Greetings,
Well for those of you who are interested in the UCONN Women’s Basketball Program, you know last night’s game was anything but pretty – but they did manage to pull it out – Congrats to Geno and the Women!
Well for those of you who are interested in the UCONN Women’s Basketball Program, you know last night’s game was anything but pretty – but they did manage to pull it out – Congrats to Geno and the Women!
I love watching the basketball fly around in a fast paced game! Always lots of excitement! Here, there, up, down, bounce, pass, shoot – and every once in a great while, VAP! It gets stuck between the basketball hoop and the backboard, and EVERYTHING screeches to a HALT! Just like life!
I recently received a note from a friend that had the following statement, “Things are not quite where they should be and I don't know if they ever will be...” You know, we spend an awful lot of time suspended (or wedged) between “where they should be” and “the fall”. And the person who focuses too much on the “fall” and all of the negative aspects of life will become miserable over time, while the person who ignores their reality is sometimes just out of touch.?!.?!.?! The truth is, much is written about the inspiration and vision that give hope, and much is written about the pain that comes from life’s trials and the accompanying discouragement. The philosophical experiences and ponderings of Solomon in “Ecclesiastes” and the tragedies and conversations in the book of “Job” (the story of a righteous wealthy man who looses his wealth and children all in one day), the Psalms and Gospels are saturated with this tension.
So, as I have reflected and prayed for my friend, I have some encouragement for any of you who might be wedged or suspended! Job 42:12 says that, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first!” (NIV)! And that is THE TYPICAL STORYLINE FOR PEOPLE WHO REVERE GOD! Esther, Noah, Naomi & Ruth, Joseph, Hezekiah, the repentant thief on the cross, Paul, the lame man brought to Jesus on a stretcher, several blind folks that Jesus encountered. And many, many, many more!
In closing, please consider:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2042:%207-10&version=NIV
I love the way the King James Version says the key verse: “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Are you “captive” like the ball stuck between the rim and the backboard? Keep praying for your friends and those dear to your heart, and wait for the Lord to RELEASE your CAPTIVITY and pour blessings upon you.
I recently received a note from a friend that had the following statement, “Things are not quite where they should be and I don't know if they ever will be...” You know, we spend an awful lot of time suspended (or wedged) between “where they should be” and “the fall”. And the person who focuses too much on the “fall” and all of the negative aspects of life will become miserable over time, while the person who ignores their reality is sometimes just out of touch.?!.?!.?! The truth is, much is written about the inspiration and vision that give hope, and much is written about the pain that comes from life’s trials and the accompanying discouragement. The philosophical experiences and ponderings of Solomon in “Ecclesiastes” and the tragedies and conversations in the book of “Job” (the story of a righteous wealthy man who looses his wealth and children all in one day), the Psalms and Gospels are saturated with this tension.
So, as I have reflected and prayed for my friend, I have some encouragement for any of you who might be wedged or suspended! Job 42:12 says that, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first!” (NIV)! And that is THE TYPICAL STORYLINE FOR PEOPLE WHO REVERE GOD! Esther, Noah, Naomi & Ruth, Joseph, Hezekiah, the repentant thief on the cross, Paul, the lame man brought to Jesus on a stretcher, several blind folks that Jesus encountered. And many, many, many more!
In closing, please consider:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2042:%207-10&version=NIV
I love the way the King James Version says the key verse: “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Are you “captive” like the ball stuck between the rim and the backboard? Keep praying for your friends and those dear to your heart, and wait for the Lord to RELEASE your CAPTIVITY and pour blessings upon you.
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