 "I consider everything as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philipians 3:8)
It's in the pain that mercy speaks loudest It's in the pain that we truly grow near It's in the pain that we hear the loudest The voice of our Redeemer saying, 'Do not fear' If the pain never comes our faith remains alone If we do not suffer our faith is merely a word If we never know loss, betrayal, or battle If there was no struggle our faith would go unheard An unlit candle does not shine until it's lit An unlit fire will never give warmth until it burns An unlit heart remains dark until if truly loves And an unlit life will never shine until it yearns Yearns to hear the Master say, 'Well done' Yearns to hear His voice amidst the pain and strife Yearns to touch the thing it cannot yet see Yearns to know that from great loss comes true life... Nothing truly matters without the surpassing greatness of truly knowing Christ. And everything truly matters when you come to know the surpassing greatness of truly knowing Christ. He is 'above all, and through all, and in you all.' (Ephesians 4:6) "Light is always costly and comes at the expense of that which produces it. An unlit candle does not shine, for burning must come before the light. And we can be of little use to others without a cost to ourselves." (Streams in the Desert, April 26th) Written by Anne Marie Hawke April 2019 For more information, or to find out more about my blog, please visit my website at hawkewriter.com
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 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding..." (Proverbs 3:5)
A beautiful, amazing, Godly woman dies at 49 of a brain tumor: mother, sister, friend, prayer warrior, giver, worshiper. A wonderful, kind, thoughtful, amazing young man dies at 22 of deep pain that he didn't allow anyone to see: creative, intelligent, funny, giving, sensitive, sweet. A hard-working, gifted, incredible leader, finds herself without a job after 30 years of pouring herself into her career. A child, not yet two years old, is diagnosed with an incurable disease. The man you thought was so in love with you, is seen with someone else. The family you thought would love you unconditionally, just put conditions on their love. You've suffered years of abuse and the pain is unbearable. Things happen in life that do not make sense. Things happen that we cannot wrap our heart or our head around. Things happen. Awful, horrendous things that steal our joy, break our heart, and leave us weary, in despair, without hope. What are we do to with these things? In light of a God who claims He loves us 'with an everlasting love?'(Jeremiah 31:3) A God who says that 'He will never leave us nor forsake us?'(Hebrews 13:5) We are to trust Him. We are not to 'lean on our own understanding' (Proverbs 3:5), because there are many things in life that we will simply not understand on this side of heaven. What I know is this: We have an enemy who 'walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.' (1 Peter 5:8) We have an enemy whose purpose is 'to steal, kill, and destroy.' (John 10:10) We have an enemy who will 'speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High...' (Daniel 7:25) And if he can deceive us, distract us, divide us, cause us to doubt, or leave us in despair, then he has kept us from being who we were meant to be in God. He has kept us from trusting in and leaning on the our awesome loving God. He has achieved his purpose. We must choose to trust God with the things that we do not understand. We must choose to believe that His plan for our lives will not be stopped, despite what the enemy throws at us. We must choose not to quit, not to give up, and to walk through whatever we have to, knowing that He loves us, that He is with us, that He is in us, and that 'He came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly.' (John 10:10) He is able. He is God Almighty. He is faithful. He is true. Keep trusting Him even when nothing makes sense and it all hurts... Written by Anne Marie Hawke, April 2019 For more information on my writing, or to sign up for my blog, please visit my website at hawkewriter.com |
qUIET IN CHAOSQuiet in Chaos is a blog about nothing, everything, and all things inbetween…it’s a space, an ellipsis, a deep pause. Life can be chaotic, and often needs more moments of quiet…So join me as I share and give through the written word, the place I find my Quiet in Chaos… Archives
February 2022
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