in anticipation of how much fun it was going to be to send these inspirational greeting cards to those individuals who were sick and convalescing at home. As a senior citizen herself, Victoria empathized with her fellow elders from her church family who were facing increasingly difficult health challenges as they aged. As an MS sufferer, Victoria never forgot the moment she found out she had this terrifying illness. Even though many years had passed, that entire difficult life season was forever seared into her mind and memory.
Victoria closed her eyes and reminisced about how she had to first accept the scary diagnosis and then accept the truth that God had allowed it, and she needed to trust Him through it all. Oh how hard that was for me to believe that You could take something so terrible as Multiple Sclerosis and use it to help me see You more clearly. But You did use it, and as scary as that season was, You kept me close and sustained me every minute of every day. Smiling now, Victoria opened her eyes and began to list the folks from her church who needed some encouragement and a reminder of how faithful and loving God is, especially when we need Him most.
“Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will. I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes, but I can choose to do so even when I don’t feel like it" (Jerry Bridges).
Isn’t it a wonderful and truly amazing truth that God never leaves us to fight life’s battles on our own? He covenants with us to never stop doing good to us (He never leaves us); He inspires us to fear Him (as we are in awe of who He is); and He rejoices in doing good to us (He takes even the worst that happens in this life and transforms it). Yes, God promises good to us even when our circumstances and our emotions are screaming the opposite. And yes, sometimes it is difficult to see past the present suffering and view our trials through an eternal lens. But we must learn to trust Him, as Jerry Bridges notes, “Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will. I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes, but I can choose to do so even when I don’t feel like it.”
When we choose to fully trust God despite the pain and suffering we are facing, we then begin to reap the benefits of that obedience. God strengthens our faith, enlarges our vision, and pours out His grace upon us to respond in faith and confidence in God’s ability (and willingness) to supply our every need. As Victoria discovered during her battle with MS, every time she started to grow fearful and then stopped herself short by reciting Bible verses out loud, God became bigger and her fears, worries, and anxieties grew smaller. She recognized that it was a moment-by-moment decision to give way to her fear and trembling or to choose to trust God even when the outcome was uncertain. That life-defining choice is exactly what she encourages other hurting individuals to do as well.
PRACTICING GRACE AND GRATITUDE
1. Grace and gratitude from God.
“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them.” This week, I’ll spend time each day journaling God’s past faithfulness to me and focusing on those specific moments when He transformed hardships into something beautiful and good.
2. Grace and gratitude in me. “
I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” Each day, I will locate verses that have the word “fear” in them and explore more fully how fearing God is a good thing, because we learn how glorious He is and how we should be in awe of Him.
3. Grace and gratitude in life.
“I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.” At least two times this week, I will send out cards of encouragement to those I know who are facing debilitating circumstances and I will share with them how God faithfully met me in my time of need and brought blessing and goodness to me despite the challenges I was facing.
Excerpted from Grace & Gratitude for Everyday Life. Used with permission.
