God of all Comfort

This past week or so has been rough.  Not in physical preparation for my trip, but in the struggles that are mentally preparing me.  I didn't realize that these were preparations though until the Holy Spirit showed me this morning.  I simply was focusing on the struggles as a burden that I had to bear alone, one that had no purpose - I couldn't understand why I had to grieve and experience this pain when my God has the power to heal me in an instant if He wanted to.

Resentment.  Anger.  Frustration.  Sadness.  Grief.  The enemy was using each and every one of those to cause me to slowly turn away from God.  He can't possibly love me like everyone says when he allows these things to crush me like this.


I was so blessed to attend a women's retreat this weekend with Exodus.  The messages began
softening my heart to what the Lord revealed to me this morning.  Our speaker said something like this:

"When we are not walking with the Lord, the focus is all on me and comparison.  

When we walk with the Lord, instead of comparison, we can have compassion on others."

We also read through this section of scripture:

"When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 

John 11:28-37

Mary threw herself at Jesus feet and told him how he should have done something.  He should have just gotten here earlier.  He should have fixed this problem before it even became a problem.  He should have protected her and me and you from all of these struggles and hardships because we all know he has that power and ability.   Yet he doesn't come swooping in to save us and pull us out of these hard times.  And we just don't know WHY.  Why can't our rescuer and savior do what His name implies? Why must we go through these afflictions and suffer through the pain and grief and sorrow when we are told that God will provide good things for us?  Surely this affliction isn't good for me - can He not see my struggle to hold it together during the day?  My crying out every night for Him to come and help me?

Praise the Lord that He has shown me, yet again, that this hurt and pain and grief we are all experiencing truly has a purpose.  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf tfor the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." 

2 Corinthians 1: 3-11

He knows what each and every one of us are experiencing.  He hears our cries and sees our tears.  Not only does he grieve with us, but he comforts us!  When we are so burdened beyond what we can physically and mentally bear, we are shown again just how dependent we are on God.  We realize we aren't the God in our life.  There is only one who can hold that place in our heart and life, and God uses these struggles to show us that He fulfills that role. 

This means that we can use these opportunities as a way to lead others to the Lord!  We can relate better in suffering and trials.  We can show others that being a Christian doesn't mean that you will stop having this hard times.  It doesn't mean life will be perfect.  But praise the Lord we have Him to lean on during this time.  We don't go through it alone, relying on our own strength to get us through it.  

I can witness to others better because of my struggle.  I can show them how much I am still struggling.  Yet I can also show them and tell them about the amazing hope and comfort I have in Jesus.  I can point them to the cross and tell them how much God loves them that he gave his one and only son to die for me, in my place, so that I might die to sin and live to righteousness.  It doesn't mean that these struggles aren't hard and that they don't hurt.  It does mean that they have a purpose.  They allow the message and hope and love of God to be better shown to those who don't have this hope during their struggle like we do.

I realize now that these things I am facing could be the perfect avenue to open the door for conversations in Fiji, and beyond.  There might be some woman I talk to that I couldn't have witnessed to without this hardship.  And that is worth it.  It is worth this pain and grief and sense of being a failure.  God does anything to save one sheep, and if I am able to help bring someone back to God because of it, I can rest in that :)

Prayer Support Team

• Please pray that I continue learning from these struggles and afflictions.  That they will serve a wonderful purpose in advancing the Kingdom, particularly in Fiji!
• Pray for the hearts of the people I will be meeting in Fiji.  Continue to pray for the Spirit to be softening their hearts, allowing God to work through us to witness to them.
• Pray for our whole team as we get closer to send off! Prayers that all of their paperwork gets sent in on time, forms get finished, and funds get raised so we can spread the gospel.

• My church is having a yard sale this Saturday for my mission trip.  Please pray for good weather, that people will come out, we can build community and invite others to church on Sunday, and that support is raised! 

Financial Support Team

• I seem to be stuck at the halfway mark!  I am so thankful for all of your support so far, and I know that with the Lord we will finish raising the support needed to spread the gospel in Fiji. Love you all!!
• Ways to Donate:
• Give online at www.pioneers.org/give/missionary using my account #175146.  Please note there is a 3% deduction from your donation amount if you use a credit/debit card.  There is no service charge when using an e-check option!
• Send your donations directly to Pioneers using the support slip, which can be found here.

Contact Information
ahs7990@hotmail.com
704-618-0968