Always Watching Over Us

I had a rough mental/emotional night last night.  As we were getting ready yesterday evening to take Kaylee out to dinner, she was just standing in the family room and her legs gave out and she fell down on her back.  She got really scared and was having trouble breathing.  I got her calmed down, but I also noticed that the swelling on her arm was as bad as it was this past Tuesday.  So, with the weak legs and increased swelling, I had Ryan put a call in to Riley.  They instructed us just to watch her and have her move around more during the day...that the shots of blood thinners she's getting can make her weak if she doesn't move around a lot.  They also said to watch her arm for increased swelling, discoloration, and heat.  Kaylee really wanted to get out of the house, so we took her out to dinner.  The whole situation was very frustrating to me and that night as we were going to sleep I kept asking why?  Why is Kaylee having to deal with this?  She is a really great kid who has a great way with others.  She is so good at making people smile and I miss her personality and energy that she had before her diagnosis.  I worried about her childhood being taken away from her...I was upset because she was supposed to have a week without any medication and now she's having to get shots twice a day...it was just a rough night of asking why.  I never doubted that God is in control of this situation or that He will help us through this...just why?

If there had ever been any doubt in my mind that God listens and cares about our pains, fears and doubts that was completely erased this morning.  I really like watching In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley.  I got up late, so I didn't catch this morning's whole episode, but I caught enough.  His topic today was "Wisdom for Life's Trials" and I'm going to be quoting a lot of what he said, so here is the link to give him the credit:  http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/this-week-on-tv/utm_source/itm/utm_medium/web/utm_campaign/home_top_slider

I immediately got the answer to why:  2 Corinthians 1:3-4
³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Amazing!
Dr. Stanley also pointed out several sources of the trials that we go through.  They can be a result of poor decisions we have made, some can be caused by others, and sometimes painful things happen just because we live in a fallen world.  He goes on to explain that ever since creation was corrupted by sin, sorrow has been one of the many consequences.  And of course, some trials are brought on by the devil to make us question our faith.  And sometimes the trials are allowed or brought on by God as a result of decisions we've made that were out of His will, or because we are already obedient and God does not want us to be stagnant in our belief.  He always wants us to grow in our faith.  However, regardless of the source of our pain and suffering, God ALWAYS promises that good will come of it.  "As children of a sovereign God, we are never victims of our circumstances; our heavenly Father is in absolute control of everything that concerns us. With this in mind, trials should no longer be a source of anxiety or frustration for us because we understand they are His way of accomplishing His will in our lives."

Here are the other great points from his lecture:
"Understanding God's Purpose"

• To test our faith
• To test our devotion to Christ
• To purify us (Sometimes in stressful times our ugly sides can come out.  This can be a time to realize these flaws and ask God to help us correct them)
• To demonstrate His love
• To produce a Christ-like spirit in us
• To equip us (to help others)

He then goes on to give reasons to rejoice in trials:

• God controls their length and intensity
• The Father has specific purposes for everything we experience
• The Lord designed each challenge to meet a specific need in our lives
• God will cause our trials to produce good, positive results in us if we respond in obedience
• Through trials, God strengthens our faith
• Difficulties are our opportunities to demonstrate perserverance under pressure
• Through challenges, God develops Christ-like character within us
• The hardships we face help us measure our spiritual walk with God
• The Father will be with us through every situation to accomplish His good
• God will always help us overcome our circumstances if we trust Him

And finally his conclusion:

Hurt and pain are inevitable while we are here on this earth, but we can always choose how we respond to them. We can blame others, turn to drugs and alcohol for relief, and throw our hands up in frustration. Or we can respond in the right way and view our trials from God’s perspective. This helps us realize our difficulties are opportunities for spiritual growth. We know that life will not always be  easy, but because we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, He will see us through.

 

Thank you Lord!