The Testing of Faith

I read this testimonial writing today. Great testimony!

If you want to know what is behind all this, please click this news story about Lauren Scruggs.

Click here: Lauren Scruggs

Here is the below the testimony from Cheryl Scruggs, Lauren's mother.

The Testing of Faith.......

Our Faith.........
..........challenged, but unwavering
..........shaken, but stronger
..........stretched, but steadfast

Wow, this past week has flown by! For the most part, it's been a positive week for Lauren. The sun has been shining! We have had some great talks! There's been lots of laughter, amongst the tears. She is regaining her strength. She's taking one day at a time, but she finds it hard to be patient at times. She wants to "sprint" through this ordeal. And frankly we do too....

But we remember that.......
         .......God doesn't always want us sprinting.
         .......His ways are not our ways.
         .......He cares more about us walking diligently with Him, slowly  and with purpose, than to miss anything He is trying to show us or teach us.
         .......He has a plan and is Sovereign over our lives.

The challenge comes when we question what is happening. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves as this whole experience feels like a bad dream. But we wake each day to the reality.......it's the way life is now. And it's this reality that reminds Lauren, and us, that this is a marathon. And in a marathon, one must pace themselves, and be diligent in training in order to finish the race well. It's the new norm.
Easy to say, hard to do.

As a family, our faith in Jesus Christ is the oak tree we lean on. It is what we cling to. It is intertwined with every move, every action, every thought; every word, every insecurity, and every speechless moment. Have we panicked at times? Of course.

But we are reminded, by Martin Lloyd Jones, in his great writing "Spiritual Depression", that

"faith is a refusal to panic. Faith is not a matter of "feelings" only, but takes up the whole man including his mind, his intellect, and his understanding....it's a response to truth. Faith is not something that acts automatically, faith is not something that acts magically. So what is faith? ....it is an activity. It is something that has to be exercised. It does not come into operation itself, you and I have to put it into operation.The first thing I have to do when I find myself in a difficult situation is to refuse to allow myself to be controlled by the situation. You must pull yourself up, control yourself. Do not let yourself go. You assert yourself. Then after you do this, you remind yourself of what you believe and what you know."

Life was moving along beautifully......(at least in our finite minds)........And wham!!!!!!!!!!!..........it changed in an instant.

It was in that instant, that God asked the question to each of us:
"Do you trust Me now?"
"Do you have faith that I am in control?"
"Do you trust that I'm really here with you?"
"Do you hear me?
"Do you see me?"

During this experience, we have all been challenged to the core.  God gave us the gift of faith, and it's been rocked. Really rocked. But we are gracefully reminded of the verses in the first chapter of 1 Peter:

1 Peter 1: 6-7
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

So we ask the question:
What are we living for? Is it for today or, "That Day"?
"That Day", when Christ is revealed to the whole world.
It puts a new perspective on life huh?

May we all ask God to help us live each day with an eternal focus and to increase our Faith!

Grateful for the gift of Faith,
Cheryl