Wings of Healing Worship Center

I remember as a little boy the stories my Grandpa and Grandma used to tell me about their time together before my Dad and his 2 brothers were born. They had lived most of their lives in the sandhills of Nebraska. The sandhills were a hard place to live prior to 1940. History books tell the story of the Dust Bowl Era from 1931 to 1939 also known as the Dirty Thirties.

In an attempt to flee the dust storms and drought that was happening in Nebraska my grandparents packed a few meager belongings into the back of a Model T truck and headed for Wyoming to homestead. Eventually the Wyoming homestead failed and they joined up with some of my Grandpa’s brothers in Oregon and got into the logging industry.

When I was a young teenager I asked my Grandma what it was like homesteading in Wyoming. She described the day that they loaded the truck and headed out. The trip was hot and dusty and the old truck was rough riding. There were no motels so they slept on the ground. She never talked about this trip as any particular hardship, in fact quite the opposite. She told me about the beautiful blue sky and the sparse white fluffy clouds that dotted the sky. She even remembered what most of the clouds looked like.

My Grandma was a very special lady. She looked at everything as beautiful. Nebraska to Wyoming to Oregon to Nebraska to Missouri to Nebraska the hardships were all there but she rarely complained. She laughed about sweeping the floor of their sod house which was made of dirt.

I asked her once how she could find anything to laugh about with what she had to go through. She quoted me this verse:

Matthew 5:45 KJV  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

That we are the children of our Father should give us enough joy to overshadow all our hardships. Grandma always said: how would we ever know the goodness of our Father if He never allowed us to face some hardships. It's the hardships that make our focus on good times so much better. Hardships allow us to see hope. If everything was always good there would be no need of hope and no need to turn to our Father. In my Grandma’s heart it wasn’t hardships that chased them out of Nebraska, it was hope that led them to Wyoming. It was the hope of something better ahead that allowed her to focus on joy. With hope comes the expectation of an end to hardships.

Proverbs 23:18 KJV  For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. 

Like anyone I deal with hardships from time to time. My hardships don’t stand to measure against the hardships that others face. But I go through a doozy once in a while. It’s easy to get caught up in the negatives. It’s easy for us to tell ourselves this is our life and we just have to settle with what we are dealt. But there is hope, there is an end to our hardships if we allow ourselves to focus on the hope and not the hardship. With hope comes joy and without hope comes misery. 

Proverbs 13:12 KJV  Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

We have a choice to believe that the negativity in our lives is short lived. It’s placing our faith and hope in the hands of our Father and knowing He wants good things for his children. If we trust in God and allow the power of the Holy Ghost to infiltrate us and submit to His leadership and guidance then we can experience peace and joy in our lives even while living among the hardships that we face from time to time.

Romans 15:13 KJV  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I was just reflecting in my Spirit Mathew 5:45. The elements of creation are revealed in that verse. Isn’t it like God to show us the wonders of his works in the face of adversity.

Genesis 1:2 KJV  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

At one point during the creation process there was chaos. We all go through chaos once in a while don’t we? But God creates beauty from the chaos.

Genesis 1:31 KJV  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good. The sun being a focus of His creation. He sends the rain on the just and the unjust. More of His creation revealed. It depends on you and how you envision the circumstance as whether it's a hardship to overcome or the joy of hope knowing your Father wants the best for you.

Matthew 5:45 KJV  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

I hope this blog inspires each of us to concentrate on what God has ahead for us and not on the negatives that we are experiencing in our times of hardship. I know times are hard right now but we can exude some joy through it all. Just because you see someone smiling through these times doesn't mean that they are not taking the issues seriously. It may be that the joy of their Father is shining through and there is absolutely nothing wrong with sharing a little hope with your brethren.

I pray Lord for all of my Christian family. Lord that you would open all of our hearts and let your joy shine through during these times. Help us God to focus on the hope of tomorrow and the promises of our future as you reveal your plans for us. When these times pass God, let us look back and see what you have brought us through. Let us remember the blue skies and the shape of the clouds and not the negativity that the enemy wants us to see. Let us see the sun and the rain with your eyes Lord. Let us focus more of the wonders of your creation and less of the chaos. Let your mercy rain on us and your joy shine down on us like the sun. Thank you Lord for your love.

In Jesus name amen

Brother Scott Green