Monday, August 22, 2011
Suffering Saints by Todd Pierce
Have you ever seen someone walk on water?
I have watched a family do it for this entire last week. I think it is impossible to imagine the level of suffering the death of a child can bring upon someone and it's my prayer that our Father forbid that you or I ever have to endure such a hit.
With that said I can say that watching saints suffer is to watch the miraculous. I have been overwhelmed this last week as I have watched the Custer family walk out the reality of the parable that Jesus told when he described the building that was built on the rock and how when the storm hit, the house was still standing. Although the Custers have suffered and will continue to suffer, they are still standing. The way Stacey put it was that she is definitely not alright with what happened, but she is alright. She said she knows that this is part of life and we are a part of an unshakable Kingdom and our Father always brings life out of everything. I suppose that when you know that God is good, nothing can move you. Over the six days I was there, there was a constant stream of people from all over the Country who filtered through the Custer home. Day after day, Cody and Stacey greeted their friends and family with a smile and a hug and thanked them for being there. They understood that no one had the words to say, but they were grateful for the fact that they knew what to do. Sometimes your presence is enough. Multiple times over the week, I was literally floored as I saw people break down and Stacey and Cody would hold them up and poor this everlasting life into them. As much as this is a great tribute to an amazing family, I want it to be an encouragement to you. This life of growing in the knowledge of who our Father is and who we are is a life of unmovable strength. The promise we have is that our Father will work all things together for the good of us who love him and have been called to live according to his will. The Message Bible, Romans 8, says it this way:
"He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun."
I want to encourage you to take a step back for a minute and resist the tendency to think about your current situation. Know that our Father is building in you an unshakable character that is fully reliant on Him and saturated with His love. When the storm hits, it won't destroy you, but rather it will be a catalyst to bring about revival in the life around you. I am proud to call the Custers my friends.
In service of the King,
Todd Pierce
www.ridinghighministries.org
Have you ever seen someone walk on water?
I have watched a family do it for this entire last week. I think it is impossible to imagine the level of suffering the death of a child can bring upon someone and it's my prayer that our Father forbid that you or I ever have to endure such a hit.
With that said I can say that watching saints suffer is to watch the miraculous. I have been overwhelmed this last week as I have watched the Custer family walk out the reality of the parable that Jesus told when he described the building that was built on the rock and how when the storm hit, the house was still standing. Although the Custers have suffered and will continue to suffer, they are still standing. The way Stacey put it was that she is definitely not alright with what happened, but she is alright. She said she knows that this is part of life and we are a part of an unshakable Kingdom and our Father always brings life out of everything. I suppose that when you know that God is good, nothing can move you. Over the six days I was there, there was a constant stream of people from all over the Country who filtered through the Custer home. Day after day, Cody and Stacey greeted their friends and family with a smile and a hug and thanked them for being there. They understood that no one had the words to say, but they were grateful for the fact that they knew what to do. Sometimes your presence is enough. Multiple times over the week, I was literally floored as I saw people break down and Stacey and Cody would hold them up and poor this everlasting life into them. As much as this is a great tribute to an amazing family, I want it to be an encouragement to you. This life of growing in the knowledge of who our Father is and who we are is a life of unmovable strength. The promise we have is that our Father will work all things together for the good of us who love him and have been called to live according to his will. The Message Bible, Romans 8, says it this way:
"He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun."
I want to encourage you to take a step back for a minute and resist the tendency to think about your current situation. Know that our Father is building in you an unshakable character that is fully reliant on Him and saturated with His love. When the storm hits, it won't destroy you, but rather it will be a catalyst to bring about revival in the life around you. I am proud to call the Custers my friends.
In service of the King,
Todd Pierce
www.ridinghighministries.org
Labels: death, overwhelmed, revival, solid, storm, Suffering, unshakable
posted by Todd # 11:55 AM 
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