Promises..

God has been so incredibly faithful and I wanted to share with you how much He loves each one of us! He cares about every detail of your lives and is continually working toward are good; yes, including the struggles and trials you are currently enduring. Recently, I heard a pastor discuss endurance, and his take really encouraged me. He pointed out that Paul said we're to rejoice in our suffering (uh, that's not the encouraging part!), but that suffering was only the 1st part of a 4 part process.

1. Suffering 2. perseverance 3. character 4. hope

It's a journey, not a permanent position, but a road to take you to the land of hope! Much more desirable than the suffering part! I, like all of us, have gone through my fair share of suffering, in fact, I don't believe it has to be an extreme traumatic event in order to qualify as suffering (although trauma of course is suffering), but life in general includes a variety of circumstances that requires a certain amount of suffering. I can think of times when I feel rejected or abandoned; times when I am discouraged and uncertain; times when I cannot imagine how I'm going to pay off this debt or pay for my groceries; this too is a type of suffering. However, we know that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance - character, and character - hope.

I am focused lately on the character aspect of this process; and find I often fall exceedingly short. Times when life 'bumps' me and out spills some kind of ugly that I want to blame on the bump... but alas, it is all me. So, I rejoice (ha ha) in the knowledge there is a part of my character (I'm sure many parts, but He knows I can only handle one at a time!), He is going to purify. Is the journey fun? No, not really, but there are moments of great revelation and excitement as He begins to unfold the woman He created me to be. So, I can rejoice in knowing that while He refines this particular character flaw, I gain ground, getting one step closer to the vision He has for my life. And that my sisters, is extremely hopeful!!
Be encouraged,
Lisa