dinner and faith

Friends Tony and Patti came over for dinner. For convenience we augmented some pre-made frozen stir-fry chicken with our own fresh garden veggies. Dante' made fabulous home-made bread and I managed to coax just a little more lettuce from the dwindling garden supply. Tony and Patti are rock-solid in their faith. It was a pleasure to fellowship with them.

Afterwards, I was looking at my Women's Study Bible and came across a page that answers questions a lot of non-Christians have about God. I'll copy it here because it is worthy of note:

GOD ANSWERS DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

"Where was God when this happened to me?"- He was there. He sees Everything(Proverbs 15:3)

"Didn't He care?"- Yes and He still does(Nahum1:7)(1 Peter 5:6-7)

"How could a loving God allow this to happen?"-God gave His creation freedom of choice.He did not make His people like puppets.(Deuteronomy 30:15-20)

"Does the Lord understand how I feel?"- yes, more than anyone else. (Isaiah 53:3)(Hebrews 4:15)

"Is recovery possible?"-With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)
Yes, He wants to bring healing to you. (Jeremiah 17:14)

"How can be healed?"- Trust God to be faithful to His word (Psalm 18:25)

"Where do I begin?"- God hears you, confess your hurt. (Psalm 34:17-18)
Give your hurt to Him. (1 Peter 5:7)
Forgive the one who has grieved you(Colossians 3:13)

"Isn't forgiveness difficult?"- Yes, but what God commands of you, He will equip you to do.(1 Thessalonians 5:24)
Realize that God has forgiven you.(Ephesians 4:32)

"Then what do I do?"- Don't take revenge. God will deal with that violator. (Romans 12:19)
Let Go. Move on with life.(Isaiah 43:18-19)
Look for the Good that will come out of the bad. (Romans 8:28)

"When will I heal?"- Healing of deep hurt takes time. (Ecclesiastes 3:3)
It is a process of :
Facing the harm (Psalm 51:6)
Acknowledging your feelings (Ecclesiastes 4:8)
Applying God's truth from His word (Psalm 107:20)

So there it is. Just in the process of typing this out I felt a fresh burst of faith and peace. It convicted me also, of the hurts in my life that I have not trusted to Him.

Before I go to bed, let me leave you with this:

"For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah, 29:11

Those are some of the most comforting words I have ever heard. I wish you all the same peace.

love,
-EJ