Expect God

“The gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life.” Matthew 7:14

The other day I heard something amusing that wasn’t meant to be as my sister-in-law was telling me a story. Her father-in-law was visiting and had inquired as to whether or not they attended church. My sister-in-law stated that they were in between churches and hadn’t found one they wanted to attend regularly. Her father-in-law looked at them and simply said, “Expect trouble!” The inference is that if you go to church you will be protected from hardship. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

This verse makes many people uncomfortable as it leaves no room for doubt. There is but one way to eternal life which is through the cross, and through the cross we will experience hardship for His name.

I began going deeper into an intimate relationship with Christ in Feb. of 2006. My life was actually in a state of very calm waters. Four months after I began pursuing Christ more passionately, my dad was diagnosed with cancer and my father-in-law with Alzheimer’s. A month later our daughter was diagnosed with Hep. C. She began Interferon treatment which is a form of chemo to no avail. Two months later she and her husband temporarily separated for three months as they worked through problems. In April of 2008 my sister was diagnosed with cancer and lost her battle in March of 2009.

Over the following three years my life has been inundated with caregiving, medical specialists, research on medicals options and timelines. There have been intense times with God of begging, pleading and trying to understand all that has been asked of me. He has taken me through the darkest valleys I could have ever imagined. As He promises, He has led me out on the other side and shown me amazing things I would never have known had I not decided to live out Matthew 7:14.

We cannot escape the truth of this verse and must always see our “place in the family – the Body of Christ” as a privilege, whereby taking the good with the bad. In our earthly families we don’t hit the road when things get hard. We put on our strongest armor, dig in to resolve the crisis and enjoy the bond that is built through these experiences.

Don’t just believe God will be there in your situation – Expect Him!