16 - moving forward

in many ways, i need to move forward. there is joy to be found in the immediate future, and far away future. this process is tough, and rough, but praise the Lord for His faithfulness and the knowing that He will not give anything more than i can bear.

from a john macarthur sermon:

"In thinking about the loss of my Mom this week, it was very hard to find joy in the midst of mulling about her death. In thinking of her as having a cerebral hemorrhage and falling to the floor, thinking of her not being around anymore and never seeing her and stuck in that moment, you find yourself almost overwhelmed by the sadness of the loss. As you think about it from a Christian perspective, it isn't long until you start thinking forward and you start thinking about the fact that beyond what occurred there is heaven and that's where she is and that's where she'll be when you arrive. You begin to think pass the moment of pain and the joy begins to break on you like the dawning light after a night of darkness. Whenever you encounter the variegated trials of life, whenever that happens, my brethren, begin to think forward, don't get stuck in...in this moment. Life...and I reminded my Dad of this again, he knows it well, he's preached it all his life...but I reminded him life is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. It's a brief breath, this life, and when you think forward you think of reunions and you think of the glories of heaven and you think of eternal life, and you think of being made like Christ, eternal glory and blessing.

So, whenever you encounter these trials, you are to think forward to the joyous reality that is beyond. And not only in the case of a death, but in the case of an illness. Instead of getting wrapped up in the sadness of the immediate experience, you begin to think forward to...what?...to what God is producing through that. I think of the words of the apostle Paul who...who could think beyond his own pain, so much that he could say when I'm suffering I'm receiving the comfort of God in my suffering so that having learned that I'll be able to comfort you in your suffering. In going through my own pain now, I am being prepared in the future to be able to help you deal with your pain. In going through the frustration of loss and going through the unfulfilled dreams and having my goals never achieved, not getting the job I want, the education I want, the position I want, not getting what I want in my marriage or my family, or whatever it might be, I realize that even in the midst of that suffering God is burning away some of my pride, some of my ambition and God is reforming my waywardness and moving me more into the kind of suffering that refines me and makes me more like my Savior. And that's looking forward, isn't it? Can't get stuck in the midst of the pain and experience the joy. You've got to go forward."

and

"You see, that's very important to know. You need to know that. And I need to know that things don't happen in our lives just helter skelter. They don't happen in our lives willy-nilly, they don't happen in our lives by luck. It isn't just a bad day. There is a sovereign God working in the life of every believer purposely to achieve His end. I need to know that. If I don't understand that about my God, then I am really going to have a difficult time looking forward and finding that joy. If I believed that...as the latest wave of theologians are telling us, this new process theology...they're teaching that God is not who the Bible says He is, He's a work in process. And He's kind of scrambling along like the rest of us trying to sort it out and develop into what He ought to be. I am not interested in a God like that. I don't want a God who is up there trying to figure Himself out, sort through things and work His way up some...some spiritual ladder to become what He ought to be. God is not in process to become something He is not now. Scripture says that God is who He is and He's unchangeable. He doesn't need to change, never has, never will. I need to know who my God is. I need to have a sound theology. I need to have a sound understanding of the nature, the immutable, that's a word that means unchanging, the immutable, He doesn't mutate, He doesn't change, He doesn't alter. The character of God is fixed and established. I need to know not only that God is unchanging but that God is sovereign. That is to say that there is no power that can thwart His efforts."