The storm that swept through the country last week was so destructive, claiming more than 1,000 lives, costing our government millions of pesos in damages and putting people, particularly fishermen and farmers, out of work. This storm couldn't have come at a worst time, when gas and food prices are already up, when people with less have so little to get them through the day. But that's the nature of storms, isn't it? Unpredictable, unrelenting, with absolutely no regard for human lives. When it's over, what remains will have to be dealt with and we can either be so overwhelmed, sit back and let it fall into disrepair or stand up, roll up our sleeves and get busy.
It's the same when we sustain a beating in our lives. Circumstances beyond our control threaten the stability of where we stand. Discouraging words aren't mere sticks and stones but can be powerful enough to give that final kick when we're already down. Oftentimes, we look up and see the crest of the wave as tall as skyscrapers, like in The Perfect Storm" or in "Poseidon" or even what the passengers on the Sulpicio Lines ferry must have seen out on the ocean at the height of the storm. But when these come and go, there is always, left behind, a remnant. And this is what we hold on to, what keeps us going, the glimmer of hope we know will keep us alive at the very moment we feel like surrendering.
But God!!
I love this phrase in the Bible. It's often overlooked because it gets buried in the sentence but to me, it has demonstrated such power. Two words--who would've known it is the difference between death and life, depression and joy, defeat and victory? It is God's cue for us to keep our chin up, persevere in what we're doing, give us something to eagerly hope for and to wipe away our tears.
I did a phrase search on a bible forum for these words and it turned up at least 200 results that this phrase is used in the bible in this context.
"But God remembered Noah...", "But God will be with you", "But God meant it for good...", "But God will surely take care of you", "But God said..." And how many of you know that when God speaks we better listen?
This week, I slipped from my rock and was cast into the vast expanse of the world without "But God." See, this week, I filed my registration with PRC, paid for a residency application form to a certain training hospital, requested for the necessary documents from my medschool AND received the schedule of subjects for the board exams. To top if all off, I'm studying Anatomy this week!!!
All my life, I've had a road to follow and as long as I kept on that road, I'll be ok. It's like a had blinders on, like a horse's, and now I'm forced to remove them. And the first sight can always be quite scary. I feel like I'm in line to be pushed over the edge of a cliff and I'm just a few feet away from it. Just as the batch of doctors before me have jumped and chosen their paths (USMLE, Philippine residency or others), the time is coming for me and my batchmates to make a decision, the first real one, for our lives.
And so, all these things have been on my mind, just sitting there, brewing, stewing, cooking, until the frustration finally let it all come to a boil and I could practically see steam lifting off the top of my head, coming out of my eyes and ears. It was a horrible state to be in because I couldn't seem to control it.
But God!!
He said we aren't in control--He was. He said He had given us rest on every side from all our enemies (2 Sam. 7:1). He said He will appoint a place for us and will plant us there (2 Sam. 7:10). He said to eagerly await the revelation of Jesus (1 Cor. 1:7). He said that He revealed all things through the Spirit so that we may know the things freely given to us by Him (1 Cor. 2: 10, 12). He says that we don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We don't have to do things by trial-and-error. There's another road for each of us to travel on and it is His good pleasure to point us towards it. There is life after medschool and He's the one who created it already, long before we ever knew we wanted to become doctors.
My friend, Mond, in his weekly bulletin to the Young Adults, was certainly God's instrument of help when he said, and I quote: "Perhaps, going throuhg life, you feel like that boxer who was ready to be knocked out. You feel like tugging at you left and right, pressures from everywhere, your boss is on your case and mountains of bills to be paid. As we are studying today, we don't fight for victory, we fight from a place of total victory. We fight to reinforce what Jesus has already done.
Amen to that! This is another "But God" moment, isn't it?
God has done all this, not because of who I am, but because of who He is--out of His very heart!--but He's let me in on it (2 Sam. 7:21, The Message).
