If you do not journal, you should. Why? To remember what our Father has done in our lives as well as the context of what He did and how you initially responded.
I was just reviewing some of last year’s entries in my journal. Last year contained a violent swirl of emotion. Three births, two deaths.
I was reading through the entries in March. Two months after my dad passed away and seven days prior to the birth of our fourth granddaughter. Her mother had just been readmitted into MD Anderson, she was getting aggressive chemo, and we were in prayer for her and for the baby, not knowing how any of this was going to play out.
It was a hard, emotionally difficult and draining time.
I wrote, “He only takes us through that which makes us more like His Son and equips us for what He has us to do.”
As I read and write that, three passages come to mind. Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway), Ephesians 2:10 (here @ Bible Gateway), and Hebrews 12:10 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway) – just glanced back at the journal and two of those passages are written out after what I wrote with a third, Ephesians 1:4 (here @ Bible Gateway).
What comforted us, what settled us, was the certain knowledge that the things that the Lord brought into our lives were intentional. They were intended to shape us, to mold us, to equip us for the tasks He had prepared for us.
That was and is informed by studies we have done on God’s sovereignty and God’s love. For us, those two attributes of God were an anchor through some very difficult times. Reflecting on this, it occurs to me that we need to equip our children both physical and spiritual with the certain knowledge of both God’s sovereignty and love.
It seems to me that is what will equip them to navigate the painfully difficult paths of this life.
I was reading through the entries in March. Two months after my dad passed away and seven days prior to the birth of our fourth granddaughter. Her mother had just been readmitted into MD Anderson, she was getting aggressive chemo, and we were in prayer for her and for the baby, not knowing how any of this was going to play out.
It was a hard, emotionally difficult and draining time.
I wrote, “He only takes us through that which makes us more like His Son and equips us for what He has us to do.”
As I read and write that, three passages come to mind. Psalm 139:3 (here @ Bible Gateway), Ephesians 2:10 (here @ Bible Gateway), and Hebrews 12:10 – 11 (here @ Bible Gateway) – just glanced back at the journal and two of those passages are written out after what I wrote with a third, Ephesians 1:4 (here @ Bible Gateway).
What comforted us, what settled us, was the certain knowledge that the things that the Lord brought into our lives were intentional. They were intended to shape us, to mold us, to equip us for the tasks He had prepared for us.
That was and is informed by studies we have done on God’s sovereignty and God’s love. For us, those two attributes of God were an anchor through some very difficult times. Reflecting on this, it occurs to me that we need to equip our children both physical and spiritual with the certain knowledge of both God’s sovereignty and love.
It seems to me that is what will equip them to navigate the painfully difficult paths of this life.
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