Today’s Reading: Luke 9:44-45
The phrase “hindsight is 20/20” comes to mind when I think about today’s message. We usually do not have full understanding of why things occur in the moment. It is not until we have the bigger picture later (sometimes much later) that we come to understand.
When our daughter was in middle school, my husband and I were caught up in the day to day — both working very hard to make ends meet. We were putting in a lot of hours and barely surviving paycheck to paycheck. She would come home from school on the bus and let herself in the house. She had to be responsible for getting her homework done and taking care of herself until I got home. My husband usually would get home just as she was getting ready for bed and would leave again the following morning before she was up for the day.
Then, my husband started losing a scary amount of weight very rapidly. He went to the doctor and we mentally prepared for the worst. He was given a preliminary diagnosis of thyroid cancer. We knew that we would have to make some major life changes while he underwent treatments.
We moved to a small town where the cost of living would be much lower and started consulting with a doctor there. After a thorough round of tests, we were informed that the initial diagnosis was wrong — it wasn’t thyroid cancer but rather thyroiditis, a condition where stress has driven the thyroid into overdrive. With the help of family, my husband started working again and we made the decision that I would home-school our daughter.
His new job allowed him afternoons and weekends off. He was able to start coaching her softball team. We had dinners together as a family. We learned how to live on a smaller budget and be thankful for all God provided. The time together as a family was priceless. Clarity started to set in.
Have you experienced trials in your life and in the moment asked God why? And have you later been able to look back on those moments and find meaning? This is the Holy Spirit at work in you, helping you to understand and draw closer to God through your life experiences.
When we face the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings, and when we face the reality of suffering in our own lives or the lives of those we love, we can often be confused at first. It takes a gift from the Holy Spirit to open our minds to understand. Suffering is most often inevitable. We all endure it. And if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, suffering will lead us to confusion and despair. But if we allow the Holy Spirit to open our minds, we will begin to understand how God can work in us through our sufferings just as He brought salvation to the world through the sufferings of Christ.
