Gaining Perspective
by Annalene Holtzhausen
"Your journey until now is the perfect journey for the song God has planned for you". Upon hearing these words recently I was stopped in my tracks. How can this be? So many hardships come our way, and so many prayers seem unanswered. Sometimes it feels as if we`ve tried so hard to trust, believe and persevere, but opposition keeps coming. And then we fall into the trap of comparing our lives to those of others, and all we notice is that their lives seem to be working out perfectly! We ask what we`re doing wrong and why God isn`t helping us? Does He really care, and is He aware of us? How long will we have to walk this difficult road ?
But if we go back to the Bible, we`ll see that the Lord says we`ll experience hardships, and being a Christian doesn`t guarantee a problem-free life. If we look at Paul`s life and the hardships he (and almost everyone else in the Bible) endured, we gain a better perspective on our own lives. Unfortunately we tend to allow the images we see in social media paint a picture of what life is about. But we only see the outside images, the ones that people allow us to see. And that`s never the whole story. All these outside influences eventually allow discouragement to sink into our hearts, and we tend to withdraw from God.
God teaches us in His Word that there is a proper time for all things to happen. We can`t control our lives or even attempt to explain God`s ways in human terms. All He asks is for us to trust Him, to wait patiently, and to endure opposition, with our eyes focussed on Him. When we look away from Him, we focus on the world and our vision becomes blurred. We become disgruntled, discouraged and miserable. What we should never forget, is that opposition makes us stronger.
God has a perfect plan for our lives, so let`s rest in the knowledge that Paul shares with us in Romans 8:38. `And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God`s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God`s love`.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love` (Romans 5:3-5).
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You that You love me unconditionally. Thank You that You understand my fears and insecurities. Please strengthen my faith and my inner man, so that no form of opposition will discourage me. I submit to You and Your plan for my life. I rejoice in the fact that You`ve engraved my name in the palm of Your hands. I rest in Your will and love. Amen.
Annalene Holtzhausen is on the Associate Team at Ellel, Africa. She is married to Renier, who introduced her to Ellel Ministries. She is a full-time mother to their two boys. Her passion is for the restoration of women’s hearts and for people to find their worth in the Lord.
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