When disappointment, grief and fear are gone...

If I claim to be a Christian, then what difference does it make in my life now, today? These are follow-up thoughts, or part II, of the last entry.

"If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world." I Cor. 15:19  A strong statement about the purpose of trusting God. If I only trust God for things in this life, then what's the point? Why not medicate suffering with endless parties, drinks to forget, sex to salve, food to fill emptiness, the latest clothing to coverup, work to fulfill, etc... If I trust in God only for this life, then I am foolish because I can't see God. Why trust in unseen possibilities?

Trusting in God matters in this life because of the promises He makes with those who believe him for the next life. I can know, with certainty that all my present disappointments, confusion, suffering and sorrow will be caught up in beauty and purpose when after my death I meet God face to face. At that moment I will say, "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy." Psalm 30:11 Yet, because of that hope, I can wear clothing of joy today, in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of dark times.

"We serve God whether people honor or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive... Our hearts ache, but we always have joy." II Corinthians 6:8-10

The words of the old hymn, "Be Still My Soul", sung by Michael O'Brien, helped me breathe in peace and I encourage you to find it on iTunes, a portion of the words are below. I will try to add the song to the playlist on my blog.

"Be still my soul. The hour is hastening on, when we shall be forever be with the Lord. When disappointment, grief and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love's purest joy restored. Be still my soul, when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed, we shall meet at last."

"He will have no fear of bad news..."

"He will have no fear of bad news, his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." This verse in the Psalms nearly always takes my breath away. And the devotional entry by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) this morning from "Morning and Evening" pushed me into God's trustworthy, loving embrace. I have to share it with you!

     "Faith is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life; we ought to have faith in God for our earthly affairs as well as for our heavenly business. It is only as we learn to trust in God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live above the world. We are not to be idle, that would show we did not trust in God, who worketh hitherto, but in the devil, who is the father of idleness. We are not to be imprudent or rash; that were to trust chance, and not the living God, who is a God of economy and order. Acting in all prudence and uprightness, we are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at all times.
     Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal things. Trusting in God, you will not be compelled to mourn because you have used sinful means to grow rich. Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience. Trusting God, you will not be guilty of self-contradiction. He who trusts in craft, sails this way today, and that way the next, like a vessel tossed about by fickle wind; but he that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel propelled by steam, she cuts through the waves, defies the wind, and makes one bright silvery straightforward track to her destined haven.
     Be you a man with living principles within; never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom. Walk in your path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone can confer. Thus you will be delivered from anxious care, you will not be troubled with evil tidings, your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord. How pleasant to float along the stream of providence! There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. We have no care, for he careth for us; we have no troubles, because we cast our burdens upon the Lord."