Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Deep thoughts.....

I have been doing a lot of deep thinking lately.

I have tried blogging about it but, the words just don't seem to be coming the way that I want them to.  When I type them, they seem much lighter than the thoughts that are in my head.

So, I think I will just summarize some of those thoughts...

I just finished the book Hardest Peace.
I think it is a book that everyone needs to read.  It is a tough read and I have been mulling over so many things I read.  The author, Kara, is dying of cancer.  Yet, she displays God's grace and the truth of His Word throughout the book.  This quote particularly stuck with me.....

Trusting God when the miracle does not come, when the urgent prayer gets no answer, when there is only darkness--this is the kind of faith God values perhaps most of all.  This is the kind of faith that can be developed and displayed only in the midst of difficult circumstances.  This is the kind of faith that cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken.

This is the kind of faith I am trying to live.  
And the kind of faith I am trying to display in this time of winter.

Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear for I am with you.  Do not be dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

***

My dad was just here visiting.
 It was really hard to see him leave.  He is 84 and we live states away from each other.  I say goodbye to him, and my mom, each time not knowing when I will see them again.....some times it's only a month, sometimes 6 months and sometimes even a year.  Those times seem to stretch out so long in front of me these days.  And my time with them is precious right now.

At times I wonder why God has us so far away from each other.  Why I can't live closer and be able to see them more often, take care of them and be there for them.....like they have always been there for me.  Those are questions I can't answer, but I trust God that He knows what is best and where I am supposed to be.

Psalm 31:14
I trust you Lord.  I say, You are my God.  My times are in your hands.

Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts

***

I sat yesterday and listened to the news of the young Jordanian man who was murdered by Is*s.
My heart is so broken for his family.  As I struggled to wrap my mind around such evil, a thought slipped into my thinking......God, could this be the way You usher in the end times?  In studying the book of Revelation, you learn that there are a few things that must happen first.....someone must rise up to cause/negotiate "peace" and Israel must rebuild the temple on the Mount of Olives.  I have never been able to picture how that could happen....until today.  As Is*s draws more countries against them, someone will undoubtedly rise to unite those countries to retaliate.  And as Is*s continues on this path, it seems to me that M*slims in general will be drawn into the anger and wrath that Is*s creates.  And I can see someone taking out the mosque currently standing on the Mount of Olives opening the way for the temple to be built.

This may not happen, of course.  But it is the first time that I have been able to see a way it might.  And it has thrown me into some deep thinking and much prayer.

***

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.  So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.  He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.  God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.  And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth  
Ephesians 1:5-10



5 comments:

Rebecca Jo said...

I can honestly say I can see the end times scripture able to happen myself. It's such a scary time... I WANT Jesus to come back TODAY!!!!

I'm so sorry you are so far away from your parents. I can't imagine ... I think I take for granted how close mine are some days.

I need to check out that book. I think it'll be a heart tugger.

Mari said...

My Dad is also 84 and I can understand how it is hard to live far away from your parents. It is a comfort to know that God has a plan, and His plan is best.
I can see end time events happening as you said too. The day is getting closer.

STILLMAGNOLIA said...

Throughout my life as an adult I have been both near and far from my parents. The last five years of my parents lives they lived with me until I could not take care of them anymore....then they lived for a month in assisted living (per doctors orders) and after my dad passed my mom lived in a dementia unit that was locked down. I saw her every day.

Bellezza said...

Sara, it doesn't seem that a comment I left awhile back appeared, but I want you to know how I value your blog and especially these deep thoughts. Which I am having right along with you. My husband is convinced, by the way, that we are in the birth pangs of the end. It seems like the time is right with the Isis group and radical Muslims making an evil presence known.

And this isn't even talking about day to day stuff, like missing one's father. Mine went in for a heart procedure this week, and faces another next week. After several open heart surgeries he now has 22 stents keeping his veins open. Are these things we can understand? Surely not.

But as I read through the Bible, this time in the KjV, I find reminders of His grace in as "unlikely" a place as Exodus. (I should say an unexpected place, for me.)

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today. The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:13-14

That's what we have to do, stand still and hold onto our peace.

Love you, Meredith

StephieAnne said...

I didn't read this until just now...oh so poignant in light of God's huge answer in your life. I'm just so thankful for your example, faith, and transparency in this journey you've been on.