“I want the promised blessing of Psalm 40:4: ‘Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.’ I forget that this kind of trusting in God is often forged in the crucible of longsuffering. God isn’t picking on me. God is picking me to personally live out one of His promises.”- Lysa TerKeurst
As Lysa TerKeurst continues Chapter 6 of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, she ties her hope to the unchanging promise of God. Hope rests in the faith and trust that ultimately brings good from our suffering. Whether or not that good turns out to match our desires or not.
Most likely, the process requires us to persevere. And that means patience – maybe even longsuffering. It’s a word we don’t want included in our story. In addition, Ms. TerKeurst defines longsuffering as “having or showing patience despite troubles, especially those caused by other people.”
Furthermore, Lysa reminds us, we must walk through God’s process before we realize His fulfilled promise. Most noteworthy, the author observes, regardless of whether something big or small caused your longsuffering, pain remains pain. Within the scope of your own life, it’s all relative.
Finally, Ms. TerKeurst takes a look at the word set as found in Psalm 40:2. The word set in the original Hebrew, qum, means to arise or take a stand. We want that solid rock on which to stand. Yet, we must first wait patiently for the Lord to lift us up out of the slime and mud – then set our feet.
And, God promises a new song (v.3). However, Lysa stresses, many cries to the Lord for help precede the promise of a new song. Lysa explains:
“The most powerful praise songs don’t start out as beautiful melodies; rather, they start as guttural cries of pain. But soon the process of pain turns into the promise of a praise like no other.”
Today’s question: What keeps you going while in the crucible of longsuffering? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Finding God in often overlooked places”
