Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Never Hopeless

Spring is in the air! Baseball games have started. Pollen fills my sinuses. Snakes crawl across the road. Birds have moved into the birdhouse. The grass HAD to be mowed this week. And severe weather is forecasted for tomorrow in Arkansas.

Even with all the downside of Spring it's still one of the most anticipated events on the calendar. Now understand, I'm not saying that baseball games are the downside of Spring! In fact, for me it's just the opposite. Baseball is the main reason I like Spring and Summer. The only way baseball could be more perfect is if it were a Fall and Winter sport!

But, alas, I must take the good with the bad. I can bear the near-record temperatures today because of baseball.

What is the silver lining to the clouds in your life? Sometimes it is easy to see the good against a backdrop of bad. Sometimes it is not.

From your point of view you may not be able to see a silver lining, only clouds. Dark clouds. Dark clouds with lightning flashing within them. And strong winds.

We cannot control everything that comes our way. Often we can't even control ourselves in the midst of the storm.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible tells of a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples - many of whom were seasoned boatmen on that very body of water - couldn't control the boat and maintain safety. They were scared. Jesus was also on the boat and he was sleeping through the storm. They woke him and pleaded for help.

In the midst of a terrible storm Jesus calmed the winds and the waves. The disciples were safe because Jesus was on board.

I've experienced storms like that. Few were literal weather-related storms. Most were physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual problems. Like the disciples, I tried my best to deal with it without calling on the Lord. And like the disciples, I had to call on the Lord or I would have been overwhelmed.

When I could see nothing good in my situation I learned that Jesus is at work to bring something good out of my troubles. Even the self-inflicted troubles that are all too frequent for me. With Jesus I am never hopeless. Because of Jesus I am never hopeless.