Maybe a brick wall. Maybe a puzzle that cannot be solved. Or maybe more like a very challenging obstacle course. I'm really not sure. But no matter which one it is, TODAY is tough. Very tough right now. I'm left hurting, wondering, confused.
Once again I am reminded that is what this faith thing is all about. I preach about it. I teach it. I struggle with ups and downs trying to live it. But in the end its all about a trusting faith that with God everything is alright. Even when it feels wrong. Even when it feels tough. And TODAY it is very tough.
If I had all the answers then there would be no need for faith. If the way forward was perfectly clear then I would not need to place my trust in a God who guides. If the picture made sense to me then TODAY I would not need to have hope.
But TODAY I am holding on to hope. It is the only thing left to hold on to right now.
Romans 8:22-27: 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Who hopes for what he already has? No one. The only people who hope are those who don't yet have, but who long for and yearn for something different. So TODAY I am holding on to hope, praying for the faith to trust and believe that with God everything is alright even when it seems all wrong. I am believing that God's Spirit is interceding for us TODAY. My faith reminds me that God's will is exactly where I want to be. Nowhere else.
Even when I feel so raw. Like I do TODAY.
Welcome!
About Me
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- Barry Gaeddert
- Dr. Barry Gaeddert is the Senior Pastor of the International Community Church of Surrey, England. Previously he served as Associate Pastor at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in Chesterfield, Missouri for sixteen years. He has also served congregations in Hutchinson, Kansas,Glendale, California and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as a brief assignment in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Gaeddert has a special passion for teaching and has been involved with mission work in Russia and at several orphanages. Dr. Gaeddert holds degrees from the University of Tulsa (Bachelor of Science), Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California (Master of Divinity) and St. Louis University, Missouri (PhD in Higher Education). He and his wife Suzy have two sons, Zachary and Micah.
Haven't stopped praying since we spoke! God's will, my friend!!
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