Tuesday, July 31, 2007

An Old Journal Entry

Last night I was reading through the pages of the old journal I wrote while I was in the Middle East 26 years ago, trying to "witness without getting caught." I read many encouraging entries, but one stuck out in particular. I don't know where it came from. I'm sure it's not original with me:

"If God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure, much strength?"

It sounds like a great commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:8,9: "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going."

I recorded a whole page of Scripture on how God cuts to heal, not to harm; how He may wound us, but He always bandages the wound. Why? Many before me have so eloquently stated the reason, "The cracks in our lives are what the light shines through!"

The next verse, verse 10, states it this way, "Through suffering [our interpretation of what's going on], these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies."

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