Pressing On

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellence of the power may be of God
and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every
side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but
not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Cor 4:7-9

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall
into various trials, knowing that the testing
of your faith produces patience. But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may
be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."
James 1:2-4

". . .but one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forward
to those things which are ahead. I press
on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Phil 3:13-14

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will
say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4

These are the verses that come to mind when
I think about people I know who are going
through tough times right now. There are so
many things going on in the lives of people
around me including people losing their jobs,
losing their homes, many people I know finding
out they have cancer or tumors, marriages on
the brink of divorce and so much more! Life
can seem hard enough sometimes just to get
through a rough day but then you add these
life changing circumstances and it seems too
much to bear. For those who are Christians,
I know that they get through these times by
leaning on God and trusting Him to get them
through to the other side. I feel overwhelmed
when I hear of others I need to be praying for
and feel like I can't do enough. This is where
I believe and trust God's Word. God hears the
prayers of his children and He will answer. We
don't always understand what or why God allows
trials and maybe things don't happen in our
timing, but we have to remember that He is God
and His ways are above our ways. We also need
to remember that He loves us and will make all
things right in the big picture. When things are
hard, I am reminded and so thankful that this is
not our home. Life goes by so fast and one day
there will be "no more tears" and "no more sickness"
and "mansions for each of us" who love Jesus Christ.
I am pressing ahead and praying for those around
me and trusting God for the results.