Coping

“Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God…Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 9

I began journaling and pondering this lesson about two weeks ago. So Cal was almost two weeks into a heat wave and I was almost two weeks into an MS flare. Sure seemed like they were tied together: this heat and legs that felt like each step taken was through quicksand; arms and legs numb to the touch; fatigue that wouldn’t even go away with sleep.

My morning devotional that day read, “I (Jesus) will not allow circumstances to overwhelm you, so long as you look to me. I will help you cope with whatever the moment presents.” I have learned over the years that this is so very true! However, I find that if I am not actively looking to the Lord, up, moving about or serving Him in some capacity, I easily become inward-focused, noticing my limitations, growing frustrated…easily bored…

…And I open a door for grumbling…whining…and complaining enters my mind. Left unchecked it also exits my mouth…so ugly.

So, that same day weather forecasters began pronouncing the end to the soaring temperatures and my spirits began to perk up. It’s much easier for me to cope with these challenges, when I think relief is just around the corner.

I began pondering the ways God had helped me through these days, as I looked forward with joyful expectation to the promised end of the heat wave…and even more to the hope of heaven. There, as it states in Revelation 7:16, “Never again…the sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.”

I considered how Jesus, the Lamb of God, coped with the horrific events that ended His human life as it had been known. Hebrews 12:2-3 gives a clue: “Fixing our eyes on Jesus…for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Emphasis mine)

Jesus knew what was ahead – both the pain and the joy of knowing he would ransom the whole world from the death-strangle of sin…making the promise of heaven and being in intimate relationship with the Father accessible to all! That joy overshadowed the pain of the moment.

Today, that same focus on Jesus is filling my eyes…my mind…my heart…with encouragement, so I won’t grow weary and lose heart. That’s because, although it may be cooler, the end of the heat wave did not come and it is still hot…and I’m still numb…fatigued…weak. But rather than start down that path to the door of complaining, which is still cracked open, I am choosing JOY instead.  The joy of Jesus. The joy He’s already given to us as we fix our eyes on Him. The joy of the Lord, which is our strength…so I will not grow weary and lose heart.

But here is what the Lord has been working at in my pondering: If I merely seek to escape my challenges in my coping, it will profit me nothing…and may even make matters worse.

Bottom line: If I place all my hope in the relief from the heat I will be disappointed, when that relief does not come.

If I place my hope in air conditioning and rest I will again be disappointed, when relief from my symptoms isn’t achieved.

But if my hope is in the Lord – not for relief of external heat or internal symptoms of MS, but in His goodness…hoping in His trustworthiness to grow me strong as He accomplishes His plans and purpose for my life, He will help me “cope with whatever the moment presents.”

So, will I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?