Power-filled positive living-Chapter 17B-Hope and Joy in the Midst of Tragedy
Hope that rises out of tears. Joy that sustains in the midst of tragedy. Strength that arises in the midst of pain. A spark of glory that shines through the darkness. All that sounds like fairy tales when you are in the midst of suffering. Ahh, my dear friends and readers; how, I wish I could take your heavy, wounded hearts and hold you close so I could tell you, “It really is going to be ok.” God has a plan for your good, for your joy and all of heaven is at work to bring that to pass. How can I be so certain and where is the proof to calm your weary soul? My certainty? It comes from having seen the mighty hand of God reach out to this frightened, weary soul in the midst of tragedy. I have seen His light of Glory shine through the veils of my own tears to lift my spirit to soar on heights beyond my greatest dreams through it all. I can tell you with assurance that God will calm the storm in your heart only because I have been in that storm many times. Isn’t that what Paul also said? Look again at 2 Corinthians 6 very closely. “in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” The proof of Paul’s ministry was the strength, hope, love and joy to keep proclaiming the name of Christ in the midst of persecution, afflictions, and sorrow.
Oh, I don’t want pain, trials and sufferings; but, I have come to recognize that my Sovereign and Gracious Heavenly Father only allows the trials on the pilgrimage journey so as to bring ultimate joy, hope, faith, and glory to my life. I have learned that He allows me to even fail at times so that I might see Him clearer and be filled with the awe and wonder of His magnificent beauty.
My own journey through many tragedies has lead me to understand that God allows these pains and trials in our lives for 5 reasons.
1. Sometimes God allows tragedy, so that we might know Him. A close, personal relationship with God is the greatest treasure that we could ever have. He knows that nothing on this earth can fill that void in our heart apart from Him. “Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desparate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.”
― Joni Eareckson Tada
2. Sometimes it is necessary to rip the counterfeit joys from my hands so that I might find the only true joy; which is God’s presence in me. Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”
― Joni Eareckson Tada, The God I Love
3. Sometimes it is for the good of the kingdom. As I said earlier, would I have any credibility in telling you to trust in God through tragedy had I not also walked through and still walk through tragedies in my own life? I once said and still do, is there any pain or suffering too great to endure for the salvation of one soul? This life is but a split second compared to eternity. If I suffered a lifetime of pain so that one soul through watching my joy and faith in the midst of pain comes to know Christ, isn’t it worth it? Their eternity changed because of my momentary suffering? “Jesus went without comfort so that you might have it. He postponed joy so that you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so that you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow. He had no real fellowship so that fellowship might be yours, this moment. This alone is enough cause for great gratitude!”
― Joni Eareckson Tada
4. Sometimes failures and trials come so as to sift the darkness out from within my own human heart. In the midst of trials, I can see the true selfishness of my own heart—the whining, petty desires within me. The hate filled remarks that spew from my own sin filled heart become so much more evident in the midst of trials. There is where I begin to recognize how truly amazing is the grace of God. “God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. “
― Joni Eareckson Tada, Pain and Providence
5. Sometimes it is to grow our faith and always it is to bring us to a place of peace, joy, and hope as only we can find while abiding in the love of Christ. “…we will stand amazed to see the topside of the tapestry and how God beautifully embroidered each circumstance into a pattern for our good and His glory.”
― Joni Eareckson Tada
This I know, like Paul so ably said, “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)
I encourage you to listen to this song Through All of It
©2015 Effie Darlene Barba
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