Faith...

God has taken our family on an adventure this past week. Though it usually didn't feel that way inside my head. It usually looked like anxiety or fear or hopelessness.

We had our power go out on Saturday night; but it didn't just go out, it was cycling in and out and around the house. First it was the bathroom, then the kitchen, then the phone, etc. It was rather interesting...

Then it got better, we figured out that if we ran our dryer on high we could have power to the whole house - that is of course until the dryer stopped. But the problem with that was the dryer had no heat, so in the process of having power we couldn't get our laundry dried. :)

We had our energy guys out to check things, the phone company reconnect our line and an electritian come; and after 7 days we are finally back to normal.

In the midst of all this my heart was very heavy. I was in tears more than once. I was unable to shake the hopeless feelings at times or feeling overwhelmed because I was unable to reach out for help. My faith was, and still is, quite small.

But God is great, and good. He used 3 specific things to help me through this. And tho' I am not over these feelings quite yet, I have these to fall back on as a reminder of God still being in control and loving me.

The first was Job 5:18-21:

For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.

I looked back at everything, and if we could count all the troubles in our path they might have added up to 6 or 7. This gave me hope that he would deliver us and keep us from evil.

The second was Philippians 3:13-14:

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

This was God's reminder to me to look ahead. The power would be fixed; I would be able one day to stay in touch with the outside world. My life would be normal again in a little while. But mostly, it reminded me that His return is coming soon and I will be with him again. Then the fear and worry and hopelessness would never come back. I could look forward to that!

Lastly, God used a cloud to show me his power.  I spent 5 minutes staring at the back of the clouds that took the tornadoes thru' our area and was awestruck with how big, grand and powerful they were. If he could keep those 3 tornadoes away from my home then He Who Rides the Clouds had everything in control and in his hand.

Lord, I still fear and am tense with everything. But you have seen us thru' these struggles. Help me to hope in you. Help me to trust you when more troubles come. I believe; help my unbelief. In Jesus' name, Amen.