perseverence and perspective

I am reminded just now of how little I know about perseverence. A client of mine from West Africa told me that she received word last week that her sister passed away in childbirth...and so did the twins that she was carrying. And yet my client says that she will eventually be ok. She is miles and miles away from home after suffering torture, imprisonment and rape, escaping to the US, going through the dark night of depression and becoming completely dependent on others and now is in the long process of seeking asylum, but she tells me that she will be ok.

For so much of the world (even for some in the US), life is just about survival. Perseverence means simply moving forward through great hardship so you do not die. I hardly think that I have come across much in my life that requires that kind of perseverence; and yet I can still easily complain.

God did not intend this type of world, and yet that is the world that we live in; a world full of brokeness. As I heard in a sermon last week, I am convinced that this world and this life do not make sense outside of the view of eternity. It is only in eternity that things are put in perspective. Without the view of eternity, what is the point of all of this struggle and where is the hope? Even though things in this life will never "be fixed", we can live with present hope that we can choose to be saved and restored into a relationship with a loving God and spend an eternity in His presence, and know that He is present with us now and that He suffered for the brokeness of this world more than we ever could know. Not only that, but He has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and in us (as believers) to be able to be used by God to bring hope and healing into the world now. This is a mystery and a paradox that I do not fully understand, but by God's grace, there is redemption happening in the world that we are just getting glimpses of now, that won't be fully revealed to us until Christ returns and brings true justice and wholeness.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come...

"I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say 'Amen', and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain 'I'm with you'
And as You mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives, And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've criedYou hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm"

-Casting Crowns-