It Has Been In God's Hands...All Along

Greetings Everybody,
Got a photo for you to take a look at.
I took this picture a few years ago on the Island of Molokai.

The Mountains in the background are covered in rainclouds.
And the rainclouds were rolling in to where we were.


This is such a soft and lovely landscape and it is one of my favorites photo's.


Everything is muted.
Everything is peaceful.
Tranquility!


The day I took this shot, it didn't take long for the rain to catch up with us.
In fact, right afterwards I had to put my camera away so it wouldn't get wet.


I can close my eyes and see the scene just as it was that day.
But before I lose all track of time in a Hawaiian Daydream, let me bring you to the reason I showed you the picture.


Now if you recall, I mentioned at the start of this entry that the photo was taken on Molokai, which is one of the Hawaiian Islands.


And if you recall, those islands were born of volcanic activity under the sea.  
They literally rose up out of the Pacific Ocean
...courtesy of a significant geographical bit of underwater power called The Ring of Fire.


Before those islands were what we see today, we would NOT have wanted to be in that area. 


It would have been a place of Turbulence with a capital T.
Lots of pressure and clash and instability...not to mention the red hot molten lava.


Still...when all that molten lava cooled...and enough time passed...the scene above appeared. It just took us a while to find it lol.


Time has a way of changing everything.


And I suspect that somewhere in this post is the kernel of a great message for us all that goes like this:


Even during the times of my life when there is  
Turbulence with a capital T.
Times with lots of pressure and clash and instability...or when tempers flow like red hot molten lava...


We need to remember that each situation is in God's Hands.
And it has BEEN in God's Hands...All Along.


He makes all things beautiful in HIS time.
All we have to do is wait and watch.
Scripture tells us that if we seek, we will find.


"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you."
Matthew 7:7


I believe that if we intently seek His Peace and Tranquility we will find it...even in the midst of our own Turbulence.


In Him,
Grace

Friends

Greetings Everybody,
Got something on my heart today.

Do you remember these song lyrics by Michael W. Smith? 


         "Friends are friends forever if The Lord's the LORD of them."
             
There is wisdom in those words, real wisdom.

I recently visited with a friend whom I haven't spent time with in a long while.
We met and talked for many hours.
We are both Christians, and because we are, we have common bonds that connect us.
We play by the same rules.
We live by the same standards.
We understand each other.
We laughed and cried and hugged and shared and were keenly aware that despite the time of absence from each other, the friendship is still very much alive.

Her path has been difficult in recent years.

Have you noticed that some folks seem to get the "gentle scenic drive" in life, while others get a life path that is more like a "slippery mountain road with dangerous curves and sheer-cliff edges"?

Interestingly enough, she doesn't ask "Why Me?"

It does not matter to my friend that some people don't seem to have struggles (while her life is so difficult), because she knows that she has access to Strength and Power beyond her own comprehension.

God is her strong right hand.

Psalm 118:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ The LORD’s right hand is lifted high;
   the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
   and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

I can not tell you why some folks get the easy path and some folks get the hard one.

But I can tell you that when Christians endure hardship, and in so doing, turn to God's Strong Right Hand for their strength,... they grow.
Their faith gets stronger.
They sink deeper spiritual roots.
They begin to personify The Fruits of the Spirit.
They increase in wisdom and stature in The Lord.

And they become equipped to help other people.

If mountains are created by deep earth pressure pushing techtonic plates around...
If diamonds are created by intense heat...
Then we can see that in nature, pressure and intensity can create great beauty and value.

It's the same in the life of a Christian.

I have known many Christians who have endured great spiritual pressure and intensity.
And those who turned completely to God seemed to gain a beautiful and valuable patina on their souls.

They became wise.
They became gentle.
They drew closer to God and in the process were transformed.

My friend is already spiritually beautiful and spiritually valuable.
And I for one, can't wait to see how God will use her "spiritually spit-shined self"
in His Kingdom and to His Glory!

In Him,
Grace