When the trials come?
It is said that the Holidays are a time of great sadness for some people. They don’t have friends or family in the area, so when the holidays arrive they feel alienated and alone. But you have to ask yourself if this isn’t the situation they have chosen for themselves. In America we are blessed with the opportunity to worship freely, unencumbered by rules and laws that prohibit said gatherings. Most of the time this worship is done in a local church or synagogue. So one has to wonder if being alone and alienated at the holiday time is not something we choose, because we’re too lazy to invest the time in going to a place where like-minded people gather. It is true that time is a valuable commodity and people don’t want to waste it. But when you consider the time spent on iPads, cell phones, and other electronic media, is that a valid excuse?
The benefits far outweigh the time invested. Here you find a new family and friends, one’s that choose to be with you, and are not obligated by family ties. They will be with you in your happy times, and they will be there to support you and lift you up in your times of sorrow and sadness, just as your biological family would. Plus you are also given the opportunity to be a good friend and supporter of other people. The Bible says: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend (Jesus) that sticketh closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24
One of our friends just lost a loved one, and her world is devastated as she knows it. But at the wake last night you could see the love and support she is receiving by the parking lot full of cars and the assembly of people. Would this be the case if she were not involved in local church and organizations? Perhaps, but not on the scale in which she is now receiving support and will continue to do so by the same loving people.
So the question I want to ask you is, who do you run to? Where do you find love, comfort and stability? The Bible is full of passages which promises us love, comfort, peace, joy, and understanding. For what more could you ask?
Time for me to interject a song:
I Go To The Rock
Where do I go, when there’s nobody else to turn to?
Who do I talk to, when nobody wants to listen?
Who do I lean on, when there’s no foundation stable?
I go to the Rock, I know He’s able, I go to the Rock.
I go to the Rock for my salvation,
I go to the stone that the builders rejected,
I run to the mountain and the mountain stands by me;
When the Earth all around me is sinking sand,
On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand,
When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the Rock.
Where do I hide, ’til the storms have all passed over?
Who do I run to, when the winds of sorrow threaten?
Is there a refuge in the time of tribulation?
When my soul needs consolation, I go to the Rock.
I go to the Rock for my salvation,
I go to the stone that the builders rejected,
I run to the mountain and the mountain stands by me;
When the Earth all around me is sinking sand,
On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand,
When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the Rock.
As parents we need to raise our children in the church. Not only to extend their biological family, but to ensconce them in the loving arms of Jesus Christ. Then during their lifetime when trials and tribulation come, they have a solid rock to cling to.
We as writers can play an important part in people’s lives, from writing devotionals, to greeting cards. We can have an impact on their lives, if we are anchored in Jesus Christ, which we can cling to also.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;” “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
II Corinthians 1:3-4
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory:
Psalm 62:6-8