It Happens on the Inside

Had to be reminded today that God is at work whether we can tell it or not.  I find myself thinking and praying, "God, you promised, why aren't you..." In the midst of working to accomplish what He's called us  to do if He's not working fast enough I tend to get frustrated.  And frustration often leads to asking yourself, "did I misunderstand what God wanted me to do?"  "If you're not going to provide here God I may just give up."

And it feels like our enemy, The Devil has launched a full-on attack.  Personality conflicts, threats, difficult questions, difficult people, difficult situations and there's no easy answer for any of it.  Like Satan has built a wall around us and is only letting that which has destructive possibilities through his blockade.  Whatever God has already planned for us seems to have been hijacked and taken in a different direction.

On the outside it appears that very little is working like it needs to.  And that means that on the inside I am terrified.  Worried.  Second guessing every decision and seeking a way to compensate for God's apparent lack of involvement.

But I came across this little encouragement in my Bible reading this morning, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

We see that even when everything on the outside seems to be falling apart God is always at work!  If it's not visible it's invisible because God's promise is that He will never sleep, so He's always working.  And that work He does is making new life, unfolding grace within us so that we will be able to weather any storm because the troubles and difficulties of this life are insignificant when compared to His abundance.  Good times are coming.  There is hope, even in the midst of trouble so I will NEVER give up and what is unseen now will be what lasts forever.

Here's to hope in the midst of trouble, do you have it?
Only Jesus can provide it.