It’s incredible the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. In the book of Romans (ch8 v28) Paul makes a challenging claim that says “And we know all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Believe it or not the 3 words that challenged me the most in that statement were “and we know”.
How often do I live like I know that is true? The majority of time I probably present a state of “hoping” rather than “knowing.” The world loves vague statements like “Everything happens for a reason” or “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” As if during our hardships we will be comforted by knowing the plan for our lives is dictated by some sort of karma.
But as I read it I can’t help but imagine Paul's tone as he writes to the church, almost reminding them of the stories of old and how even when it doesn't look like things were going well for Daniel or Jonah or Noah, that God was in complete control and his faithfulness was proven time and time again, so therefore…”We know.”
The MarkMakers have been quiet for a while…..not because we haven’t wanted to write, but because once again, life hit us with The Unexpected - my fellow Markmaker, suffered a stroke.
From September to March, our journeys to and from school were spent talking about the Lord, listening to our playlists and standing in awe of His perfect plan. We found ourselves making notes in a document that we promised one day we’d make into a book. So overwhelmed were we by what He had done for us and each claiming on a regular basis “I know that I am living in the goodness of God.” We could both look back on a series of intense trials that had led us to this moment and were full of faith in saying “we know all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” I felt highly favoured and deeply loved. So much so that I (along with my God given creative collaborator) decided to start this blog to share with others the experiences and encounters the Lord has given us.
When Lockdown hit, and we were taken out of the busyness of school and normal life, we felt that was the perfect time to launch our blog. And we did! We were so excited to share with others, but most of all, in the preparation and recalling of events we were probably more blessed than our readers. As we poured out, He poured in.
And here we are, out of the blue, hit with an Unexpected reality that of course caused us to ask a familiar series of questions: Why her? What is the reason? And why now?
I know I’m not the first Christian to ask these questions when a trial arises. I remember a dear aunt of mine saying to me following the Unexpected death of Mum that “even if you knew the reason why, it still wouldn’t be good enough.” And at the time, that was so true.
But what have I learnt over the past few years about Unexpected circumstances? I am learning that although trials don’t check our schedule for a convenient time slot, there is nothing Unexpected to the Lord, nothing takes Him by surprise. Our unplanned experiences in life are almost like abstract shapes taken from a bigger and complete picture. It’s like trying to work out how a whole jigsaw might look from one single, dark piece.
While reflecting on this I was drawn to a verse in Psalm 77:11&14 “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.”
God has worked wonders in the past and will do it again. In other words, in the knowledge of his faithfulness, strength and presence in past trials, we can be sure that he will remain with us and walk with us through this present one. After all, He has promised "never to leave us, nor forsake us.”
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and He knows all things in between.
One of our biggest revelations has been that sometimes, we experience grief, loss, tragedy and heartache, not because God sends them to us, but because they are a natural part of human experience. When sin entered the world in the garden of Eden, so too did death and pain- these are experiences the Lord never wanted us to have. His plan for us was perfect and to live in perfect harmony with us...and for those who trust him now, while here on earth, they will see the day where we will understand the fullness of God and the relationship he planned for us.
Although it is difficult to accept, we won’t always understand the reason why this happened: but all God requires is our trust in Him, and know that he is able to deliver us from our trials, but even if he doesn’t, He is still worthy of praise. And so in that spirit and in a moment of faith for complete restoration and healing ,and in keeping with our first ever blog post (lamps on a stand) we want to continue to share our story and give Him the praise that He is due.
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