Shelter in the Time of Storm

When I get new running shoes I suddenly have a deep desire to run. When I get new climbing gear, I'm always up for climbing. I decided that maybe if I get a new blog, I'll be excited enough about it to actually use it! I was kind of tired of Wordpress and I wanted something more lovely... which I think I achieved quite nicely with this new background. I've been thinking lately that I need to be better about jotting down my thoughts and more specifically about "spurring one another on to love and good deeds." I have a few friends who have blogs that are so encouraging and I really want to follow in their step and use this as a venue to encourage others and at the same time keep everyone updated on what Chris and I have been up to.

I just finished reading a book by Paul Tripp called, "Shelter in the Time of Storm". The whole book is on Psalm 27 and what it means to suffer well. I have been so encouraged by the simple truths found in this Psalm! I can often respond sinfully when God's plans are different mine...and I ALWAYS have a plan. Whether it is a plan for an evening with Chris, a morning run, or a day at work, I always have my heart set on something. God is once again teaching me the simple truth of his Sovereignty. His plans are better than mine and his ways are so much higher. When my plan doesn't work out quite like I wanted it to, I can trust that it wasn't the best plan after all. Praise the Lord for this! I'm so thankful that I serve a God who is wiser than me and who is motivated out of love when he ordains difficult things to happen to me.

On a side note, last night Chris and I were watching some videos of prosperity Gospel teachers and it struck me how very anti-Gospel these men and women are. God is so clear in his word that he wants us to suffer. When we suffer we become more like Jesus! To tell the world that God only wants for us what WE want for us (health and wealth) is taking God off the throne and replacing him with man. This is such a shallow and wrong view of God. John Piper said the other day that when we get to heaven we won't look back at our suffering and think, "Oh, now I see why God allowed me to suffer in that way." Rather, we'll look back at our lives and see no suffering at all. We'll only see circumstances ordained by a loving God that He gave us sufficient grace to endure and that made us more like the most perfect being to ever walk the earth. This is such an encouragement to me! It redefines suffering from a man-centered, self-serving view, to a God-centered, God-glorifying view of suffering.