A grandfather found his grandson jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his voice. When Johnnie saw his grandfather, he reached up his little chubby hands and said, “Out, Gramp, out.”
It was only natural for Grandfather to reach down to lift the little fellow out of his predicament, but as he did, the mother of the child stepped up and said, “No, Johnnie, you are being punished, so you must stay in.”
The grandfather was at a loss to know what to do. The child’s tears and chubby hands reached deep into his heart, but the mother’s firmness in correcting her son for misbehavior must not be lightly taken. Here was a problem of love versus law, but love found a way. The grandfather could not take the youngster out of the playpen, so he crawled in with him.
God did not spare Paul and Silas the suffering and imprisonment, but He did come down into the prison with them.
God did not keep the three Hebrew children out of the fiery furnace, but He went into the furnace with them.
God will not always deliver us from trouble and heartache, but He has promised grace for every situation of life.
Hebrews 13:5-6: “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
Not only is God WITH us but He is IN us to give us strength and power. 1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
We don’t understand the theys, whys and the hows of life. But we understand that He will come to us and comfort us and be with us.
Our God does not cut and run when things get tough in our lives. Rather, He comes near to us and is always in us. You can’t know the blessedness of His comfort until you have felt the sorrow of loss. You can’t know the joy of His peace unless you have had struggle and defeat. You can’t know victory in Christ until you have first suffered loss for Christ. For our God is for us and not against us.
Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday morning at 10:30 on 98.9 WSIP FM. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and our website: tomahawkmbc.com.