Don't be disheartened. We're not home yet.

I have found myself the past two months in the grips of despond. I didn't know how to move past the emotions and inner pain I was dealing with. I found this poem and it brought great comfort to my heart that through the furnace, it is there that God strips us of who we are that we may grow in Him. Don't be disheartened. We're not home yet. Although weeping may last for the night, joy everlasting cometh in the morning.

Oh, the furnace of suffering! How it hurts and brings us pain!
It is there that the Lord trains us for battle.
It is there that we learn to pray.

It is there that God gets alone with us
and reveals to us who we really are.
It is there where He prunes away our comforts
and burns away the sin in our lives.

It is there, in the furnace, that we drench our pillow with tears
when in agony of soul we cry out to Him,
"Oh Lord, if it be possible, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will but thine be done."

It is there that He uses our failures to prepare us for His work.
It is there, in the furnace, when we have nothing to offer,
when we have no song in the night.

It is there that we feel like our life is over
when every thing we enjoy is being taken away from us.
It is then that we begin to realize
that we are under the wings of the Lord.
He will take care of us.

It is there that we often fail to recognize
the hidden work of God in our most barren times.
It is there, in the furnace, that no tear is wasted
but fulfills His purposes in our lives.

It is there that He weaves the black thread
into the tapestry of our life.
It is there where He reveals that all things work together
for good to those who love Him.

It is there that we get real with God, when all else is said and done.
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him."
It is when we fall out of love with this life,
and live in the light of eternity to come.

It is there that He reveals the depths of love that He has for us,
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us."
~ Romans 8:18

It is there, in the furnace, that we realize
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
~ 2 Corinthians 4:17

It is there that we fall in love with Jesus
and appreciate the depth of our eternal home,
knowing that the sufferings of our past won't cause us pain,
but would rather enhance His glory.

It is when we come out of the furnace that spring begins to blossom.
After He reduces us to tears we offer liquidified prayers
that touch the heart of God.

It is there that we shed tears of intercession
that will not be forgotten by God.
"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him."
~ Psalm 126:6

"...but we glory in tribulations also:
knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
and patience, experience;
and experience, hope."
~ Romans 5:3-4

Author unknown

Patsy Foley
Women of Character Graduate

DIGGING DEEPER
Matthey 6
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?