And best of all, with all my heart, mind and soul, I can speak the words David said to the Lord after He made the covenant: "Now, O Lord God, You are God and Your words are truth and You have promised this good thing to Your servant." (2 Sam. 7:28)
When storms in your life come, no matter if it's signal 1, 2 or 3, remember that two words can spell the difference about how it's going to affect your life-- But God.
It's the same when we sustain a beating in our lives. Circumstances beyond our control threaten the stability of where we stand. Discouraging words aren't mere sticks and stones but can be powerful enough to give that final kick when we're already down. Oftentimes, we look up and see the crest of the wave as tall as skyscrapers, like in The Perfect Storm" or in "Poseidon" or even what the passengers on the Sulpicio Lines ferry must have seen out on the ocean at the height of the storm. But when these come and go, there is always, left behind, a remnant. And this is what we hold on to, what keeps us going, the glimmer of hope we know will keep us alive at the very moment we feel like surrendering.
But God!!
I love this phrase in the Bible. It's often overlooked because it gets buried in the sentence but to me, it has demonstrated such power. Two words--who would've known it is the difference between death and life, depression and joy, defeat and victory? It is God's cue for us to keep our chin up, persevere in what we're doing, give us something to eagerly hope for and to wipe away our tears.
I did a phrase search on a bible forum for these words and it turned up at least 200 results that this phrase is used in the bible in this context.
"But God remembered Noah...", "But God will be with you", "But God meant it for good...", "But God will surely take care of you", "But God said..." And how many of you know that when God speaks we better listen?
This week, I slipped from my rock and was cast into the vast expanse of the world without "But God." See, this week, I filed my registration with PRC, paid for a residency application form to a certain training hospital, requested for the necessary documents from my medschool AND received the schedule of subjects for the board exams. To top if all off, I'm studying Anatomy this week!!!
All my life, I've had a road to follow and as long as I kept on that road, I'll be ok. It's like a had blinders on, like a horse's, and now I'm forced to remove them. And the first sight can always be quite scary. I feel like I'm in line to be pushed over the edge of a cliff and I'm just a few feet away from it. Just as the batch of doctors before me have jumped and chosen their paths (USMLE, Philippine residency or others), the time is coming for me and my batchmates to make a decision, the first real one, for our lives.
And so, all these things have been on my mind, just sitting there, brewing, stewing, cooking, until the frustration finally let it all come to a boil and I could practically see steam lifting off the top of my head, coming out of my eyes and ears. It was a horrible state to be in because I couldn't seem to control it.
But God!!
He said we aren't in control--He was. He said He had given us rest on every side from all our enemies (2 Sam. 7:1). He said He will appoint a place for us and will plant us there (2 Sam. 7:10). He said to eagerly await the revelation of Jesus (1 Cor. 1:7). He said that He revealed all things through the Spirit so that we may know the things freely given to us by Him (1 Cor. 2: 10, 12). He says that we don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We don't have to do things by trial-and-error. There's another road for each of us to travel on and it is His good pleasure to point us towards it. There is life after medschool and He's the one who created it already, long before we ever knew we wanted to become doctors.
My friend, Mond, in his weekly bulletin to the Young Adults, was certainly God's instrument of help when he said, and I quote: "Perhaps, going throuhg life, you feel like that boxer who was ready to be knocked out. You feel like tugging at you left and right, pressures from everywhere, your boss is on your case and mountains of bills to be paid. As we are studying today, we don't fight for victory, we fight from a place of total victory. We fight to reinforce what Jesus has already done.
Amen to that! This is another "But God" moment, isn't it?
God has done all this, not because of who I am, but because of who He is--out of His very heart!--but He's let me in on it (2 Sam. 7:21, The Message).
And best of all, with all my heart, mind and soul, I can speak the words David said to the Lord after He made the covenant: "Now, O Lord God, You are God and Your words are truth and You have promised this good thing to Your servant." (2 Sam. 7:28)
When storms in your life come, no matter if it's signal 1, 2 or 3, remember that two words can spell the difference about how it's going to affect your life-- But God.
No comments:
Post a Comment