Through it all, God Is Faithful!
Scripture: Romans 5:3-5
“We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.” (NCV)
“We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.” (NCV)
Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the
rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall
not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you."
Reflection: I have to tell you as a daughter of God, there is no other comfort like God’s Word and His Holy Spirit that walks us through every difficult test.
The Word of God is not just words on pages of a book; His word is living and active and has been my source of strength and purpose over these last fifty years. Even in all my moments of confusion, God has been faithful!
Reflection: I have to tell you as a daughter of God, there is no other comfort like God’s Word and His Holy Spirit that walks us through every difficult test.
The Word of God is not just words on pages of a book; His word is living and active and has been my source of strength and purpose over these last fifty years. Even in all my moments of confusion, God has been faithful!
The passages of
scripture at the beginning of this article can be difficult to understand and
can certainly appear to be very complex. Test and trials do come and often
linger much longer than we want them to. However, God will use them for His
Glory and our good. That may seem strange if you’re in the middle of
something so horrible you don't know how you are going to get through, let alone
try to see the purpose for what is taking place. I know for me, there are
times when it has been hard to understand why this is happening. In a
moments time we find ourselves having more questions than answers and the
emotions are so overwhelming that it is difficult to see anything good coming
from it. But God is faithful, and I know it is in Him we must trust.
When our son Matt was
several months old, he was diagnosed with the genetic disorder of Downs
Syndrome. The doctor who delivered Matt told us only that Matt was premature.
He later admitted to us, "I was not sure." As a young woman of
twenty-four, the shock and disbelief that my husband and I felt was
indescribable. Yet, at the same time, God's grace was sufficient to help heal
and overshadow the pain of this revelation. My husband and I had
never been around handicapped children enough to know what we were facing.
A few months after Matt's birth, I took him to a Christian pediatrician
who explained Matt's diagnosis in terms we could more easily comprehend and
comforted us with scriptures. God used this sensitive Christian physician to
help us start the journey neither one of us ever imagined we were destined to
walk through. Thankfully, our Christian friends and family gave Godly comfort to us, and our church family
was such a wonderful resource of spiritual help to us as well.
My husband and I had been raised in a doctrinal faith that did not emphasize healing or miracles as a part of our spiritual lives. Therefore up until that time of crisis, we loved God, but never thought much about God's power to heal and deliverance was something we had never been taught. We soon began to learn that God’s miracles where still for today. As we prayed we started to observe the fact that Matt was able to do things at a young age that was never expected of him. We were told that his life expectancy was only about twelve years. He is now forty-three and is not on any type of medication, Matt has never had a heart problem and he speaks amazingly well.
He loves to pray and loves to quote the Word from memory. We have seen him bring people to their knees in prayer as he quotes the Twenty-Third Psalm, Psalm 100 and 1 Corinthians 13.
We have three wonderful daughters and eight grandchildren. We are all amazed at his extraordinary gift of quoting scripture. When our family gets together at Christmas Matt quotes Luke the second chapter; at Thanksgiving, he has a passage ready to recite for that occasion, too!
Matt loves to read the Bible and even though it is with difficulty at times, he keeps pressing on. One of the most inspiring times for me was when I found him in his room at the age of sixteen crying for God to help him not only to read the book of Ezekiel, but to understand it. God has surely answered his prayer
One of the things I love most about Matt is his unconditional love. He loves his three sisters I think more than they even realize. He spends much time in prayer for them and all those for whom he has been asked to pray. His deep compassion, love, consideration and manners have been a testimony to all who know him.
How can you ever fully explain God and how He sees us through obstacles that we thought we could never endure? I must say that over the years, there have been some tough moments, but the joy of having a special son like Matt has made those times easier for we not only know about God, we know God!
God's healing and
miracle power has become so real to us over the years. It truly would take a
book to explain all that God has done for the Buchanan family. The good news is
there is more to come. We just continue to faith and praise our way out and
nothing can ever take the place of standing on God's promises.
The psalmist reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Nevertheless, our task to God is to obey Him, to put our confidence in Him and to surrender to His will, whether we understand it or not!
The psalmist reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Nevertheless, our task to God is to obey Him, to put our confidence in Him and to surrender to His will, whether we understand it or not!
In the book of Job we
learn that in life struggles, we can trust God even when we don’t understand
all that is going on. Job near the end of his testing’s came to this
revelation,
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” (Job 42:5).
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” (Job 42:5).
How awesome is our God!
Just when you think you might have life somewhat figured out He gives us a
totally different perspective on his plan for us. As long as God gives us
breath we must take advantage of every moment and always appreciate the time we
have been given, especially with our love ones. This life is uncertain and we
do not know what tomorrow will bring.
Through the trials and testing’s of life comes the development of faith and hope. Through physical, mental or spiritual difficulties we can learn to rejoice through painful experiences; Why, He has promised His followers that He will never leave or forsake us, that is why we praise Him, did He not say, “when we pass through the waters they will not overflow us.”
Through it all, will come hope and God's assurance that He loves us and He will turn it around, He wants us to trust Him! It is good to always recall that our victory last far longer than the memory of our struggles and from the ashes of defeat can burn the greatest fires of accomplishments Amen!!.
Through the trials and testing’s of life comes the development of faith and hope. Through physical, mental or spiritual difficulties we can learn to rejoice through painful experiences; Why, He has promised His followers that He will never leave or forsake us, that is why we praise Him, did He not say, “when we pass through the waters they will not overflow us.”
Through it all, will come hope and God's assurance that He loves us and He will turn it around, He wants us to trust Him! It is good to always recall that our victory last far longer than the memory of our struggles and from the ashes of defeat can burn the greatest fires of accomplishments Amen!!.
I perceive, that all
problems, discouragements, heartaches and pain are, in truth, great
opportunities in disguise. God will allow us to see through His eyes, as
we look beyond the struggles and lift our eyes and focus on Him and not the
problems, can we do that, we sure can!
For with God all things are possible. We have never been promised a life without difficulties but we have been promised a God that will go with us every step of the way.
For with God all things are possible. We have never been promised a life without difficulties but we have been promised a God that will go with us every step of the way.
God help me to keep Praising My Way Through it all! He was,
He is and He will be always faithful.
In His Steps, Joanie Buchanan
Matts Sisters
In His Steps, Joanie Buchanan
Matts Sisters
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