‘You will forget your trouble…as water gone by.’ Job 11:16 NCV
No matter how bad things look, always remember the words, ‘it came to pass’, not ‘to stay’. Life doesn’t stand still; there will always be challenges. Don’t let them destroy your confidence; instead, use them as opportunities to grow. Once you’ve grown in the areas where God thinks you need additional maturity, the season you’re in will pass. Nothing lasts forever. Although it’s hard to believe at the time, ‘You will forget your trouble and remember it…as water gone by.’ Forgetting doesn’t mean losing a block of memory. It means reaching the point where the memory is free of pain, just as poison is pulled from a snake bite. As healing begins, the mind’s continual replay of the event reduces and the memory becomes like ‘water gone by’. Kristin Armstrong says: ‘When someone died in Old Testament times, those who were in mourning marked their faces with ashes. They allotted a specified season, after which they scrubbed up and moved on. How much healthier is that than our society? We put on make–up, or a happy or stoic face, and prohibit people from having compassion and respecting the limits of where we are. We’re so busy hiding, we’re buried under ashes on the inside. God will call us to arise and shine when our light has come (Isaiah 60:1). Ask Him to set your time limit, and be ready to wash your face.’ Then move on.
SoulFood: Lev 5-7, Luke 1:26-38, Ps 10:12-18, Prov 1:17-19
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2014
