Suffering and Restoration

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Oh, I love being given this verse! What an uplifting word of hope! Peter says, "after you have suffered". There is so much power in suffering. I am not sure why, but there is. I was just thinking this week that I can feel myself being restored since Mom's passing and it feels as though I am stronger, firmer, and more steadfast as this journey continues. I am empowered by the grace of God that has sustained me throughout this trial, and now I am feeling the restoration to a higher place beginning to take shape. It seems as though when God decides to restore something or someone, He always does it to the next level. For instance, Job's restoration, Israel's restoration to the promised land, Peter's restoration after his denial of Jesus, they all experienced so much more with God than they had ever experienced prior to their sufferings. Some of the restoration was material, but more so it was restoration within because of their transformed relationship with God/Jesus (I'm thinking of Paul especially.). That is what I am just beginning to understand. I am being transformed, but so is my relationship with Jesus. Oh, the depth of love! God is in the business of restoration and His restoration is about overflowing my cup.

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His Strength

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I was prompted to read this verse and it was perfect for today, of course. All of Psalm 100 is praise to God. For me today, I am praising God because He was faithful in something He had revealed to me a while ago. Let me explain. Have you ever asked God for His strength? Not just strength, but His strength. This is something that I was prompted to do about a year ago, not to just ask for strength in general, but to specifically request His strength to be given to me. I know it sounds a little like a bit of rhetoric, but keep reading. In requesting God's own strength, I have noticed something tremendous has happened each time. When God bestows His strength within me, it is so much more than just endurance. His strength comes with clarity of mind, lightening of the spirit, and a depth of inner joy that cannot help but make me smile. I feel energized in a way

For Mom

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. This is a post for Mom. She is the embodiment of these words written by Paul. When I think of Mom and who God created her to be, this is it. Each of these phrases describes her perfectly. Mom learned very early on in her walk with Jesus to let Him have His way in her life. Who she is and has been to people is the testament to that. Her patience with a super naughty 2-year old, namely me, rivaled that of Job. I don't ever remember her getting angry. Quite frankly, Mom and the word angry in the same sentence is laughable. She never bragged or boasted about us (even though we know she's proud of us) because that wouldn't be showing love to her listener. Mom was never rude, she was always serving others, and she was never judgmental of anyone, no matter their past or

The Heart of Jesus

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I have had a difficult time finding a single verse today. I have been all over my Bible, reading and thinking. I'm settling on this verse, mostly because it is closely related to one of my favorite verses. I sometimes get caught up in thinking I need to do certain things to grow in my faith. These things are not inherently bad, nor are they necessarily good. Two big stumbling blocks for me are fasting and tithing. I find myself getting hooked into the religious value of them rather than the relational value. I find that spending time with God gives me a clearer picture of my own motives for wanting to do these things. I find that I usually feel the need to fast when I'm feeling poorly about my body image. I find that wanting to tithe usually comes after reading verses in the Old Testament about God blessing Israel for its offerings. Both of these are motivated by my selfishness. I am always am

Abbie Coffey

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