2/19/2004 04:33:00 PM|||Andrew|||Today after lunch at Sbisa I went out near the academic plaza, laid out a blanket, laid down and got a chance to read, think, and pray. The most notable thing I read was Hebrews. I really wish that I read full books of the Bible, in one sitting, more often. There was a power in my reading, a marvelous strength that seemed to capture my attention fully, quickly. The book itself is no doubt one of my favorite New Testament books, right up there with James, perhaps because it has such a depth of meaning that not all of the other books have. I'm not trying to disparage other things, but I guess it's always been one of those books that holds a special place in my heart. Like Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament.

One thing that struck me was how much the author talked about the sufferings of Jesus and our sufferings as followers of him. One passage in particular, had me to the point of tears: "12.11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it." Last semester was certainly a semester of discipline for me, and a very hard time altogether. And the thing I prayed for most earnestly through it all, right up to the point where God started working seriously in my life, changing things around, and even beyond that point, was peace. And God was so good, and so loving; he took care of me all the way through, carried me when I could not walk, brought me to the place I needed to be: with him. He gave me such a peace, even now a peace I don't understand. And to see here, written out before my very eyes, the promise of God that I have seen in my life, is remarkable.

Compare these sentiments to what I express in a poem, a prayer, I wrote not too many weeks ago:

All praise be to my Father above!
For You have upheld me with Your hand
Through times of misery and trouble.
When I questioned, You did not abandon me.
You did not hide Your face from my despair.
Surely it was You who set these troubles upon me;
I praise You for all the blessings You have shown me.
For as I trembled in fear and anger,
Your wisdom and goodness secured my peace.
You worked out joy and faith within me
Even through my hardest tribulations.
I had thought You were punishing me,
Taking away all the pleasurable things in my life,
But You were blessing me beyond imagining,
Giving me more pleasure than I can bear.
My glorious and loving Lord,
All day long I want to praise Your beautiful name;
I want to drink my fill of Your loyal love.

Our God is a truly marvelous God.|||107723718782025865|||