Nobody said it would be easy

Walking with Jesus is starting to feel more like a five-ticket ride. Yesterday our daughter (who is in her thirties) woke up with the symptoms of a heart attack: extreme weight on her chest, pain and total numbness in her left arm. She said it didn’t last long, and she feels okay now, but will see her doctor. With my husband’s leukemia and our granddaughter’s problems, I wonder what’s next?

I used to pray that the Lord would “do whatever it takes” to draw my husband, children and grandchildren closer to Himself and make them more like Jesus. Now I ask the Lord to glorify Himself in their lives. Either way, are those prayers asking for trouble? Is it our tendency to think it takes disasters to put someone’s attention on God? By turning disasters into good the only way He can be glorified?

My reading for the day indicates at least one other way God uses trouble and suffering; it builds my spiritual muscles. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:8-11, NKJV)

This is “resistance training.” In the physical realm resistance training builds muscles; isometrics is the term. With something pushing against you, you push back, and as you do, your muscles become stronger. When the lion roars, I’m supposed to roar back in unwavering faith—and continue praying.

This verse says that God gives maturity and strength after a period of struggle, and He gets the glory. These days that seems easier than it used to be. I feel like such a weakling and am totally certain that anything positive comes from Him.

This verse also says that other believers suffer the same things. I put out a prayer request to a small group of friends. One of them emailed back to tell me she has two family members with the same problem as our granddaughter, and one of them has another condition far worse than my husband or my daughter. She offered comfort, prayers, and recommended reading. I’m grateful to God for putting me in His caring family. I’m not alone in this.

I’m supposed to be sober and vigilant, but right now I feel more like sleeping all day. However, that roaring lion will not allow much rest. By God’s grace, my role remains to prayerfully resist the devil and totally trust the God of all grace.