The Waiting Continues...

Well the waiting continues as I have not heard anything regarding my situation! My prayer (and I hope you will join me in praying for this) is that I will have a positive resolution by the end of this week. Regardless of what happens though, as I have mentioned repeatedly, I am relying wholly upon the Lord my God to carry me through all of this. You know how there are times when we begin to wonder how God even puts up with us? Well throughout this whole personal trial, I have learned that we are so blessed to have a God of infinite love for His elect! If I had to put up with someone like myself, and I had the power to cast them into hell...well all I can say is praise God that it is He who holds us in His hands! Amen? :)

My wife and I have held so many discussions about what the Lord wants us to learn from this trial that He has brought our way...and one thing I know He has taught us both is that there is so much comfort from knowing that everything is in His hands. The whole situation has made us see God at work in every part of our lives. No man may condemn me or justify me unless it is His will that it be done...therefore my only fear is that I fail to stand firm for His Truths in all of this. He is a Just and Perfect God and I will serve no other, by His grace!

I have been sharing lately how I am doing, and I reassure my reader(s) that I am well. Better, in fact, and oddly enough, than I have ever been in my life. Why is that? Because I am in the one place where I know I need to be...safely in His arms. Not only has He encouraged me through His recent merciful act, but also through His precious Word and through the love and support of friends and family. Furthermore, I have finally realized how important it is to let go of all selfish ambition and focus on the study of His Truth! However much time I have left upon this world, I want to make sure that I study hard so that I may teach others. Especially, I want to be able to lead my family according to His teachings. I want my sons to see me and know that I serve the True and Living God. May my actions never make a liar of my words...may my life always be an example to them...may they serve the Lord all the days of their lives. This last one, especially, is the one I pray for every day. Two of my sons are in their teens...facing the challenges that are common to men; God grant that when they emerge from this turbulent period of life, that their faith is strong, their character built up, and their hunger and thirst for righteousness ravenous! O what tears of joy my wife and I will shed to see them established as men of God!

As for my personal study, well I am reading through Song of Solomon so I don't know that I should really share very much! (ha ha!)

Okay, seriously though, I'm going to share from Ecclesiastes! I read this passage Saturday night and you will all recognize it because I think it's even been made into a song...

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, And a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, And a time to laugh; a time to mourn, And a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, And a time to lose; a time to keep, And a time to throw away; a time to tear, And a time to sew; a time to keep silence, And a time to speak; a time to love, And a time to hate; a time of war, And a time of peace."
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything...and there are periods in our lives when we will weep tears of pain and of frustration. This time is upon my family now, as it has been for the last few weeks. But o what a comfort to know that God is with me! What a comfort to know that He has a time for laughter in store for us! It may not be tomorrow, it may not be this week...but that time is coming when He will pick me up and hold me, and wipe away those tears. By His grace, I will never be the same as I was before I began to shed these tears. I will cling to my God all the days of my life!