2025-10-16
Jesaja 48:10 NLV
C.S. Lewis het gesê: ‘God fluister vir ons in ons plesier, praat in ons gewete, maar skree in ons pyn; dit is sy megafoon om ‘n dowe wêreld wakker te maak.’ Dit was in die smeltkroes van lyding wat die Psalmdigter Dawid gesê het: ‘Leer my goeie oordeel en kennis, want ek vertrou op u gebooie. Voor ek gely het, het ek afgedwaal, maar nou leef ek volgens u woord. U is goed en doen net wat goed is…’ (Psalm 119:66-68 NLV).
Jy kom egter nie op die plek van oorgawe maklik of oornag nie. Dit neem tyd, ‘n bietjie geskop en geskree en ‘n paar remmerke op die plaveisel waar jy weerstand gebied het! God het vir Jesaja gesê om te profeteer: ‘Ek het julle gelouter… Ek het julle gelouter in die smeltkroes van lyding… Ter wille van Myself…’ (Jesaja 48:10-11 NLV). Lyding is ‘n eensame ervaring; dis nie iets wat jy sal kies nie.
Die digter Ella Wheeler Wilcox herinner ons: ‘There is room in the halls of pleasure for a large and lordly train, but one by one we must all file on through the narrow aisles of pain.’ Nietemin sê die Bybel: ‘Hierdie soort swaarkry maak juis deel uit van dit waartoe God julle geroep het. Christus, wat vir julle gely het, is julle voorbeeld. Trap in sý spore’ (1 Petrus 2:21 NLV).
Daar is nie ‘n maklike manier om soos Jesus te word nie; dit verg ongemak en pyn. Die goeie nuus is egter dat jy nie alleen in die vuur is nie. God weet presies hoeveel hitte nodig is om jou tot by die plek te bring waar jy kan sê: ‘U is goed en doen net wat goed is.’ Jy mag dalk nog nie by daardie plek wees nie, maar jy beweeg nader daaraan.
Sielskos: Hab 1-3; Joh 5:1-15; Ps 15; Spr 24:7
Isaiah 48:10 NIV
C. S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” It was in the furnace of affliction that the psalmist David said, “Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I obey your word. You are good, and what you do is good” (Psalm 119:66-68 NIV).
But you don’t get to that place of submission easily or overnight. It takes time, some kicking and screaming, and a few skid marks on the pavement where you dug in your heels and resisted! God told Isaiah to prophesy, “I have refined you… I have tested you in the furnace of affliction… for my own sake” (Isaiah 48:10-11 NIV). Suffering is a lonely experience; it’s not something you would choose.
The poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox reminds us, “There is room in the halls of pleasure for a large and lordly train, but one by one we must all file on through the narrow aisles of pain.” Nevertheless, the Bible says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21 NIV).
There is no easy way to become like Jesus; it involves discomfort and pain. But the good news is, you’re not in the fire alone. God’s hand is controlling the thermostat. And He knows exactly how much heat it will take to bring you to the place where you can say, “You are good, and what you do is good.” You may not be there yet, but you’re getting closer.
Soul food: Hab 1-3; John 5:1-15; Ps 15; Prov 24:7
2025-10-15
Psalm 77:19 NIV
The psalmist wrote, “Your path led through… mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen” (v. 19 NIV). When you can’t see God’s “footprints,” He is calling you to walk by faith, not by sight (See 2 Corinthians 5:7).
Joni Eareckson Tada wrote: “A few months from now, I’ll mark an anniversary that is a heartbreaking story of loss and an incomparable testimony of God’s faithfulness… I will have been in a wheelchair for 47 years… barely a heartbeat in history, and as nothing compared with eternity. But for a flesh-and-blood, earth-dwelling human being, 47 years is a long time. Anyone who suffers… [wants] assurance that somehow, someway, things will work out in the end. We want to know that God is at the centre of our suffering.
In Romans 8 we have… that assurance: ‘For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose’ (v. 28 ESV) … [God] is so supremely in charge of the world that everything touching our lives… is ordered in such a way that it serves our good. This is true whether we face cancer, broken relationships, job loss, bankruptcy… or even a broken neck at age 17.
