“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Is.40:31
In this life, we simply cannot inoculate ourselves against pain and heartache. Whether its relationship difficulties, health issues, employment challenges, pain someone we love is experiencing, or flat out mental and emotional depression, many of us could use a little “soaring on eagle’s wings” right now.
In redeeming this world to Himself, Jesus desires each of us to not just know of Him and His ways, but to intimately know Him… And unfortunately for us (with our fallen human nature) this kind of intimacy with our Savior is generally realized in times of adversity and heartache rather than times of prosperity and pleasure. In 2Cor. 4:7-9; 16-18, Paul shares about his own trials: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day…Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
This week, Betsy celebrated a milestone birthday, and amidst all the “Betsy-story-telling”, family and friends were once again reminded that it’s been in high and low shared experiences (vs. isolated personal experiences) that we have forged the deepest bonds with one another and with God. And it’s been in the toughest times that we have grown the tightest and matured the most with one another and with Christ.
~~~ So, in honor of 2 milestone birthdays, Shaun took Betsy and son, Conner, for a small taste of ‘heavenly soaring’… (soaring to the likes of jumping out of an airplane that is!) ~What a thrill, and with no fear (no joke). We were so calm! Perhaps it was the fact that we didn’t actually jump and were pushed out of the plane J? No, we were without fear because our master jump instructors, Randy and Chris, seemed 100% confident and in control, and we chose to rely 100% on their expertise, implicitly following their instructions.
After the jump, we got to thinking…If we so readily entrusted our lives to two expert jump instructors, why do we ever question or fear ‘jumps of faith’ in life when our Expert Life Instructor is Jesus Christ Himself, Who IS in 100% confident and in 100% sovereign control? ~~Remember what Jesus said in John 16:33? “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” What confidence and hope this gives us!
Storms of life are going to happen, but it’s when we go through a storm utterly dependent upon Jesus, and not ourselves, that we overcome. And it’s in our ‘overcoming’ that we mature in character; we gain greater clarity on the purpose of this life’s “vapor”; we see Jesus in better HD; and God uses our “overcoming and enduring” experience as an illustration to encourage others in His body of believers, thus building unity within His church, and strength within it’s members (us!). Too cool.
So, God bless you this week as we determine to be “over-comers”, enduring to the end!
(Please feel free to join us for our final 2 weeks Proverbs 1-4 study… 3 international scholars joined us last week; what a joy!!!)
Much love,
Shaun and Betsy
