Our beloved former pastor Ronnie Stevens now leads the Danube International Church in Budapest, Hungary. We listened to a talk he gave this morning. It was from Acts 23, about how Paul dealt with hardship from the High Priest and from a hand of thugs that swore not to eat or drink until they'd killed him.
At the end, Ronnie mentioned the months in college after he came to know Jesus Christ personally. They were times full of hard things, more suffering than he'd known before. The new life of walking with Jesus Christ did not turn out to be trouble-free by any means. Then he stated with much emphasis how wonderful that time was.
I sat up straight in my green wingback and said, "That's it! That's what it's like now!"
A life lived walking with Jesus Christ in ordinary times can be rich and filled with meaning. But a life of walking through hard places is delightful, when focus is on Him. Encapsulated, so to speak, I lean hard on Him. The storm rages around me still, but finding my help and strength in Him gives me a safe and secure place to stay. His friendship, closeness with the God of the universe, is warm and real.
And, experience has taught me, afterwards, I am glad that I went through the dark place, because there I found Him again to be faithful, a keeper of His promises.
Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.
Psalm 63:7
Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.
Psalm 63:7
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