Have you ever hoped or dreamed for a certain situation to go a certain
way and it has not yet, or maybe it will not. Are you there right now?
energy into something you are hoping for and are quickly faced with the
reality that it seriously might not happen.
Maybe you had your wedding Pinterest board all in place but then the
relationship ended. You hoped this would be the month you’d get pregnant
but then your period comes on, you just knew that job or school or
opportunity was just for you only to have that door slam shut in your
face. And you’re just left there with shattered dreams, not really sure
what to make of all the pieces.
place. You wonder if you’re doing something wrong and why God did not
work this out for you. I get it. I’ve been there more than on one
occasion.
When I was pregnant with my first child my husband and I we living in a
townhouse outside of Washington DC where we lived at the time. One day
my husband was at work and I was home by myself taking a nap because
that’s what you do when youre pregnant and have a moment to yourself.
Well to my surprise I woke up to the entire house shaking. First I
seriously though I was dreaming but then when I realized that no this is
really happening I was so scared, I had no idea what was going on. Then
it hit me. Oh my goodness Jesus is coming back. And I remember thinking
I didn’t get to have my baby yet. Y’all this was a 3 story townhouse in
a cluster of two other townhouses. Literally moving left to right.
Pictures were falling off wall and things falling off dressers and in
closets. I praise God to this day that I did not go into labor. I went
downstairs and outside to find all my neighbors outside too. We quickly
found out that we had experience, most of us our first earthquake.
Y’all. We were not prepared for no earth quote on the east coast. But
when your very foundation shifts, everything falls with it whether you
are ready or not.
With that I do what to say that I have prepared this study with those in
mind who’s struggle may be even more serious than a rejection letter.
Maybe a lost loved one, an unexpected betrayal from someone you deeply
trusted, or a devastating health report. I want to let you know that no
matter where you fall on the scale of just how real your struggle is I
think we can all identify with the uncertain and scary feeling of facing
a circumstance where it literally feels like the ground has caved from
under us.
When I received that rejection letter last year, I’d be lying if I told
you I was not disappointed but like any disappointment I took it to God
and I had to decide. What would I do next? What would I do if it never
worked out, what if my dream never came true? And the Lord really placed
this testimony of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego on my heart so I
started studying it. And it encouraged me so much and thus lead to the
creation of this study, praise the Lord.
And I love this story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego because even in
the face of things not going their way, in the face of rejection and
death, they maintain this strong resolve not to allow that to shake
them. That although their dreams may not come true they stay strong in
their faith in God, they stay bold in their trust in God’s love towards
them and they are completely unmoved by the threat of uncertainties that
this life can bring.
I want some of that and I know you do too. Because the reality is,
things will not always go our way, how we want and how we plan but we
serve a God, who is our anchor who ensures we will not get pushed around
by all the uncertainties of life. Hebrews 6:19 assures us:
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,” – Hebrews 6:19 NIV
Things may change, people may change, even we may change, God will not,
neither will His promises. Although this life is uncertain our God is
not. And because of that our souls can rest assured.
[written by Christina Patterson]
