Skip to main content

Hold On to What is Good and True

Not a sparrow falls to the ground without God’s knowledge, but sparrows still fall. God works all things to the good for those who love Him. But He still allows His saints to suffer.
And He doesn’t always tell them why.
I read this quote recently in a blog on how to help those with depression.
(you can find the whole blog by Anna, click here)

Have you ever felt like that sparrow?

When it seems like all the people you see are smiling, but you are just too tired.
When leaving the house seems like a momentous chore.
When things look dull and your life seems the same day after day.
When you've been cheated, betrayed or slandered.
When all the nice Christian answers are hard to believe.
When this current season of your life is difficult, and you don't see any end.
When you wonder who your real friends are.
When you try to hear from God and there's only silence.

He doesn't always tell us why.

I tend to believe that the desire to know why is built into us.
If we can just put our finger on it- the cause, the reason, the expected outcome-
maybe then we could have a justified reason for going through our suffering.
Maybe we would get through it easier, knowing the "why."
But suffering comes to all, often without warning or explanation.

I still believe.

Last night our family attended our youngest son's band and choir concert.
While taking in the choir songs, I was brought to tears by the words to one of their songs.
 (Trust me, this doesn't happen very often in this public school venue. Well, except for when my boys were in Kindergarten and they sang "What a Wonderful World"- but that's another blog for another day!)
Anyway, The song was about hope and holding on.
One particular stanza said something like this:
...when love is absent, I still know it's real
...when God is silent, I still believe He's there for me
What a timely reminder of hope... and faith!
When you are the sparrow that's fallen, hold on to what's good and true.
God is still there for you even when He seems silent.

Watch for the little, gentle reminders.

The song that reminds you that God sees you, loves you and is there for you.
The friend that sticks by you when the going gets rough, and offers their heart.
The sunny day and warm breeze after a long winter.
The timely card, email or Facebook message that comes just when you need it.
The hot meal waiting for you when you get home.
An unexpected kindness.
The sunrise and sunset.
The hug from your kids, your coworker or your spouse- just because.
Sparrows still fall and we rarely know the purpose.

But if we look carefully, we will see hope breaking through, regardless of the why. 

 




Popular posts from this blog

Beauty of Love Divine

Check out this Sonnet by Michelangelo: The course of my life has brought me now Through a stormy sea, in a frail ship, To the common port where, landing We account for every deed, wretched or holy. So that finally I see How wrong the fond illusion was That made art my idol and my King, Leading me to want what harmed me. My amorous fancies, once foolish and happy What sense have they now that I approach two deaths The first of which I know is sure, the second threatening. Let neither painting nor carving any longer calm My soul turned to that divine Love Who to embrace us, opened His arms upon the cross. - On the Brink of Death ,  To Giorgio Vasari,  Sonnet LXV WOW. This reminds me to think of life in reverse. It may seem weird, but looking at the end - or starting with the end in mind - can give us perspective. When we think (like Michelangelo did here) from the perspective of death, suddenly many things we chase after seem insignificant and deceptive. Things...

New Year Resolutions Worth Keeping

I can hear the audible sigh already. New year resolutions – why bother?   Here’s the thing… often we trip over them because of our internal baggage. We start out with good intentions, only to end up in self-sabotage. • We want to be gentler on ourselves, but continue with negative self-talk We want to start (fill in the blank), but have no plan • We want to change a behavior, but don’t deal with underlying, contributing emotional issues • We want to get out of debt, but don't really want to do what it takes • We want to take steps towards a goal or a dream, but allow fear to hold us back   What if we made our internal lives a priority this year? What if we focused on what we can do to build our character and energize our spirits instead of yearly external resolutions?  A rich internal life makes us a better, more mature person.  After all, everything trickles down from our inner lives anyway. This is why God makes the “heart” a priority - for all attitud...

Character Over Comfort & Control

Control. We all want it. We don't always get it. Sometimes we get it, then decide we don't want it. Sigh. In my life I've come to recognize control as an old familiar acquaintance, continually proving that my sense of having it is simply an illusion. Just when I think I have it, it's often yanked from my groping hands and there's not much I can do about it.  When we feel like we are in control, we often feel pretty comfortable with it. You may tell yourself you've earned it. You may snatch it away from someone else and justify it. You may hoard it, thinking no one can hurt you. You may sacrifice pieces of your character to have it. You may hide behind it. When we feel out of control, we often feel frantic. Why are we afraid to let go of it? we feel weak we feel uncomfortable we feel ineffective we feel frustrated we feel exposed we feel like we are floundering, grasping we wonder what will happen and how we...