Undulations

Speaking of Joni Eareckson Tada, she has recently written a new book, A Place of Healing, relating her wrestlings and the answers God has revealed in this new wave of pain and suffering she is experiencing. I highly recommend it; there are some answers amid the questions but mostly there is a renewed trust in God's sovereignty and steadfast love, literally hesed. This Hebrew word connotes love, strength, and steadfastness.

C. S. Lewis wrote, "Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness." That is God's hesed toward all of us, whether we are awash in trials or merely anticipating them. We live undulating lives, according to Lewis in The Screwtape Letters, lives with both peaks and troughs, constantly moving forward towards one or the other. When we are on the peaks, we fear what may lie ahead. When in the troughs, we fear they will never end. Only God can calm our fears. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." That echoes what David said in Psalm 62: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken."

We don't usually understand the splendidness of God's work in our lives; we are more likely to notice the sternness. But I encourage you to look up to see God's grace in the ups and downs of your life . . . and to truly find your rest in Him.