{"id":470,"date":"2019-09-22T20:24:45","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T00:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/?p=470"},"modified":"2019-09-22T20:24:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T00:24:45","slug":"can-you-be-joyful-and-peaceful-in-any-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/?p=470","title":{"rendered":"CAN YOU BE JOYFUL AND PEACEFUL IN ANY SITUATION?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I write this a few days before my wife goes in for serious and extensive cancer surgery. Our human tendency is to focus on the worst possible things that may happen. But I know that as a Christian, that is just what God does not<\/em> want us to do. God always wants us to take our focus off the suffering or problem, and direct our thoughts to him and what he has done, and will do, for us! Did you notice how many times in the Bible when people face suffering, injustice, and even death, they respond with faith in God that results in actual joy and peace? In Philippians 4:5-7, Paul says<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 <\/sup><\/em> Rejoice in the Lord always. I will\nsay it again: Rejoice! 5 <\/sup> Let\nyour gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 <\/sup> Do not be anxious about anything, but\nin everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests\nto God. 7 <\/sup> And the peace of\nGod, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds\nin Christ Jesus.  <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice\nthat Paul is not saying God is going to make all your circumstances right\nagain, with no pain or suffering! No, he reminds us that God is ALWAYS NEAR,\nand therefore don\u2019t be anxious about the outcome. So, we rejoice in the LORD!\nAnd God\u2019s peace, which is beyond our comprehension, will be given to us and\nwill guard our hearts from evil and negative thoughts and keep our mind focused\non Jesus, who has overcome sin and everything that seems like it is going to\ndestroy us! Paul says to bring our fears, suffering, sickness, and doubts to\nhim in prayer, with thanksgiving that God is all-powerful and near, and that\nwill lead to peace and joy in any situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In book after book in\nthe New Testament, the early Christians tell us that suffering is part of the\nChristian lifestyle, and that God can use that to make us stronger and actually\ngive us joy and peace<\/strong>! Peter tells us in I Peter 1:3-9,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 <\/sup><\/em> Praise be to the God and Father of\nour Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope<\/strong> through the resurrection of\nJesus Christ from the dead, 4 <\/sup> and\ninto an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for\nyou, 5 <\/sup> who through faith are\nshielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be\nrevealed in the last time. 6 <\/sup> In this you greatly rejoice, though now for\na little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 <\/sup> These have come so that your faith–of\ngreater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be\nproved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is\nrevealed<\/strong>. 8 <\/sup> Though you\nhave not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you\nbelieve in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 <\/sup> for you are receiving the goal of your\nfaith, the salvation of your souls. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter reminds us that we\nhave a living hope in the future with God, and a promised inheritance that will\nnever perish, spoil or fade! But again, right now, we will face all kinds of\nfiery trials that will test our faith and actually make us stronger. The result\nof that is that we see God\u2019s power working in us and for us, and so again, we\ncan rejoice with \u201cinexpressible and glorious joy\u201d. We now know the final goal\nof our faith, the salvation our souls (the core of who WE are) because we have\ntrusted in Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, do I feel peace and joy that Claudia has cancer?\nNO!!!!<\/strong> Cancer and all disease and\ndeath itself is the result of human sin. It is evil, and comes from Satan, who\ndesires to destroy us in every way. I am not at peace that I don\u2019t know if my\nwife will live 6 months, or 1 year, or 20 years. But again, Peter reminds us of\nGod\u2019s perspective in I Peter 5:6-11:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 <\/sup><\/em> Humble yourselves, therefore,\nunder God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 <\/sup> Cast all your anxiety on him because\nhe cares for you. 8 <\/sup> Be\nself-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring\nlion looking for someone to devour. 9 <\/sup> Resist\nhim, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout\nthe world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 <\/sup> And the God of all grace, who called\nyou to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while,\nwill himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 <\/sup> To him be the power for ever and\never. Amen. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am at peace, and can actually experience joy, in the\nknowledge that God is God, and is in charge of Claudia\u2019s (and my) life,\nforever! <\/strong>As a husband, I am totally\nfrustrated that I can really do nothing to save her from cancer. But I find joy\nand peace by following Peter\u2019s advice above. I humble myself under God\u2019s mighty\nand living hand, and surrender Claudia\u2019s life to him. I will stay spiritually\nalert, and rebuke and resist the devil, knowing that he wants to destroy our\nbodies and minds. And I can stand strong in faith with God\u2019s help, knowing that\nothers around the world are facing much worse trials than we are.  And so, because of God\u2019s grace and mercy and\npower over sin and death, I know that God will restore both CJ and I and make\nus strong, firm and steadfast, whether it be in this present world or in the\namazing world to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please pray with us this week that:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– we will remain strong in\nfaith, filled with peace and assurance, and will resist any thoughts of fear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– pray for our 2 surgeons,\nDr. Seamon and Dr. Chung. They are excellent surgeons, and I believe that God\nhas directed them to work on CJ. Pray that He will guide their hands and they\nwill be able to \u201cget it all\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Finally, and ultimately\nmost importantly, pray that God will be glorified in this whole process, and\nothers will be encouraged in faith to face their trials with hope, joy, and\npeace because of the awesome power of our God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of our favorite song\nwriters is Robin Mark, an Irish worship leader. His song \u201cAll Is Well\u201d pretty\nwell describes how we feel about our situation (you can listen to it online):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He lowers\nus to raise us
\nSo we can sing His praises
\nWhatever is His way all is well
\nHe makes us rich and poor
\nThat we might trust Him more
\nWhatever is His way all is well
\nAll my changes come from Him He who never\nchanges
\nI’m held firm in the grasp of the Rock of all\nthe ages
\nAll is well with my soul
\nHe is God in control
\nI know not all His plans
\nBut I know I’m in His hands
\nHe clothes us now then strips us
\nYet with His Word equips us
\nWhatever is His way all is well
\nAnd\nthough our seasons change
\nWe still exalt His name
\nWhatever is His way all is well<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ\u2019s dad used to say about\nhis family \u201cWe have been richly blessed\u201d. Without a doubt, CJ and I have been\nrichly blessed with an amazing family, 41 great years of marriage, amazing\nfriends, but most of all, an amazing God who loves us, forgives us, and holds\nus strongly in the palm of His hand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pray that you will know\nGod\u2019s grace, joy and peace as well, and be able to praise him even in the\ntrials and fears of life. Thank you for your amazing prayers and support. We\nlove and treasure you all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I write this a few days before my wife goes in for serious and extensive cancer surgery. Our human tendency is to focus on the worst possible things that may happen. But I know that as a Christian, that is just what God does not want us to do. God always wants us to take … Continue reading CAN YOU BE JOYFUL AND PEACEFUL IN ANY SITUATION?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":472,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boomers4jesus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}