Day 22: I Shall Come Forth As Gold

10 days left with this post!  This has been a wonderful, agonizing, mind-blowing experience.  These last 10 days, I still have no idea what I'm going to write about.  And I don't know if all that I've written so far has come across clearly or has just been a mess of jumbled thoughts, too difficult to follow.  But the journey continues...


I used to hate waiting.  Patience was not a virtue that I would say I had possessed when I was younger.  I wouldn't say I have it a lot of the time now either, but it is different.

I think God has been feeding me patience as I need it.  He has been drawing me along, through this long, hard time.  Showing me I don't have the control over as much as I thought.

I can't change or soften the heart of anyone on my own.

I can't prevent every cow or calf from getting sick, just like a parent can't prevent every illness or injury from touching their child.

At times it drives me crazy.  Knowing I can do my best at something, but in the end, my best might not be good enough, it might not live up to the standard of success.  That is such a hard thing to learn, or see, even now.

That's how it was playing sports or getting graded on homework.  The decision was up to someone else.  The authority, the coach, the teacher, the boss.

God.

His authority is different though.  He knows what will happen.  He knows the consequences of all of our actions.  He knows what we need.  He knows you.  He knows me.  He knows.  Deeply.

"But He knows the way that I take;

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold."  -Job 23: 10

"But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations."  -Psalm 33: 11

"I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

how glorious is our God!

He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.

Everything he does is just and fair.

He is a faithful God who does no wrong;

how just and upright he is!"  -Deuteronomy 32: 3-4

We will be tested, our endurance will be tried.  It seems I learn best through struggle, I don't like it, but the outcome will be worth it.

We aren't promised an easy road.  But God already has plans and purposes for us.

He will not fail us.  He is not like us.  His ways are perfect, we may not think so when we go through hard stuff, but somehow they are.

To see more posts in this series just click on the label "31 Days" under the title of each post in this series, or go back to Day 1 here and choose from the list of days listed at the bottom of the post.