The healing effect of God’s Word

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7 NIV)

 Life tends to bring us into situations where we don’t choose the battle, but it chooses us! Such experiences usually present us with a choice—to fight for victory, a ray of hope, faith to overcome, or to give in to bitterness, depression, anger, or despair.
 A number of years ago, out of the blue, one of our sons was diagnosed with leukemia—a knock that brought me to the edge... He was given six weeks to live. He was 16 years old…
 Only when I admitted that I wasn’t strong enough to heal the hurt and end the spiral of self-defeating thoughts, a ray of hope began to appear on the horizon of my despair.
 I got on my knees and asked God for a strategy, a tangible plan to help me overcome. Then when the fog finally lifted, I began copying promises from the Bible in my journal or posting them on my mirror.
 It was a process, but soon I experienced the healing effect of God’s Word and began to see things in a new light. Hope sprung up, and I even began to find opportunity in my adversities and losses, such as the gift of compassion for others who face loss. I believe this valley, and others like it, strengthened my faith and brought me a step closer to becoming the person God designed me to be. —Iris Richard [1]

 Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.—C.S. Lewis (1898–1963)

[1] Activated Adversity = Opportunity