Ceasin' The Seasin' Of Grievin'

When I see wreckage, You see salvage.

When the river runs, You out run the river.

When I face trouble of various kinds, You say count it all as joy.

When they come against me, You say pray for your enemies.

As another year winds down to an end, some of us can still be found in the grip of hopelessness. When 2021 rolled into town, we all had high hopes and aspirations that some how things would be different. After all they should be…right?

A fresh start, a new year and a change in the calendar. Is it merely a facade on paper? After all, tangible change and progress remains stagnant if our hope remains off kilter.

Some of us are going through unbearable circumstances. Some of us welcomed 2021 with bad news, disappointment, let downs and the same old things 2020 left behind. It’s no wonder the Christmas season is paradoxically the most wonderful time of the year for some, and nothing but a shear nightmare for others.

If your heart seems to be in a constant state of grieving, you are certainly not alone and you are certainly seen by God. Nothing comes as a surprise to Him. Nothing is breaking news to Him. Nothing catches Him off guard. Rest in the reassurance that He has a good plan for your life and although the situation looks relentless, we can be confident that the increase in our growth and maturity usually comes from dark, and dirty places. These are the places where we are being stretched and have to rely fully on God. It’s what ignites our faith and puts more hope in the gas tank.

After all, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

The opening statements in this blog post are bold sentiments to think about. God usually tells us to do the opposite of what we want or think we ought to do and that’s where we can find our faith and hope beginning to crumble. Grief or loss has many hats and is not only limited to physical death. Some of us experience the loss of a job, friends, relationships, peace, security and more. My friend, don’t let grieving steal your confidence in Christ or pin God as a not-so- loving Father. Show loss you’re the boss, with the hope of the cross!

As 2021 starts to wind down, we pray for continued revelation and conviction of God’s Word over your life and may 2022 be welcomed with whatever God has in mind for you!

And so, we leave you with this Word,

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).