This got me thinking about the idea of waste and the difficult things we go through in life. I wrote in my last prayer letter that I was going through some pretty tough stuff. It's easy to get discouraged when the light at the end of the tunnel is sometimes non-existent. Groping around in the dark for direction can seem like such a waste of time, effort, and life. It's especially then that I, we, must cling to the fact that God does not waste pain. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says,
"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."So God doesn't waste pain, but that doesn't mean that it is pleasant to endure. It's still hard, and it will still sometimes feel like a waste, but we know that it is not. It is in times like these that we cry out with the possessed boy's father in Mark 9:24, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
On a completely different note, today it is 3 months until my finances are due to be in or pledged. Yikes! And then about 5 months till I plan to leave. Although it sounds ludicrous to say, it is hard to trust God for the finances to come in. It is such a small amount for such a big God to provide, yet I doubt (maybe this is related to Mark 9:24 after all...). Can you pray with me that I would trust, and that God would provide for these needs?
In Christ
Tami
