God's Word in Trials

God gets the glory ALL the time—even in our trials.

The delta variant of covid continues wreaking havoc around us and in the lives and hearts of the PNG people.  There are hundreds that are being reported dying each week and an unknown number that are not reported as there are not death certificates here.  Everyday as we travel to town the signs of grief are in every direction.  People paint their body’s and vehicles with mud to show their sorrow and loss of a loved one.  This week there is a planned mass burial in the capital for hundreds as space to keep remains overflows.  The hardship is real and the pain is felt, yet God continues to remain faithful!

I have a dear friend and mentor here in PNG whose husband came down with the covid virus and then pneumonia.  To God be the glory, there was a qualified nurse working here that was able to tend to his needs and assist.  Only by God's grace did he make it through.   

As my friend was caring for her husband, there were dark days.  There was a moment when death was knocking, and my friend got out her Bible, let it fall open and began reading in Isaiah 57, looking for the Lord.  Here is what she read:

1 The righteous perish,

    and no one takes it to heart;

the devout are taken away,

    and no one understands

that the righteous are taken away

    to be spared from evil.

2 

Those who walk uprightly

    enter into peace;

    they find rest as they lie in death.

Isaiah 57:1-2

She closed her Bible, and her mind went running wondering if that meant her husband was not going to make it?  Was the Lord preparing her for what was coming?  She tried to push that thought out of her mind.  

For a couple days, the Bible remained closed.  Although, God was softly and tenderly calling my friend back to Himself as she kept her Bible visible.  She was praying frequently, and she was struggling internally with what the Lord was trying to teach her.  

Finally, she could stand it no longer.  She prayed and asked God to confirm to her what truth HE would choose for her rather than the truth she ‘happened' to come across.  She opened her Bible again and her eyes fell to Psalm 123.  It read:

1 I lift up my eyes to you,

    to you who sit enthroned in heaven.

2 

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

    till he shows us his mercy.

3 

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us…

Psalm 123:1-3a

The Lord's mercy is a wonderful and marvelous gift.  It is something we completely are undeserving of receiving and yet?  It is freely given through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Life is a free gift.  Eternal life is a free gift too BUT only through Christ.

In the dark days that lay ahead for you, remember to run to God's Word, the Bible.  It will provide needed truth in tough realities.  It will provide comfort when no one else can reach you.  It might make you uncomfortable, but it is recorded for your good and God's glory for the entirety of your lifetime and, Lord willing, into eternity!