May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace. May our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce. May our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields. May our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing. May there be no cry of distress in our streets! Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! (Verses 13-15)
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on high places. Habakkuk 3
Naghmeh Abedini spoke up recently about life without her husband, Saeed, who is languishing in an Iranian prison because he is a Christian. It's been two years now that she and her children have been without their husband and father. Every day she wakes up without him, a single mom who knows her husband is suffering. But the astounding thing is that she has found a fearless faith in this situation. When Saeed was sent to the exile prison, Naghmeh cried out to God, "Why, Lord? Why is he in this place where he is tortured with murderers and other hard core criminals?" Then she heard of the reports of prisoners coming to Christ. "It was worth it, then," she said. "Even if one person came to Christ through Saeed's suffering, it's worth the price we pay."
When Naghmeh came to Christ, she said if this is true, the life changing power of Jesus, then she was willing to give her life for it. Though she isn't in prison with her husband, she is paying the price with him in her loneliness and grief. What she said she has learned from suffering, though, is that when things are not going as we hope, when the fields look dried up and prosperity seems to vanish, it is then we discover how much we need to be attached to Jesus. Freed from fear, Naghmeh said she found herself attached to the Vine, the Source of life, and she knows now how to connect to that source of strength. If she feels down, she doesn't stay there. She knows how to run to Jesus for life support. "We thrive in the storms. We must dig deeper in the suffering and when we do we find Him there." In the eye of the storm. Her husband is missing birthdays and Christmases, but our lives are short, and if our lives are spent in glorifying God, then it's worth it to both of them.
It should be easier to rejoice in God and not be afraid when our cupboards are full, our car is in the garage, our clothes are up to date and our children are thriving. We all want our sons to be wise and strong, men of courage and integrity even when they are young. Our daughters should grow up with dignity and grace, lovely enough to be pillars in a cathedral. But the reality for many of us is a different story. And when all is good and life rocks along in our prosperity, it is often then we actually forget our need for God. Our singular destiny to proclaim the wonder of His grace and power in our lives. For the Abedini family, life is pared down to trust. The choice is to despair and fall apart or to nourish their hearts and lives with the absolutely necessary sap from the Vine. Food that sinks our roots deeper and deeper into solid ground, like trees planted by a river. We become oaks of righteousness because we need living water.
We are blessed both ways. When God chooses to fatten our flocks and bless our family. When God chooses to pour us out in offering. When things hold together or when things fall apart. It's easy to think that life is all about our own personal happiness so that we doubt God when things go wrong. But it is in Jesus we rejoice because He is our eternal portion, now and later, in every season. It is our privilege to, with fervent intent, take joy from its Source and trust in the One Who is our ultimate salvation.
Indeed we felt we had received a death sentence. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on high places. Habakkuk 3
Naghmeh Abedini spoke up recently about life without her husband, Saeed, who is languishing in an Iranian prison because he is a Christian. It's been two years now that she and her children have been without their husband and father. Every day she wakes up without him, a single mom who knows her husband is suffering. But the astounding thing is that she has found a fearless faith in this situation. When Saeed was sent to the exile prison, Naghmeh cried out to God, "Why, Lord? Why is he in this place where he is tortured with murderers and other hard core criminals?" Then she heard of the reports of prisoners coming to Christ. "It was worth it, then," she said. "Even if one person came to Christ through Saeed's suffering, it's worth the price we pay."
When Naghmeh came to Christ, she said if this is true, the life changing power of Jesus, then she was willing to give her life for it. Though she isn't in prison with her husband, she is paying the price with him in her loneliness and grief. What she said she has learned from suffering, though, is that when things are not going as we hope, when the fields look dried up and prosperity seems to vanish, it is then we discover how much we need to be attached to Jesus. Freed from fear, Naghmeh said she found herself attached to the Vine, the Source of life, and she knows now how to connect to that source of strength. If she feels down, she doesn't stay there. She knows how to run to Jesus for life support. "We thrive in the storms. We must dig deeper in the suffering and when we do we find Him there." In the eye of the storm. Her husband is missing birthdays and Christmases, but our lives are short, and if our lives are spent in glorifying God, then it's worth it to both of them.
It should be easier to rejoice in God and not be afraid when our cupboards are full, our car is in the garage, our clothes are up to date and our children are thriving. We all want our sons to be wise and strong, men of courage and integrity even when they are young. Our daughters should grow up with dignity and grace, lovely enough to be pillars in a cathedral. But the reality for many of us is a different story. And when all is good and life rocks along in our prosperity, it is often then we actually forget our need for God. Our singular destiny to proclaim the wonder of His grace and power in our lives. For the Abedini family, life is pared down to trust. The choice is to despair and fall apart or to nourish their hearts and lives with the absolutely necessary sap from the Vine. Food that sinks our roots deeper and deeper into solid ground, like trees planted by a river. We become oaks of righteousness because we need living water.
We are blessed both ways. When God chooses to fatten our flocks and bless our family. When God chooses to pour us out in offering. When things hold together or when things fall apart. It's easy to think that life is all about our own personal happiness so that we doubt God when things go wrong. But it is in Jesus we rejoice because He is our eternal portion, now and later, in every season. It is our privilege to, with fervent intent, take joy from its Source and trust in the One Who is our ultimate salvation.
Indeed we felt we had received a death sentence. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1
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