11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
This chapter reminds me of a sermon Pastor Jay from Westview gave many years that always stuck with me. He talked about spiritual growth coming from difficult times, in fact he said there must be challenge and pain to get growth. I'm not sure if I agree the it is a must but I think it is true that relying on God during tough times and feeling how he guides you through them strengthens your faith.
For me when my Dad died was probably the most difficult time of my life and I do think it translated into growing closer to God. Ultimately he turned my sackcloth (which I just learned is a garment worn during mourning) into joy that I share especially with Gina in the great memories and things he taught me. Another challenging time was moving to Moline for 3yrs, pretty small in some peoples eyes but traumatic for our family yet I think he helped both Gina and I grow closer to Him and our family to each other through that experience.
#12 Knut out.
Our pastor is famous for saying, "you're either headed into a storm of life, or you're in the middle of one, or you're just coming out of one." I think that's the key, to realize that life is hard, and there will be challenges that test your faith and resolve. I can think of a few times, as well, where my situation really sucked, and I didn't get closer to God through it....but, I bet if I look back, the opportunity was there. I just didn't grab it, or I didn't recognize it.
ReplyDeletehere's the verse that caught my attention today.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
I love that picture.