"Not So Bright"

"For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping." (Psalms 102:9)
Before we get to celebrate or get carried away by feeling that it is not our problem but someone else, there still is this little issue about trust that needs to be addressed. Job had a touch of it; although he tried not to admit it, except to his wife, his public display pretty much gave it away. Whether we choose to accept it or not, God has complete control over the outcome of every situation. I know that things may not always appear so, not during the storms and the trials, but every storm and trial ends with victory and beauty, whether we realize it or not. It might be hard to convince someone who is going through something that it's all going to be alright, but it will be just as God has promised us in His word, because God cannot and will not lie. I heard part of a message yesterday that was just the right word for such a time as this; it was based upon the sin of Achan, from Joshua chapter 7. In the message the pastor went through all of the sifting that took place through all of the tribes of Israel; one by one tribe, clan by clan, family by family, until the guilty party was discovered. Yet, all the while, Achan refused to admit his sin and repent for what he had done. He held out refusing to give in and to give it to God, not until it was too late. If we continue in our sin after God has called us out on it, we risk putting our whole household into the midst our ordeal. God just wants us to be the kind of person that seeks His forgiveness; not the kind of person that tries to hid what he has done. As soon as we know or realize we have sinned against God, it must be something that we know we must deal with, one way or another. The best thing that we can do is to acknowledge that God is fair and just, giving Him full control over the situation, and surrendering completely to His mercy and grace. That might sound easy enough, and we might even make it our plan for such a situation; but although it is simple, it is not easy to do. If you were looking for a easy way to find an answer, the best way is to be humble before the Lord; acknowledge your weakness and your faults, without trying to blame it on anyone else, and simply surrender your life to Him, completely. Once we can do that, nothing else will matter. Whether this or that, it won't really matter, because God is the one who will have complete control over the outcome, no matter the situation. It might be simple, but it's not easy...
"He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink. He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust. Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. I cry out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I hoped for from the LORD is lost!" The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"" (Lamentations 3:15-24) NLT