Don’t Give Up, Hold on To the Lord
Iwas deeply moved with what Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD wrote on his book, “Just A Moment.” He wrote, “I have been to many funerals, but the saddest by far, was that of a mother who died while giving birth to her child, and the child also died. The two were placed in the same coffin together.”
“I could not imagine the pain of the husband, whose marriage I officiated some nine months earlier. All he had and all that he ever dreamed for was gone.”
“I can never forget his words as I put my arms around him, ‘Father, I cannot understand why…but I will hold on, I will just hold on to God.’”
Truly, the scenario painted by Fr. Orbos moved me, and I could not help but think about why a situation like that could happen.
An acquaintance of mine, whose daughter died of lupus during the pandemic, recently asked why the Lord took her youngest daughter too soon, and all I could say was “It is very hard to fathom God’s ways”. Her question is somewhat similar to the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?”.
The Bible reminds us that there are lots of challenges and trials that we have to face in this world. This world is not problem free.
In his book, “There In The Tough Times”, Ed Hindson writes: “The Bible teaches us that conflict will always be a part of our lives in Luke 17:1. We are warned, however, not to be the source of the conflict. God’s purpose in allowing problems to come into our lives is far more important than our personal convenience. He allows us to suffer through interpersonal conflicts for our own good.”
Conflicts keep us humble, builds patience, and develops our spiritual character. However, if we react negatively, we defeat the purpose of the conflict and end up having to repeat the lesson.
If we miss the point of whatever God may be trying to say, He may allow more conflict. That is what the Bible means when it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6).
God never allows us to be completely defeated when we are humbled and teachable before Him. It is then when we experience His grace. It is then when He reaches down and meets us at the point of our deepest need.
Remember that God is greater than your greatest problem. He can overrule the worst problems in order to produce the best results. He knows our greatest needs are, and He stands ready to meet them.
We cannot let conflict stunt our spiritual growth and hinder God’s work in our life. If we let a problem get too big, it could easily keep us from the joy of life.
God has a wonderful plan for our life. In Romans 8: 28, it is written “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Ultimately, it takes faith to act assertively on the promises of God’s Word when dealing with people, problems and situations of this life.