CHANGES ARE AHEAD
Cambios Esperan Ud.
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Saturday, September 29, 2018
We often can't see the changes that are ahead. [Photographer: Shi Yali. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
Sometimes God's blessings don't feel like blessings because they are certainly not what we wanted at the time.
A prime example of this happened when I was 20 years old. I was a college student living at home with my widowed mother. When a man that we had known for years through our church became a widower, he began taking notice of Mother some months after his wife's death. A few months later, he proposed, and Mother accepted. After their marriage, I became his dependent because the legal age at that time was still twenty-one. However, his promises regarding me living with them amounted to nothing when he demanded that I pay him rent. That was impossible because, as a college student, I had little income. My world seemed to be falling apart! It took some doing, but I transferred to a less expensive school where I obtained financial aid. That's where I met my husband-to-be. Events that initially seemed disastrous led to long-term happiness.
Events that initially seem disastrous can lead to long-term happiness. [Photographer: Jack Moreh. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
Through the years, I have seen this pattern repeated: Things often appear to fall apart just before good events happen. I've seen it occur in the lives of other people as well as in my own. It is as though Satan knows better times are ahead so that he tries to defeat and depress us beforehand.
During such times, it is good to remember Philippians 4:11b-13, in which the Apostle Paul wrote from prison, "11) …For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12) I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (NKJV)
A few years after I had married, the Lord sent a missionary in a grocery store parking lot to quote those verses to me That was just after my husband's job took us from California, where property values were high, to New Mexico, where property values were much lower. Because we needed to purchase a house of equal value, we found ourselves in a large dwelling with a small amount of furniture and décor. Although my husband and I painted the walls before we moved in, it was like living in a barn because there were 14-foot ceilings in the front part of the house. Consequently, I felt overwhelmed. After learning these verses, the Lord showed us how to use that house to bless Him.
That period in our lives didn't last. Although we later moved to a smaller house, we have learned the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, "5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6) in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (NKJV)
We have learned that the Lord will always meet our needs through all our ups and downs as long as we trust Him and hold onto His Word. Our current difficulties may have come to pass, but, when we fully trust in the Lord, they haven't come to stay!
BiBLE VERSES FOR THiS POSTiNG
Philippians 4:11b-13 — "11) …For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12) I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (NKJV)
Filipenses 4:11b-13 — "11) …pues he aprendido a contentarme, cualquiera que sea mi situación. 12) Sé vivir humildemente, y sé tener abundancia; en todo y por todo estoy enseñado, así para estar saciado como para tener hambre, así para tener abundancia como padecer necesidad. 13) Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece." (Reina-Valera 1960)
Proverbs 3:5-6 — "5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6) in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (NKJV)
Proverbios 3:5-6 — "5) Fíate de Jehová de todo tu corazón, Y no te apoyes en tu propia prudencia. 6) Reconócelo en todos tus caminos, Y él enderezará tus veredas." (Reina-Valera 1960)
Confidence comes when we rely on the Lord's strength and ability instead of our own. [Photographer: DF Nature Awed. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
