Scripture:  I Corinthians 1:9  "God is faithful, by Whom we were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

We have prayer requests and concerns that come to us through our ministry.  We rarely refer to them, but I thought that I would share the answer to one question with all of you.  A person who is going through a very dark season in their life asked if I had ever been through any discouraging times myself.  Of course the answer to this question is the same as it would be for all of us, for we have all faced difficult and disappointing situations in our lives.  Job 14:1 tells us that all who are born of a woman are of a few days, and are full of trouble.  Life is short and no one is exempt from problems and burdens.

So yes, I have personally suffered grief and sorrow and have faced long seasons of discouragement.  Yet, I found that I could find peace in the midst of the storms through Jesus Christ and direction for my life through the Word of God.  I have been through financial difficulty where I had to depend upon God to pay my bills.  I have baked and sliced up the last potato and fed it to my three children and then depended upon God to put food on my table for the next meal.  I have cried out in the middle of the night and saw God perform miracles of provision the very next day.  God was always faithful.  We never had to ask others for food because it was always there when we needed it.  We depended upon God's promise that He would not forsake us and that His seed would never have to beg for bread (Psalms 37:25).

I have been through the struggle of losing my husband to cancer after more than twenty-eight years of marriage.  Yet, as I took care of him in our home for several months, I experienced God's awesome strength in my own physical body and then felt the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit when my husband's death left a huge void in my life.  As the spirit of grief and sorrow attempted to overwhelm me, I found solace in God's Word that says that we do not sorrow as those who have no hope (I Thessalonians 4:13).  I have also experienced other disappointments in friendships and relationships that have torn my heart to pieces and left scars that I thought could never be mended.  I once cried so much that I thought that I was going to drown in my own tears, but then I recalled that God said that He is near to those who are of a broken heart (Psalms 34:18).

Many disappointments have come my way, for those in ministry are not exempt from discouragement, heartache, and pain.  Yet in the midst of it all, I can testify that God has always remained faithful.  I experienced the awesome healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ when there was no help medically.  I have also had to depend upon God to start my car, send me help when my house went through a flood, and give me wisdom in other situations or catastrophes.  We will all face dark nights, and even the clouds will block our vision in the daylight.  Yet, we must remember that just as the sun is always shinning behind the dark clouds, God is always there in our darkest hour regardless of whether we can see Him or not.  Even though His presence may be hidden, we must understand that He never leaves us alone.  There will be a sunrise again in our lives.  The dark clouds will part and God will bring glory out of our present suffering.  We know this for sure that we can always trust God because He has and He always will be faithful. +++