And Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. Gen 47:31
This is the high point of Jacob's life. Think of the countless storms he had to go through to bring him to the moment of beauty. Jacob had fled from his family, been deceived by his father-in-law, feared his brother's revenge, mourned the supposed death of his son, Joseph, and lost a wrestling match with God. Finally, he reaches this high point where is a worshipper.
Right now many people in Grace church are going through times of testing. On Sunday we invited people who needed healing prayer to come forward. I thought that maybe 4 or 5 people would come up. I was overwhelmed when 30 people came up asking for prayer. Keep in mind that because of the ice storm we only had 60 people in church.
Going through a time of testing is not easy and it requires a lot of faith. Over the years I have seen God work in powerful ways during these times of testing. God has been purifying both Kathie and me through the trials of life. My heart attack last summer and Kathie's Lyme disease have caused both of us to learn to lean hard on God. We are learning how to trust His plan for us even when we don't understand the process. We have discovered that when you end up on your back, the only way to look is up.
While these difficulties of life are things we would never choose to experience, they do have tremendous power to transform us. These difficulties cause us to pray with passion, urgency and much greater frequency. In the end I sense that God is developing our faith. But it seems that for us to grow, God has to take us to a hard place. The preacher Charles Spurgeon said it well, "The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction." We are committed to following Him regardless of the cost.
The beauty that God desires in our lives can only come through brokenness, struggle and difficulty. So I encourage you to not lose heart as you go through the storm. The actual goal is to worship God both in the storm and when the storm has passed.
Lord, give us strength to do exactly that.
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