One of Those Days
Life on the Pasture
Today was one of those days that found me being busy with various things but left feeling as if I accomplished very little. Technology didn’t cooperate. Webinars didn’t offer the helpful insights I thought they would. Possible solutions for problems didn’t work. Creativity seemed to come to a standstill. It was one of those days.
What is challenging is when “one of those days” turns into “one of those weeks,” and then “one of those months,” and the “one of those years.” 2020 seems to be going in that direction for many enduring isolation, cancellations, job disruptions, and health issues. I have heard several people quip that we should just cancel the rest of this year and move right along to 2021.
Some see all the troubles and hardships of life as evidence that there actually is no God in charge of things, working for the good of those who love Him. Others of us hold on to the belief that Almighty God has a plan and a purpose for His people and, in fact, does work through all things for the good of those who love Him.
So what’s the point of all the hardship and heartache? The Scriptures indicate that going through trials strengthens our faith that we might grow closer to our Lord and experience His love in a very special way as we commend ourselves into His care. But there is another way that God uses those times. He uses them so we are able to more effectively love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–6, NIV)
I always find it very comforting in the midst of challenges and trials to talk through things with others who have gone through similar circumstances and can truly empathize with me. What is more, it is so good to know not only that others have gone through similar things but also, by the Lord’s strength, have continued the journey through this life, walking with the Good Shepherd, perhaps with a bit of a tighter grip of faith, looking forward to the peace and joy of heaven.
So, while today was one of those days filled with things that didn’t particularly go as planned, it was also a day that I went through with Jesus. Thank you to all who in their own way are used by our Lord to remind me of that when I need to hear it and are used to truly bring comfort in much more trying circumstances that always points back to Him.
– Pastor Schmidt