Skip to main content

If I lose everything but Christ...... Assurance in times of hardship

If I lose everything but Christ,
yet Christ is my everything,
what have I truly lost?
Nothing!

As a pastor's wife, almost daily people tell me their problems. The news of economic hard times is not a joke. Confessions of spouses getting laid off, people losing their homes, and cars being repossessed have become frequent in my life.

I am like most people in that I thought I would always have certain possessions and luxuries. We personally are down to one car right now and I am in school an hour away from home. My husband is a pastor and a vehicle for him is a necessity.... We have made this a matter of prayer and are borrowing a car right now so I appreciate you adding that to your own growing prayer list!

I heard on the news the other day that households are combining with other households in order to save on living expenses. Another news reports compared the tent cities of homeless in major cities to those during the great depression.

And yet God is still God. He is in the middle of the tent cities of Sacramento. He is with the housewife trying to stretch the budget to include food and other necessities. He is with the teenager who does not understand why she does not have the luxuries her friends take for granted. He is right there when each house of a believer is foreclosed on. He didn't take a break or walk away because the plant is closing.

He never fails. His peace and his comfort will hold you in your darkest hour. Everything in your life may be striped away yet He remains. Even as the disciples were boiled in a pot of water, beaten, crucified and stoned He remains the Savior of the world.

When believers in Africa are dying for their faith, North Korean Christians are flattened by armored tanks, and Indian wives who becomes Christians are beaten to death by their husbands, we still serve a good God.

Unbelievers have asked me "How can you serve God in a world full of so much pain?" My answer to them is "How can you go through a life of so much pain without God?" He is all there is worth holding on to.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Robin,
this is one of the best blog post you have wrote so far. I can feel the faith as I read it.
I have never been prouder to say you are my pastor's wife but more than that a dear friend.

He is our everything!!!
Blessings,
Julie

Popular posts from this blog

Be careful who you tell your dreams to!

I went with my son recently to see a production of Joseph and the Amazing Coat at a local community college. As I sat in the dark theater and watched the young men in the production, one of the lessons in the first part of the story hit me fresh and clear. Joseph told his dream to the wrong people at the wrong time. In his naivity, he thought his brothers would rejoice with him when he shared his dreams with them. Instead, it caused their jealous to turn to hatred of him and the favor of the father on his life. Many times in my own life, I have been too quick to share what God is showing me about the future with others. The truth is not everyone is called to share your dreams. There are circumstances and life issues people deal with that get in the way of their ability to 'rejoice with those who rejoice'. Just because you are there for other people does not mean they are capable of being there for you. Wisdom teaches us to wait and be careful about our conversation and 'the

Urgent Prayer Request!

Sunday Afternoon Update: Just got back from my sister's house. I went with her to the doctors Friday and they are aggressively treating her donor host disease with the belief it will allow her lungs and other organs to heal. I got a chance to minister to her and some direction from God in how best to do that now. Thank you all for your prayers! I am asking everyone who reads this blog to pray for my sister, Rachel Batson . She is 39 years old and has a aplastic anemia. This is a blood disorder in which the body does not reproduce blood as it should. Rachel had a bone marrow transplant last year but has since developed graft versus host disease. The disease is in the organs of her body. This is causing the organs to shut down. She especially needs prayer for her lungs. The doctors at Vanderbilt Hospital are saying she only has 2-3 months to live with her lungs as they are. Please pray for: a healing in her body total commitment to Jesus Christ her husband-Billy her son-Trevor peace

God's time is the right time!

This morning I got up ready for my new healthy lifestyle! I drank a big glass of water and took my vitamin, exercised, walked the dog and made a healthy breakfast. As I sat down to eat, a wave of nausea came over me and I began to shake and sweat. After I threw my healthy breakfast in the trash, I realized what had happened: I had taken my vitamin on an empty stomach. No, it didn't make me feel better this morning, but hopefully I won't make that mistake again. Now for the spiritual application.... There is an order for what God has for our lives just as there is an order for taking things like vitamins. This morning, I got ahead of myself. I was so excited about my goal to get healthy that I didn't take the time to remember the basics I already knew. God has perfect timing. I look forward in faith to what He has promised me. I believe with everything in me that this is the year I will begin to see His promises and plans for me fulfilled. He is lining everything up