That to me is one of my biggest hurdles - I've always been pretty well known for sticking my nose into other people's business, and it is especially hard for me to keep away from interfering when it comes to the people we love the most.
I really need to stay well out of the way. And sometimes we actually run away - I know I have, maybe not physically, but I certainly have made myself scarce.
Lots of family and friends go through some pretty tough times with lots of challenges and hardships constantly banging on their personal doors.
I remember when I was really involved with a special family who were going through a pretty horrendous time - my natural instinct was to jump in and help, help, help as much as I possibly could. Sometimes great! Othertimes not so great.
So, where are we? Having brekky the other morning, I found myself reading Exodus chapter 3 - I relate so well to Moses - He took off in a hurry, hid himself away, and found himself relaxing (but not for as long as he thought).
"Who am I?" must have seemed like a legitimate question to God when He grabbed Moses, who was minding sheep and minding his own business in the wilderness, and spoke to him through a burning bush (which in it iteslf is utterly amazing) and told him that he had to go back to Egypt and rescue the Israelites from Pharaoh. You can just imagine Moses's surprise! WHAT!!! NO!!!Years before, Moses had escaped from Egypt after he had saved one of the Israelite slaves from being beaten up brutally by an Egyptian, and Moses jumped to the rescue and ended up murdering the Egyptian himself.
Moses took off like a rocket after he realised that what he had done was becoming known, and Pharaoh was out to kill him. He ended up in a place called Midian and stayed there for many years.
He married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, a high priest in Midian, and Zipporah and Moses had two sons. So Moses thought life was pretty good - he had left Egypt and settled in Midian, had a wife and two sons, and was happy being a shepherd and wandering around in the wilderness.
So... you can imagine his surprise when God pushed this enormous enterprise onto him, not only the surprise but the responsibility of rescuing His people from Egypt and out of the hands of Pharaoh.
After much tooing and froing, Moses and his brother Aaron took off for Egypt and a long story cut short. Moses and Aaron took the Israelites from Egypt, and finally they saw the promised land after many, many years wandering in the desert. So much suffering followed, and so much hurt.
Is there is purpose in our suffering? Why am I going through this suffering? Does God know, hear, and is with us during this time?
The Bible suggests that suffering, whatever that suffering is, all started when the world fell apart with sin. All suffering is unavoidable. That's what being human is about - It's not all loveliness and light; unfortunately, there is sadness, bitterness, and resentment.
Moses must have felt like he was all stirred up with doubt, fear, and a huge inadequacy. He felt amazingly burdened by his stuttering, a speech impediment he was obviously born with, and he was terrified to face Pharaoh. (I really can't blame him for that!).
You know, when you think about it, if you meet your suffering, whatever that suffering is, with faith in Christ Jesus, then God can use your suffering to give you hope.
In Romans 5, it states, "believers can rejoice in their suffering because it leads to endurance, which then produces character and ultimately hope".
Endurance is an amazing skill. When we look at Christ's life, His love and His endurance in what he went through here on earth for us, it all points to God's love and His grace as the very source of strength, endurance, and hope, even in the middle of suffering, whatever that suffering may be.
When we are suffering, it can often be challenging. I know when I suffer all sorts of things, it can often lead me to a deeper relationship with God because I really feel I can't cope when things go zooming out of control. I need his strength and endurance more than anything in those tough times.
When I think of what our family has been through this past 12 months, it has just made me realise that we really need to grow more and more into a deeper relationship with God. It is through these tough times that I personally have realised we have an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-great God.
Unfortunately, many people leave their faith when things get tough. The very presence of tough times can lead to people challenging their faith and questioning Christ's love for them.To me personally, and knowing the way I am, Jesus' very death on that cruel cross saved me from my obvious desperation and depression.
Jesus can do the same for you - If he can do it for me with my mixed-up life as it was, He certainly can do it for you.
All you need to do is to pray to Him and ask Him to lead your life and take control. He can uphold you in the tough times and rejoice with you in good times.
Have an amazing week, and please keep your eyes on Jesus Christ this week. He is our God and King.
Take Care.