blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry,
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets
(matthew 6:20-26).
blessed when we suffer and laugh in Christ. suffering got nothing on us. yet i realize that the past "suffering" has been a means of sanctification in my life. had i not gone to Christ i would have been surely destroyed. but oh how He exhorts to turn to the Cross.
i have accomplished very little work these past two days. suffering from both a severe bout of indifference, laziness..yet profound peace at times. i was excited to go to the bookstore but i realized i am not as crazy about books as i used to be. perhaps it's just a phase.
but..yeah. its kind of crazy. i am caught up in this "sacred romance" and it makes me virtually indifferent to almost everything around me but when i just get into the normal habit of living it is no longer good enough. i have experienced how the Holy Spirit fills me and gives me such ungraspable and inexplicable joy.
yet life at times is in the valleys and ruts and that is where jesus meets with us and mourns with us. both in the high and low places. he heals us in our most broken moments and welcomes us with love and grace.
the future is SO uncertain right now. you have no idea. but i also am resisting worrying and trying to trust that God has good things planned for me. even though it might not be ideal by earthly standards.
so much joy and freedom in Christ. i have also just appreciated a proliferation and depth of and in relationships i never experienced before. life suddenly seems to be more about grades. now they just seem like random superficial letters.
life seems soo good. God is so gracious and life is precious. every day just seems like an amazing gift from the Lord. it's interesting how i have also been just sleeping sooooooooooo much. i slept perhaps 12-13 hours today. for absolutely no reason. it's as though i am just more relaxed in general.
i am so much less sensitive to the gazes of others, the judgement of others. i am only concerned with pleasing my commanding officer. it might sound like laziness at times in regard to not working, but i have been discovering profound rest in the Lord. that He calls us also to not just run to and fro but also enjoy and savor life.
although i am still so far from being perfected, i am starting to realize that even in suffering God is purifying me and making me more like Him. i know life can be interrupted at any time from the coming of my King and i should be more alert..
how gracious is God and how vast is the universe we live in. how vast is each individual person. i just pray i just pray i just pray that He will have mercy on my soul and continuously pour out His blessings and goodness upon me. even as they seem to cease i know that God is faithful..i just pray that i will remain strong in the faith and run the race with perseverance...all the way toward and through the tape...
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