On Change

[cwmatt]

When we experience darkness - whether it is suffering, sorrow, trials, or hardship-it is like a mountain climb-a journey in the darkness of faith. We struggle like a caterpillar in the darkness of the cocoon. The caterpillar is so patient while it awaits the wonderful transformation to receive its wings and fly-to live the life of a butterfly. The caterpillar teaches us what Faith, Trust, and Hope are all about.

I know we don’t live in a perfect world. We struggle with life changing situations-the loss of a loved one, sickness, depression, broken relationships, loneliness, betrayal, and the list goes on. From her book Light In My Darkest Hour, Catherine Marshall shares her struggle in the darkness of faith. She writes, “The Holy Spirit showed me that I was constantly being trapped by one of Satan’s oldest tricks-looking at the problem instead of at Jesus and His power.” In our humanness we tend to get caught up in negative traps to the point where the negative traps take control of us. Jesus came to heal that life may be saved.

Catherine writes, "Do we really have a “constant hunger to get closer to our Lord, to see into his thoughts, to have a deep togetherness?” Do we feel this way about each other? Do we “separate ourselves from our Lord and his power to heal and save? When one has lost one’s way and can no longer feel the Shepherd’s hand, when the Valley of the Shadow is dark with the light of faith withdrawn, what does one do then? Trust God in the dark and wait and hope, and hang on as best one can.” Our Lord tells us “My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9) “for when you are weak I am strong.” Our Lords strength is perfect when our strength is gone.

In her book, Dear Heart Come Home, Joyce Rupp writes, “The time comes when we need to move on, when it is no longer appropriate or healthy to stay lodged in the darkness or pain. Hope encourages us toward new beginnings.” A beautiful flower, the Morning Glory opens itself in the light of day and then closes in the dark of night. What a blessing the Morning Glory is for it teaches us to open our hearts and our Spirits to the light and warmth that is God-to believe “not in the healing but in the God who heals.”

Catherine Marshall writes, “God means for us to look at the good, the beautiful, the true, the pure. But how can we do that when all about us in the world is full of evil and pain? Learn to look steadfastly at JESUS CHRIST, and PRAY.” Each day the hope that is within us is strengthened by the fullness of life expressed to us by our Lord through the beauty of Nature and we are reminded by the song of the birds to “Pray constantly, and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God wants us to do in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18).

Perhaps our Lord is giving us directions on how to live happy, healthy, and productive lives through the wings of a butterfly. And the Lord said, “I am the vine, your are the branches, And all who live in me will bear great fruit” (John 15:5).

“Thank you Lord, for hope in times of despair…for light in times of darkness…for patience in times of suffering. For assuring us that with You all things are possible” (Carol Hamblet Adams)

 

[AlanFromWichita]

Most all of the darkness and pain I’ve experienced in life has been mental, emotional, or spiritual – not physical. Over these sorts of things, we are more than conquerors in Christ.

One thing I’ve found useful is to examine my definition of pain and darkness, and more importantly of “judging.” Pain comes about in multiple ways including from my own imagination and from my emotional response to things that happen. What is it about these things that constitutes pain? (Is it like a winter before spring? If so, then is that pain not just “normal” pain that is part of our life cycles?) Now the BIG step is to quit judging, and suddenly those things become events that no longer bring spiritual and emotional pain.

OK so about judging … I used to think that “not judging” meant that I could not wish harm or ill toward others, or otherwise condemn. As it turned out, I didn’t make much progress until I expanded my idea of “judging” to include even identifying others “objectively wrong” behavior. I’m not talking about obvious wrongs such as physically harming others on purpose. I’m talking about every little thing that goes down in my heart as either good or bad. All this good or bad talk had to cease.

Ultimately, I’d say once one learns not to judge even one’s circumstances as good or bad – but trust in the Holy Spirit that things are with us just as He would have them at any given moment, an amazing peace and joy will start to become evident. That peace and joy and the other fruits of the spirit become what’s important and themselves are good, so one gets a sense that all is well – even amidst what others might view from the outside as a “terrible” situation.

I speak from personal experience. I’ve had severe mental disability, I’ve been well off and times and well employed, and I’ve been unemployed. Had government assistance for some time and the trappings that go with that. My house burned down a few years ago, and also I’ve been through bankruptcy. Our house is the money pit and it is a struggle to keep it to where the neighbors aren’t affected. I suppose I could find more things but in all these things I listed, not a single one of them stole my joy. Sure they all took some navigation, but the only reason they hurt me emotionally and spiritually is that I judged them.

One thing that was a bit more of a challenge, compared to the above list, not to “judge” was the death of a family member. I am not claiming that one can arbitrarily decide that nothing is wrong and be constantly happy. For that matter, if we were happy all the time, we wouldn’t even know we were happy because we’d have nothing to compare it to. That said, we certainly can cultivate the fruits of the Spirit – including peace and joy – so that those can be with us through thick and thin.

Sign me,
At Peace.