Psalm 118:14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.

This is an absolutely joyful, triumphant Psalm. It expresses the response of someone who was in a very difficult situation, but God brought him through. The thing is, we can never have such joy if we don’t go through difficult situations ourselves! We are back to the reality that God doesn’t pick on us; everything He does, even allows, is for our eventual blessing. Sometimes those things are absolutely horrible in the short term, but the experience of His presence in the middle of them is precious beyond words, if we will only open our hearts to Him. The issue of Japan Harvest magazine that arrived yesterday has the theme of Mental Health. It’s a quarterly magazine put out by the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, (JEMA) which includes missionaries from many different countries and many different denominations. Reading this issue, I was reminded that missionaries are subject to all the pressures that are on believers of every description. (As if I didn’t already know that!) At least one writer was alluding to good things that have come from the struggles of her family “back home,” but she didn’t seem to be to the point of praising God for the struggles yet. That’s a step, sometimes very difficult, that we need to come to in order to get the full benefit of what God has planned. After all, Jesus famously said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Paul likewise said, “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20) That doesn’t mean, “Thank You, God, that my loved one was murdered,” but it does mean, “Thank You, God, for still being my loving Savior even though my loved one was murdered.” There are many, many things we don’t know or understand in this life. In fact, there is far more we don’t know than we do. However, if we hang onto the reality that God loves us enough to send His son to die for us, then we can make it through anything.

This is a timely Word, and not just because of the magazine that came yesterday. My wife, on top of her already long list of medical issues, will be having a test tomorrow to see if she has what could be a very serious problem. It could equally be something much less serious, but at this point we simply don’t know. In either case, this verse is true, as we have experienced time and time again. The thing is, she was given a trip to heaven and back almost 50 years ago, so she has had a taste of what awaits us, and she’s looking forward to the full banquet! What we go through here is to open our hearts to all that God has for us, that far exceeds our current capacity to understand. I am personally not afraid for myself, but I do not like to see my wife go through pain and suffering of any sort. We’ve both got to remember that God is big enough for both of us, and give Him praise and thanks, with genuine joy, whatever He allows us to go through here.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that we were able to get an appointment for the test so quickly. I read about the long wait times in so many places, and am grateful for the Japanese medical system! Thank You for the interdenominational prayer meeting that will be here this morning. I pray that it would be a joyful Christmas celebration for all, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!