I love me some C.S. Lewis
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world -C.S. Lewis
Wow, right!? My reading with C.S. Lewis goes pretty much the same every time. I find myself having to read sentences, paragraphs and pages over and over again so I can grasp what my eyes just read.
The quote above made me get this visual picture. When we are feeling pleasure, our hearts feel at peace, not much going on in our heads….like when you are sitting on the beach, waves crashing, the sun warming your face, not a care in the world. ”God whispers to us in our pleasures”. We whisper back, “Thank you God, for this amazing place!”
We are often faced with temptations, times when our conscience is kicked into high gear…”should I, or shouldn’t I?” Our minds are a little louder now, we are speaking to ourselves a little more now…..”God speaks to us in our conscience”
But pain…..pain is a different story. If we are not displaying the hurt outwardly, inwardly we are screaming at the top of our lungs..”WHY GOD? WHY? WHY WOULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?” Yet, God’s voice can be louder than our own. I once heard it said, that in times of adversity, we should stop listening to ourselves, and start listening to God. He “shouts to us in our pain.” Why? Because sometimes He has to. To remind us that He is bigger, stronger, and above any pain we would ever feel. He is reminding us that He has not disappeared. I envision Him shouting “Calm Down!” Or to be a little more Scriptural “Peace! Be Still!”
GOD HAS MORE!
Do you believe that? I was listening to Pastor Britt Merrick on the radio tonight as I drove home from church. He was speaking about his 6 year old daughter who is suffering from cancer. The words he said that stuck with me were: ”Fruit comes from adversity”.
His point was when we have gone through the darkness of despair so thick that you can’t see…..and come out the other side realizing that God never left you, you emerge stronger, wiser, and brimming with faith that God is all in all.
Have you gone through pain, sorrow, suffering, sickness? Have you seen God come through in the end? I know that without the deepest sorrow I have encountered, I would not know God’s love in such a deep way. The adversity has produced wisdom, faith, endurance, and a drive to keep on going even when things are drop down, give up, hopeless.
Maybe you are going through a huge inferno of strife right now? Do you feel alone? sorrow? sadness? pain? fear?
The Bible says “Do not fear for I am with you”. I know you’ve heard it, I know you’ve read it, but stop for a second, and let it soak in…….let it seep all the way down to the most doubtful part of your heart. You know the place…..it’s where you have accepted that those most painful things will never stop, that the sin will always fester, that the guilt will always breed more and more guilt, the shame will embed itself into your soul, until you are so paralyzed that you are rendered useless.
Do not fear because God has AMAZING things for you. I mean it! Had God not rescued me from my own place of sorrow, sin and despair, I would still be wallowing in hopelessness.
God has MORE! SO MUCH MORE!!
how easy is it to delete your blog?
well, ok, fine I will tell you my secret! go to the button that says “you must update right now”. Click on it with purpose, and voila! Your blog will disappear! Fortunately I have some friends who love me enough to fix it up for me! Thanks Diana! You’re the best!
Now my site is back, and better! I am going to work on getting some more links up here, and most importantly, working on that new record, for real! I really am making plans to start this summer! God is doing some great stuff, and I can’t wait to share it with you! It’s time to get a move on!
Keep checking back for updates!