Hanging in there

Discouragments. Disappointments. Confusion. Frustration.

How do you handle them?

Going to the gym for me was a "God thing". Anyone with eyes can see I am not, nor have I ever been someone who worked out. But I felt called by God to work on my health. And I obeyed. More faithfully than at any other time in my life. To be honest, I could so see the new me. I could so hear me telling others how God had changed my life and my health. I could so feel the health benefits and longed for more.

And how'd that work for me?

For all of my faithful efforts I succeeded in displacing a certain body part which had to surgically be put back and from which I am still recovering. It also brought to light a 20 year old problem with my back that was finally diagnosed as degenerative disc disorder, which will require surgery in the next few years and which has been a source of a lot of pain and sleepless nights.

Frustrated? Mmmhmmm. Discouraged? For sure. Confused? You betcha! My goodness I did what I felt God led me to do and am actually worse off in a lot of respects.

So what will I do next? Quit came to mind...comes to mind...stays in my mind!

But God did not call me to quit. He called me to follow Him in faith. So by faith I will listen and obey. I will trust Him to complete me, knowing that my life in Him is far more than this physical body and that He desires to conform me to Christ, not just to a pair of size 10 jeans.

I ofen wonder, at age 58, and in less than great health, if I can still be used by God. I often wonder if, after all of my failures, He will still allow me to speak for Him, to minister to others, to write for Him. Frankly, as a human, I would say no, time to move on to younger, better equipped ones, more faithful ones than me.

But God.

I love that.....but God. My walk with Him is not about me. It is about Him and for the life of me, I will never understand why He chooses to use His weakest vessels to glorify Himself, but He does. So until He calls me home, I will obey. In sickness and in health, for better or worse, I will continue to believe God.

How do you handle discouragments, disappointments, confusion, and frustrations? Believing in God, in His Word, in His power.