Coping

We have had so many people praying for us and expressing their support it is very uplifting to hear all of that. Ultimately, our ability to cope with the situation is from God Himself. When we look at things from His standpoint it clarifies the whole situation. First we see that we are not really the center of His universe: it is not about us but Him. Reading the first 2 chapters of Job helps lots. We see there that any adversity that Satan does to us is first okayed by God. We see that it is really about God's glory, not Job's questions. Job keeps asking 'why?' but the only answer he receives is 'Who'. That is, he is shown that God made us and He has the right to do as He wants with His creation. Our challenge is to accept that fact and trust God to do the right thing.

We can trust Him to do the right thing because other scripture reveals that God's purpose is to 1. magnify His own glory and 2. do what is best for us. We often do not agree with Him on what is best for us because we see things from our own limited viewpoint. The way we can come around to trusting Him is through reading much other scripture. Lately, I have been reading a book given to me by a friend from Sunday School: 'Trusting God' by Jerry Bridges which has been very helpful in clarifying some of these trust issues. However, my decision to trust God was settled before I ever saw that book based on my own reading and study of scripture.

There are just a few essential elements to this trust, proofs of which span the Bible:
1. God is there, He made us and everything else, and is all powerful.
2. God loves me so much He would rather die than go on living without me.
3. God is involved in putting down a rebellion among His creation lead by Satan.
4. I am involved in fighting this rebellion as I trust and obey Him.
5. I am also a prize to be fought for in this struggle--and God wants me with Him.
6. Having put my trust in Him, which is evidenced by my obedience, I can be assured of living with Him forever.

Based on these elements, WHATEVER happens to me I can be sure it is for His glory and for my ultimate good. Some of the things that happen to me may be very unpleasant but I can be sure that they are useful to Him in the ultimate struggle of good vs. evil even if I cannot, with my limited view see how. Based on points 4 and 5 above, I can also be assured that my adversity is meaningful, not trivial, so I can endure it with the assurance that it is really necessary.

If anyone would like, I will post specific references for the 6 points of faith I made.