Questions???

I was sitting on my porch swing today and enjoying the rain. I began to pose questions to the Lord. It went something like this:

Me: "Lord, what are you doing with me through this dark trial?"

Lord: no response

Me: "Lord, what are you showing people through me while I'm in this dark place?"

Lord: no response

Me: "Lord, what will your Kingdom look like when I come to the end of this long, dark journey?"

Lord: no response

It's not like I was really expecting a response, or even fishing for one, but I waited in between each question I posed, just in case He wanted to speak back. Finally, my last question came and I posed it with an answer of my own. It was as follows:

Me: "Lord, what will I look like at the end of this long, dark journey? I don't know exactly what I'll be but I'm beginning to see a glimpse of what I will look like and I like it."

The Lord is doing such a work in me. In all of us really. If we would just stop focusing on the negative. I know its not human nature to be in the foxhole in the middle of the battlefield and look around and say, "man, I will be so much better off when this is over." Its hard but that's exactly what we should be doing. My daughter asked me today, "why is it raining so much?" I said, "because in August we will be wishing it would rain again." She asked, "but why do we need the rain?" I said, "because without the rain, nothing grows." AMEN! That's good, even if I do say so myself. Without the rain in our lives, we cannot grow in Christ. All of these "battles" and hard times that come into our lives, only serve to make us better. I don't know when the end of this trial will come. I am finally beginning to catch a vision of the end. That doesn't mean I'll find a job next week or even next month. It may not even mean that we keep our home. We may end up losing everything and I have to work for minimum wage. I don't know. I only know that I told the Lord a long time ago that no matter what happens, I am not quitting or going back. Though he slay me, yet will I serve him. Whatever happens in the end, as long as I am what God makes me, everything will be okay. I'll leave it all up to him. I have to focus on what He is teaching me. I must be resilient to absorb every lesson He is wanting me to learn. Once this is accomplished, He can use me any way He sees fit in His Kingdom. Does that make sense? It does to me. Stay focused. Keep trusting IN Him and learning FROM Him and leaning ON Him. I don't know when it will happen but the end of my trial may be closer than I know. Yours may be too. It is of the utmost importance that He use us through our trials. Keep running the race.

LW