Struggle Management

Year 4-Day 105: Today, I am grateful for lessons in struggle management.

Sometimes, God does not remove our challenge or our struggle. He can... but sometimes it is not a part of His sovereign plan.  What if one man...or woman's struggle...starts a chain reaction that leads to more experiencing the saving grace of Jesus? Every life has a ripple effect. 

Think about it. That is one of the delights in the old testament.  From Joseph's night in a well, to managing the storehouses of grain in Egypt is a long story with undeserved years in jail as part of the story. Yes, a ripple effect. 

What about Moses...from a baby floating in the Nile River to the one who would lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt...there were plenty of struggles, but, oh, the ripple effect? 

Then, there is the widow Ruth with her depressed mother-in-law Naomi in tow. Her faithfulness in struggle led her through grief, into new love and the ripple effect of her faithfulness would become a part of a deeply rooted faith that would see offspring like Jesse...David...and lead into the genealogy of Jesus. 

Today, the struggle may not be one we can fix, change or escape. We can trust that it is part of a bigger plan.  Our short stories are a part of his bigger story. His desire is that all would return to Him through grace and mercy. If we live to breathe and complete another day...our story isn't over. 

"Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."- Psalm 30:5

Reading of God's faithful servants...remembering their trials and struggles...it always helps me manage my troubles with more patience and grace.  If a struggle is not removed...perhaps...I need to find gratitude for the work it is doing that I cannot see...or begin to understand...because I don't have "God-Vision".  I don't even have 20/20 vision anymore. 

I will give thanks for the times I know that on the other side of a trial...I can reflect...and then see His mighty hand was at work. 

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." -Ecclesiastes 3:11

I need to trust His hand and His clock. I need to stop limiting my view of how God should move (oh, I do offer my suggestions from time to time)...and celebrate that He is extraordinary and His timing is perfect. 

I pray to seek him with a passionate, relentless pursuit. I long to see more clearly what He sees in the "right now". But, I think I am grateful that I don't see the "Big Picture".  He is my "enough". He knows what I can handle today. He has tomorrow covered. 

Today, I am grateful for lessons in struggle management.