Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
10 18 2024
Suffering is not the final word!
There is so much happening in Florida and the Carolinas that truly defies one’s imagination. How do so many recover from their truly terrifying losses? I heard from a friend who lives near Ashville that the Craig family of what is known as Craigtown lost 13 family members! What could be more horrific? A fireman from Fairview fire dept across the street lost his life trying to save others.
It reminds me of Job, who also lost all of his children.
Each of us is facing our own areas of suffering. A mother who had a miscarriage. An unfaithful spouse. A family losing an infant son. Jobless for months on end. There is a Carolina story of a mother and daughter falling through the roof of their home when the hurricane caused the roof to collapse, and the turbulent waters carried them away as their remaining family looked on helpless to save them.
Sometimes, these cataclysmic endings encourage us because, in comparison, our burdens seem much lighter and more endurable. But… We still need to face our own realities with faith, hope, and courage.
I remember when one of my best friends’ young son Dawson had been struggling since birth and was going into the hospital again. My wife and I took turns spending the night at the hospital to give them a break. We prayed through the night for a miracle as he lay in the crib. His mom had told him on the way to the hospital for his surgery that if he wanted to go home to Jesus, it was alright. He didn’t make it out of the surgery. As parents, we know it isn’t supposed to be this way.
Dan Cruver said: “In times like these, one experiences what Paul calls “the sufferings of this present time” (Romans 8:18) — deeply harrowing trials that, though shrouded in darkness, are held within the sovereign care of a God who promises that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Paul tells us that both creation (Romans 8:19–22) and we ourselves (Romans 8:23) groan with longing for this unseen glory to be revealed. Our current suffering intensifies our yearning as we wait for the day when our identity as God’s children will be visibly manifested in glory.
What makes “the sufferings of this present time” particularly challenging is the tension between our current experiences and our hidden identity as God’s children. As believers, we are already adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:14–16), but the full revealing of who we are in Christ remains unseen (Romans 8:23–25). We live in an in-between, tension-filled time where our true identity as sons of God is veiled.
Dan said as he struggled through the loss of his son. “When I struggled with my sense of God’s absence,
I was tempted to gauge his acceptance by how vividly I could feel him near.
Yet Robert Critchley’s hymn “On Christ the Solid Rock” counsels us not to “trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’s name.” My emotions were not the measure of God’s acceptance. What mattered was Christ’s righteousness, declared to be mine through faith alone. To paraphrase Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:9, my dark night of the soul taught me to rely not on my experiences, no matter how sweet they may seem at times, but on Christ, my righteousness. He alone is the deepest rest for our souls”.
Here is a prophesy the Lord gave me.
I pray it will be an encouragement as we pray for those struggling more than we.
“Don’t you know that I am your covering even in the storm… in the flood. I am the high ground you see. I may not deliver you from every storm, but be assured I walk with you. My Holy Spirit will empower you to stand. His are not the footprint in the sand. They are yours as he empowers you to walk on. It is well with your soul. Recall your richest prize. It is I. It is my promise today and forever. This, too, shall pass. But I am with you. My plans for you are to move you forward in me. They are not without a purpose but are often beyond your understanding. Remember to let me be your all and all. Your truth, your courage and hope. The rock for you to stand on. Look up to where your hope comes from. I am always with you and in you. I love and walk with all my children”.
Tomorrow, Saturday, at 8 AM, men, women and kids old enough to help are meeting at Grace Family Church, our Land O Lakes Campus at 22920 State Road 54, Lutz, Fl. To help tackle some of the devastation of our city. Come join us and be blessed!
To pass this lesson and future devotions to someone, send them this Signup link: http://eepurl.com/gKlklD Blessings
Cornerstone Hillsong
