The truth be told, we want easy. We often say, "We want your will LORD" while in our hearts we think, "Surely your will is to bless me." We prefer to coast along in ease and happiness. We believe a loving God would want to shower us with "good". And He does. The thing is: His blessings often come disguised in hard things.
Today a friend of mine died to this life. She lived well. She died well. She suffered much. For over forty years Janet struggled with her health. She experienced pain ongoing. It wasn't easy. It was hard! But it was in these struggles that she drew closer to the LORD. She did not become bitter or angry. She did not grumble and complain. No, she chose a better way. She was gentle, kind and prayerful. She chose to rely more heavily upon the LORD. She relied on His strength and His truth more than her feelings. She was humble, yet strong, so strong. Her strength came from the LORD.
In the last weeks of her life she lied in a hospital bed waiting on impending death; waiting to meet the Savior she'd served and relied so heavily on. She asked why she was still here and wondered aloud at what HE had for her to accomplish each of her last days. She knew He wasn't done with her yet.
She was assured that He was in complete control. She took every opportunity to tell of His goodness; to give Him glory and point others to Him even from her hospital bed. She didn't waste a breath. She was intentional. She gave life giving words. She didn't fear the future. Yes, she hated to say goodbye to her loved ones left behind. But she eagerly awaited seeing face to face the One with whom, through both hardship and joy, she had developed a true relationship.
Janet didn't have an easy life. But it was in those struggles that she developed her
faith muscles. It was in them that she developed perseverance. It was in them that she had an opportunity to set a beautiful real life example of "To live is Christ, to die is gain" (Phil 1:21).
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
We often think we want easy. We want to be spiritually mature, lacking nothing, but we don't want the testing and trials that seem to get us there. Just like a teenager or 20 something desires the nice cars, homes and cash flow his parents and grandparents worked for years to attain. It takes doing the "next right thing" to get there. It doesn't usually come easy. It takes time and effort, patience and endurance. It's often hard.
I don't know how many times I've written this. I say it again and again because I'm preaching it to myself. God did not promise us easy! In fact, He said we
will face trials. We live in a broken, fallen, sinful world. It's not a matter of
if we will face tough times, it's a matter of
when.
Isaiah 43:2 says,
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
See, He didn't promise us that we wouldn't go through tough times, maybe even for a long time. He
did promise He would go with us; protecting us, strengthening us. Then, as we see Him work, our faith will grow.
When I consider all of this I can honestly say I don't want easy. I want to endure the hard stuff with joy and faith. To set my eyes on things above. To finish strong! I want to be more like Janet. Because being more like Janet means being more like Jesus.
"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life (eternal purpose) to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses."
I Timothy 6:13
I'm thankful Janet endured. She fought a good fight for the faith. I'm thankful she pointed me, and many others, to Jesus. She was a great example and will be greatly missed. Yet, what a joy and comfort to know she is in Heaven now; in the presence of our Beloved Savior. She's completely whole, free from pain and sickness. She received the ultimate healing! Thank you, LORD, for answered prayers and for the life you gave Janet...both earthly and eternal!