The strong hope of the believer is not that we will escape ‘bad things’… but that God will transform our hardships into an instrument of his mercy to do us good… Romans 8:29 reveals [our] sufferings are small and short… compared with the weight of glory they are accruing for [us] in heaven. So, bear with heartbreak and hardship a bit longer. These things are expanding your soul’s capacity for joy, worship, and service in heaven.”
Soul food: Nahum 1-3; John 4:39-54; Ps 41; Prov 24:5-6
Psalm 77:20 NLV
Die Psalmdigter het geskryf: ‘U pad loop deur die see, u weg was deur magtige waters, maar u spoor kon niemand sien nie’ (vers 20 NLV). Wanneer jy nie God se ‘voetspore’ kan sien nie, roep Hy jou om deur geloof en nie deur sig nie, te loop (sien 2 Korintiërs 5:7).
Joni Eareckson Tada het geskryf: ‘Oor ‘n paar maande van nou af sal ek ‘n herdenking vier wat ‘n hartverskeurende verhaal van verlies en ‘n onvergelykbare getuienis van God se getrouheid weerspieël. Op daardie herdenking sal ek al vir 47 jaar in ‘n rolstoel wees – skaars ‘n hartklop in die geskiedenis en niks in vergelyking met die ewigheid nie. Vir ‘n vlees-en-bloed, aardbewoner is 47 jaar egter ‘n lang tyd. Enigiemand wat ly wil die versekering hê dat dinge op die een of ander manier op die ou einde sal uitwerk.
In Romeine 8 vind ons die versekering: ‘En ons weet dat God alles ten goede laat saamwerk vir hulle wat Hom liefhet, hulle wat geroep is volgens sy doel vir hulle lewe’ (vers 28 NLV). God is so oppermagtig in beheer van die wêreld dat alles wat ons lewens raak, so georden is dat dit vir ons beswil is. Dit is waar of ons kanker, gebroke verhoudings, werksverlies, bankrotskap of selfs ‘n gebreekte nek op die ouderdom van 17, in die gesig staar.
Die hoop van die gelowige is nie dat ons nie ‘slegte dinge’ sal oorkom nie, maar dat God ons swaarkry in ‘n instrument van sy barmhartigheid ten goede van ons, sal omskep. Ons lyding is min en kort in vergelyking met die heerlikheid wat in die hemel vir ons wag. Verduur dus die hartseer en swaarkry ‘n bietjie langer. Hierdie dinge verbreed jou siel se kapasiteit vir vreugde, aanbidding en diens in die hemel.’
Sielskos: Nahum 1-3; Joh 4:39-54; Ps 41; Spr 24:5-6
2025-10-14
Matthew 16:18 KJV
Author Sherry Surratt notes that when Jesus promised to build His church, “[he] wasn’t just talking about the bricks or wood that form a… building, but he was talking about building his church of… ordinary, human people who are imperfect… broken and [who] bring their messy lives… with them every time they walk through the door. This is what Christ died for… He died for people – for his church… a group of people, led by people, and not a single one of us is perfect. We’re a broken bunch who hopefully recognizes our brokenness and acknowledges that Jesus is the only fix…
No matter how long we’ve been in the church, we never reach perfection… we’ll have to work at it every day. We’ll come face-to-face with our human side every morning when we wake up, and… when we do, we’ll bump up against each other and we’ll get hurt. Our natural tendency is to steer clear of what hurts us… So when we encounter gossip aimed at us or witness hatred or hypocrisy in our fellow churchgoers or even our pastors, it’s natural to think about walking away. But to do this is to separate ourselves from something that God built for us to use for our good…
The Bible never says other people aren’t going to wound [us]… What [it] does teach… is that it doesn’t help to just sit in hurt and feel sorry for [ourselves] (See Matthew 5:24). God’s Word warns [us] not to let bitterness set in (See Hebrews 12:15). This has nothing to do with pretending something didn’t happen. It has everything to do with being honest… admitting when our spirit is crushed and leaving revenge in the hands of God.”
Soul food: 2 Pet 1-3; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
