Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Walking Wounded Theme of the Week: Strategic Struggle Friday, August 13, 2004
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Men of IntegrityJuly/August 2004Walking WoundedTheme of the Week: Strategic StruggleFriday, August 1374
Key Bible Verse: The suffering you sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your principles (Psalm 119:71). Bonus Reading:Psalm 119:67, 75
In the movie Black Hawk Down, a vehicle filled with wounded American soldiers lurches to a stop in the middle of a street where Somali bullets are flying in every direction. The officer in charge tells a soldier to get in and start driving. "I can't," the soldier says, "I'm shot."
"We're all shot," the officer replies. "Get in and drive."
That scene resonates because it's so true. We're all wounded in one way or another. It's not what happens to us that matters. It's how we respond that makes all the difference. Our troubles are no mistake. In a profound sense that we won't fully understand until we get to heaven, our troubles are a gift from God. They humble us, kill our pride, force us to admit our weakness, and drive us to the Savior who alone can help us when all earthly aids have failed.
Sometimes we all face things for which there is no earthly explanation. In those moments we need to erect a sign that reads, "Quiet: God at Work." Meanwhile, hold on. Keep believing. Don't quit. Don't give up. Let God do His work in you. The greatest tragedy is to miss what God wants to teach us through our troubles.
—Ray Pritchard in The God You Can TrustAdapted from The God You Can Trust (Harvest, 2003) by permission.
My Response: I'll ask God to show me clearly what He wants me to learn from trials.
Thought to Apply: A season of suffering is a small price to pay for a clear view of God.
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