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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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Life Stinks ...
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Few of us experience the "ideals" we once dreamed of. Life is complicated by the stench of disappointment, failure, loss, tragedy, victimization, stress, or even simply, "inappropriateness." We want, but we have not. We aspire, and we are ignored. We give everything, and nothing comes back to us. The stench doesn’t take God by surprise, but it certainly seems to surprise us. The statement "Life stinks," however, is incomplete. It needs to read, "Life stinks, but God is good." Even in my ordinary day, clutter, dirty bathrooms, piles of unfolded laundry, squabbling kids, unpaid bills, traffic jams, and not enough hours to even think about a "to-do" list – create an "odor" that I’m not very fond of. God’s Word never tells us life will be easy, but it does say that the life God calls me to experience is possible. Jesus told His disciples that here on earth they would experience trials and sorrows, but He also told them that because of Him they could find encouragement and strength. The psalmist in his distress finds deliverance with God. Paul’s physical and emotional afflictions are tempered by the grace of God. The completed statement contains two facts: life stinks and God is good. Both are facts to be acknowledged and accepted. Neither fact should be separated from the other. To do so creates either a life of denial or a life without hope. There are practical things we can do with the stench. God delights in forming beauty from ashes, and if that is true, surely, there is something of worth inherent in experiencing the odious, and God’s grace is even able to transform the odious to a sweet smelling aroma. A less formal application of these truths is the old adage, "If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." The hope in Scripture though is firmly rooted in the character and heart of God, and it is realized only as I fully believe God’s goodness and entrust myself to it. My trust is a conscious dependence. It opens my heart to allow God to work the way He wants to work without my demands or expectations. Conscious dependence leads to a conscious hope that gives me the freedom to consciously move forward. Truthfulness acknowledges that life stinks. Hope clings to the incomparable goodness of God that delights in accomplishing His best in the life of His child. |
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— Bev |
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