I once read a quote that said, "Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'." I certainly hope this is true, because I've been living by it!
Day (January) 23rd: "3 Gifts found in Christ"
1.) In keeping with the above quote, one of my favorite aspects of Christ are His new mercies every morning. I can have the longest day, and feel defeated at the end of it, yet still, in the morning, I am greeted by His sweet mercies, again and again. I love that He created us with the need for sleep! How exhausting would it be to simply keep going! I love the break in between long days, and the opportunity to awake to His love and mercy!
2 and 3.) Comfort, comfort, comfort. On Sunday night, my sweet friend and pastor shared with me comforting words from John 11 about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. First he shared that, "Because Jesus loved Mary and Martha, He waited." While Jesus could've healed Lazarus as soon as He was sick, and not allowed him to die, He did not! He waited. He waited, to show Mary and Martha His power and to bring Himself glory. I would also conclude that He waited in order for Mary and Martha to trust His sovereignty to an even greater degree.
I will admit, the thought that Christ allows us to go through pain on purpose is sometimes too much to bear, there are times it makes me angry and very frustrated. It's stories like that of Lazarus, however, that give me hope and encouragement. When I see examples of God's bigger purpose I can rest in the fact that this is not the end! He's not finished with me yet! So today, my second gift found in Christ, is His promise to see me through, and to continue His work in me until the day it is completed. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...
The second comforting fact from this story, and my third gift found in Christ, is that Jesus wept with Mary and Martha. He knew that in a few minutes he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, but He felt their pain and wept with them! I love this! The times when I've been most comforted and felt most loved my friends and family, is not when they've offered a solution or attempted words of comfort, but rather when they've simply felt my pain and cried with me. The times when I've felt the most comfort and even temporary relief from the pain, is when I can feel my Savior weep with me, the only One who truly knows our pain.
"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sin and griefs to bear".
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