Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Iron of the Soul

My last post is connected to this one. Currently, I receive daily grief-related emails. Not long ago I received one entitled "Loss of Purpose and Direction."

One of the things it shared was the loss may be the beginning of something very special that God has planned for you. It may be something that you would not be able to do if He had kept that one person on earth with you.

Dad and I were so close, but at the same time I never felt a freedom to go anywhere or do anything because I wanted to stay near to him. His death has now opened up doors for me to consider--doors I would have never even thought of going through before. And some doors may have been too heavy for me to even open before his death, but now I am able.

I am reminded of Joseph, whose dungeon was the very road to his throne. If he had never been Egypt's prisoner, would he have never been it's governor? In Psalm 4:1 (KJV) is says, "Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer."

The phrase "enlarged me when I was in distress" is interesting to me. The sorrows of life have (through God's mighty hand) been the source of life's enlargement--of growth and strength. It's the idea of "iron entering the soul." Shallow romance and idealistic dreams harden the heart to reality, whereas distress and trials strengthen it. The iron of life enlarges our character, strengthens us, expands our capacity, and leads us down deeper roads.

God is calling me for a specific purpose, and I can trust Him to accomplish His purpose in my life. What if this loss is a turning point for my life? A very, very hard turning point, but a turning point no less.

"I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me" (Psalm 57:2).

"The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands" (Psalm 138:8).

Lord God, I don't feel purposeful at all right now, but I'm starting to be curious about what it is You want me to do. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment