and it came to pass.....

I am a little amused. Although I must admit it isn't funny, and yet, it made me smile. I read my son's blog just now before heading over to my blog. I understand, ironically, what he went through last night because I, at times, will lay there awake with the same thoughts. Beating myself up, sometimes.

But yet, I smile. Why? Because his last comments, directed at me, stated "RM, I don't need a speech".... and I won't give him one. And because of what I got in my devotions this morning.

I started reading Job this morning. Not that I selected it specificially, but in my daily readings, that is what came up for today. Job, chapter 1, verse 1: 'There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.' As the story goes, Satan came to visit God one day and God brought to Satan's attention Job. vs 8: Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"

And, as you know, Satan brought adversity upon Job, killed his children, had his livestock stolen, and other things. Then God gave permission for Satan to inflict Job - and painful boils came upon his body. Job's wife told him to curse God, but Job refused. Job would respond, 'The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away'. And as we all know, Job prevailed in his faith and God held him accountable.

There is a limit to adversity. It will come to an end. My mother would always say, "Well, this too shall pass....." (or would tell me, "Honey, pray for them, they need prayer".)

One woman said her favorite Bible phrase is "and it came to pass." She said, "Just think - it came to pass. It didn't come to stay!"

Remember that today's troubles are just that; today's troubles. A season of trouble is just that; a season of trouble. Crisis pass. Circumstances change. Situations evolve. God works in and through adversity to bring it to an end, according to His timetable.

Job 2:10 - "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" If God is sovereign, and if He loves us, then we must believe that nothing reaches us without first passing through His omnipotent hands.

Sometimes we all go through tough times. Sleepless nights. Sickness. Disease. Death. Job loss. Financial difficulties. Children difficulties. The list goes on. We just pray that we escape the tough parts of life - but sometimes we get them anyway.

But we can believe that if God has allowed it (definitely without OUR permission), He will walk with us through the valley. The thoughts that torment us through the darkness of night, don't seem quite as acute in the light of the day. The Lord is with you even when things look like they are against you, because God is looking at where He is taking you, not where you are. Trust Him. But the thoughts have come for a reason.

Write that letter, make that phone call. Don't live with regrets. For though you think YOU are going through tough times, you have no idea what the other person is going through. Your pain does not equal their pain. Your opinion of situations does not equal their opinion of situations.

Forgive. Make amends. Renew friendships. Don't keep living in the past (after all, 'this too shall pass'...)or what might have been. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What are you going to do with it?

Blessings!