Friends
Friends are precious parts of our life. The older I get, the more I realize that. I have always been one that values my friends, but as time passes that value seems to increase. There is sort of an allegiance, a bond, a connection. I have a feeling that God meant for those folks to be my friends.
In just talking with some of my friends, I find that just about every one of them has some sort of issue in their life, a thing that brings them heartache, spiritual exhaustion, and stress. Struggles ranging from personal issues and issues with family to physical problems and problems with employment. My heart breaks. From reading my blogs, you can see that I have my issues. Those grow dim when I encounter the struggles of a friend. When I was a Salvation Army officer, I would often say that I was a preacher by trade and a pastor by heart. My trade definitely has changed, but my heart hasn't.
In my humanness, I question God. "Why do they have to go through this?" I know the answer just as you do. God has reminded me that He allows me to struggle so that I will become reliant on Him. So for the same reason they struggle. Paula's dad said, in the midst of family disaster, that 1) God is always God, 2) God is always right, and 3) God never makes a mistake. This amazing truth has gotten me through quite a bit of things. This we shared with our people as officers and we share with our friends today.
Another truth that Paula and I have learned came from our counselor. I will leave you with that. He said, "When God's will pulls me in a direction of difficulty, my prayer to God is simply, 'Your will, Your peace.'" My friends who are reading, if you find yourself struggling within His will, ask for His peace.
Wayne
@
10:34 AM
v
v
