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My heart is so heavy.  I have a friend that is going through some really tough things.  We talked today, and the pain that she is experiencing is like nothing I’ve seen in my adult life.  The bummer is that she’s suffering at the hand of another person.

A significant part of the pain in this situation is the utter powerlessness that she feels.  She has not chosen this.  She cannot control it. There appears to be no solution on the horizon.  Depression sets in as she imagines what the future may hold.

I prayed with her on the phone, and continued praying after we hung up.   Driving in the car to pick up my kids, the Lord stirred in me.  This distinct truth popped into my head:

The future belongs to God.

I was overwhelmed with joy and relief.  I think that I was getting lost in my friend’s pain and grief.  Why do we forget this absolute truth?  The future is like a blank canvas that ONLY God can paint on.  The future is like a song that ONLY He can write.  Others may betray us, wound us, steal from us, or leave us, but that does not mean that they are in control of our future.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”   Proverbs 19:21

“I know that you (Lord) can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”  Job 42:2

“The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.   But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”   Psalm 33:10-11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”   Jeremiah 29:11

There is no need to fear the future.  There is no need to fear what a person can do to you. God is in control and He is guarding the canvas of your future with His life!   How blessed you will be when He reveals the glorious masterpiece of your future.

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My last two posts have been quite long…  I just had a quick thought to share with you tonight.

The other day, I was reading my Streams in the Desert daily devotional. The subject was grief and suffering:

Sorrow causes deep scars, and indelibly writes its story on the suffering heart.  We never completely recover from our greatest griefs and are never exactly the same after having passed through them.  Yet sorrow that is endured in the right spirit impacts our growth favorably and brings us a greater sense of compassion for others.   Indeed, those who have no scars of sorrow or suffering upon them are poor.  “The joy set before” (Hebrews 12:2) us should shine on our griefs just as the sun shines through the clouds, making them radiant.          excerpt by J. R. Miller

As I read that last sentence, I immediately thought about stretch marks and scars. About how our skin is changed forever through wounds and through the physical toll of pregnancy.  How sometimes the scar tissue is shiny and smooth, and catches the light.  If you think about it, stretch marks and scars can truly appear radiant when the light shines on them.

Strange thought, I know.  You might not agree that your marks are radiant.  However, I’m sure that this inspirational perspective came from God.  He shines through my scars.  His provision and grace shine through my stretch marks.  These etchings on my body and my heart mean something.  They are a message to me and to the world that God can take the most painful things and bring something good out of them.

Will you let Him shine through your scars?

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I couldn’t help but pass this on. It’s from my favorite daily devotion, Streams in the Desert, compiled by L.B. Cowman. This particular entry is written by Laura A. Barter Snow:


“This is my doing…”  1 Kings 12:24

My child, I have a message for you today. Let me whisper it in your ear so any storm cloud that may arise will shine with glory, and the rough places you may have to walk will be made smooth. It is only four words, but let them sink into your inner being, and use them as a pillow to rest your wear head.  “This is my doing.”

Have you ever realized that whatever concerns you concerns Me too?  “For whoever touches you touches the apple of [my] eye” (Zech. 2:8].  “You are precious and honored in my sight” (Isaiah 43:4).  Therefore it is My special delight to teach you.

I want you to learn when temptations attack you, and the enemy comes in “like a pent-up flood” (Is.59:19) that “this is my doing” and that your weakness needs My strength, and your safety lies in letting Me fight for you.

Are you in difficult circumstances, surrounded by people who do not understand you, never ask your opinion, and always push you aside?  “This is my doing.” I am the God of circumstances. You did not come to this place by accident–you are exactly where I meant for you to be.

Have you not asked Me to make you humble?  Then see that I have placed you in the perfect school where this lesson is taught.  Your circumstances and the people around you are only being used to accomplish My will.

Are you having problems with money, finding it hard to make ends meet?   “This is my doing,” for I am the One who keep your finances, and I want you to learn to depend upon Me.  My supply is limitless and I  “will meet all your needs” (Phil. 4:19).   I want you to prove My promises so no one may say, “You did not trust in the Lord your God” (Deut.1:32).

Are you experiencing a time of sorrow? “This is my doing.” I am “a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering”  (Is. 53:3).  I have allowed your earthly comforters to fail you, so that by turning to Me you may receive “eternal encouragement and good hope” (2 Thess. 2:16).  Have you longed to do some great work for Me but instead have been set aside on a bed of sickness and pain?   “This is my doing.” You were so busy I could not get your attention, and I wanted to teach you some of my deepest truths.   “They also serve who only stand and wait.”   In fact, some of My greatest workers are those physically unable to serve, but who have learned to wield the powerful weapon of prayer.

Today I place a cup of holy oil in your hands. Use it freely, My child. Anoint with it every new circumstance, every word that hurts you, every interruption that makes you impatient, and every weakness you have.   The pain will leave as you learn to see Me in all things.