Tough Love

Isaiah 43:1-3

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Some days, when chaos is swirling around me, and my once peaceful home has turned upside down, when people offer well-meaning advice that only hurts, when it looks like there is no end or improvement in sight, I long for a quick fix, an instant miracle, something good and easy. I have even prayed for something "good and easy" while at the same time forgetting that the temporary "good and easy" that I long for is so much less than the true treasure of God's presence in the midst of this chaos. Ease, success, control, stability are all nice, but they rarely produce endurance, character, or hope and definitely not the eternal kind of hope that does not disappoint. I know that God, in His love, walks through these waters of chaos with us and that the rivers of special needs will not overwhelm us, nor the fires of anxiety burn us, or the flame of anger consume us because He is the LORD, our God. We are His and He has redeemed us and called us by name. We can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God and in our sufferings.