elevators and perseverance

Here they are: Matt and the other three Emmaus guys who are preparing to head for Jackson, Mississippi on Sunday! All four of them are very excited, and lunch-discussion has focused on little else. A Haitian previously traveling to the United States pointed out that elevators were terrifying to him his first trip. "You see this box, and someone gets in it. And then the doors close, and then they open again, and the person is GONE!" I can't wait to see the United States for the first time through their eyes. Matt will share their experiences with me and I'll do my best to pass them on!

Meanwhile, Lily and I are getting Daddy ready to go...these past weeks have been incredibly busy. We used to spend many evenings working just to keep up with everything, and now with Lily, we're getting very little done after supper :) A sacrifice we are grateful to make! Everyone that told us life would never be the same...life is never going to be the same!

One thing that hasn't gone out the window, however, is my devotional time, which is proving to be even more vital to my day now, working with less sleep and having someone so very dependent upon me for everything!

I'm working through "My Utmost for His Highest" by O. Chambers again, and the devotional from the 22nd spoke to the very heart of many of my daily concerns right now. There has been a situation in life that we've been baffled by, because we've been waiting and waiting for God to "take care of" an issue that to us seems quite simple to take care of! And recently, I've begun to doubt...thinking that either He is NOT going to take care this continually God dis-honoring situation, or that perhaps He is UNABLE to. (embarrassing to admit, I know...the boldness of mere men!)

Then comes Oswalt, reminding me that perseverance, of any kind, is a Discipline!

"Perseverance" he says, "Is more than endurance. It is more than just hanging on. Perseverance is endurance combined with absolute certainty that what we are looking for IS going to happen. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered.

"Our fear is that the very things our Lord Jesus stood for--love, justice, forgiveness and kindness among men--will NOT win out in the end. But work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will NEVER be defeated.

"If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. EVERY hope or dream of the human mind that is noble and of God WILL be fulfilled."

Don't know if you're going through something similar recently, but hope this encourages you...
What He stood for while He walked the earth He WILL stand for even now, in His perfect time!