SaturdayReflection
4th November 2023
Jennifer Rothschild shares
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When God Doesn't Change Your Circumstances
Have you asked and asked and asked (and begged) God to change your circumstance?
I sure have.
When we carry a heavy burden for a long time, we get weary and worn down.
An extended hospital stay. A hard marriage. An unfair project at work. A health issue. A chronic or even terminal diagnosis.
There are so many things in this life we wish God would change.
We ask. He doesn't always do what we ask when we ask, right?
Maybe God doesn't change our hard circumstances because He wants to give those hard circumstances time to change us?
God is always in the process of finishing what He started in us.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
(Philippians 1:6)
The older I get, the more I am convinced that God isn't done until I am redone, changed from the inside out, for the better.
That process isn't always pleasant, I know, but there is meaning in this mean time for you. Perhaps as you ask God to change your circumstances, you can asked Him to change you too in the process, in the meantime while you wait?
Sometimes our misery is more from the way we think about our situations than it is the situations themselves.
If we hold on to a negative mindset, even when our situations are gloomy, it just makes them worse.
If we think the worst, we see the worst. If we think our situation is hopeless, then we start to believe that it is.
But, God has given us the mind of Christ!
I have to do this all the time - and I mean ALL the time!
I get no vacation from blindness.
It never changes.
It is always dark and confusing and stressful.
If I don't discipline my mind to think on what is good or what I can do rather than what I can't do, I would be one miserable woman!
We can think about what is good even in a bad situation.
We can choose to think biblically when it comes to the tough stuff that doesn't seem to change.
How we think and what we think really matter for
'as a man thinks, so is he.'
Proverbs 23:7)
Sometimes when hard things last way too long, our hearts can get hard or angry.
Sometimes we can feel like we are the only one who suffers, and grow resentful of others who seemingly have it easier.
But God doesn't allow the difficult trials and situations to stay in your life to make you hard and angry, does He?
Think about it - of course not.
Anger over what doesn't change in your life does not change you for the better, it changes you for the worse.
A hard heart is worse than any circumstance you face.
When I look at my life, sometimes I wonder if one of the reasons He hasn't changed my blindness is because He's used it to soften my heart.
I feel empathy for others so deeply.
Mercy and grace is my first response to others' failures and sorrows.
That isn't because I am a super saint!
It's because blindness has been a tool in the hand of God that He has used to chip away lots of pride and self-sufficiency.
This is an edited version. The full article is avaiable, on request
"It is well with my soul."
For Jennifer Rothschild, these words are much more than the lyrics from a familiar hymn; they describe how she lives her life ...in the dark.
At the age of fifteen, Jennifer was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative eye disease that would eventually steal her sight.
It was more than a turning point for the Miami, Florida native.
Her dreams of becoming an artist and cartoonist faded. Words and music have replaced her canvas and palette for more than 30 years.
As an author and speaker, Jennifer is known for her substance, signature wit, and down-to-earth style.
A unique mix of profound and playful, she weaves biblical truth with relatable stories, making God's Word accessible to those just starting out in Scripture and endearing to those who have walked with Christ for years.
More
A hard heart is worse than any hard circumstance you face.
Let God use that hard thing in your life to change you into a softer, more gentle empathetic person.
Your circumstance may not ever change, but when your heart changes you will have the peace you long for.
Ask God to change your heart and make it new.
He will take your heart of stone and change it - change you - for the better.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh
People are incredibly confused when they meet someone whose joy doesn't make sense!
It totally disarms them when they see you carry a heavy burden without falling beneath its weight or falling for the lie that 'life should be fair and good people shouldn't suffer.'
My friend, I know - really - I know how hard it is to live with something that lasts too long.
But, perhaps God has allowed it in your life because He so loves the world and the world needs to see Jesus.
Often, He shines the brightest in our lives during our darkest times.
When God changes our minds and hearts, He can use us to change the world.
When He changes our minds and hearts, He can use us to change the world.
They need hope. They need to know that life has meaning and purpose.
In your weakness, God's strength is perfect.
But he said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Sisters, if God hasn't changed your circumstance, look beyond it so you can see a world who needs to know the God who holds you together.
