Pregnancy, Exhaustion and Hunger, Oh My!

I am so tired, boy oh boy, there is nothing like pregnancy to let you know that you are a finite human who is bound by the need for sleep =)
Of course, today is the day I was planning on getting lots of work done, so yesterday I took it slow. Lesson learned: when you are feeling good, get the work done so that when you are exhausted and suffering from a headache you can rest.
Don't put off 'till tomorrow what you can do today.
But, by the same token, acknowledge that there are some seasons more restrictive then others and learn to work with them. As my darling reminded me last night, just being pregnant is work in itself. Caring for our growing baby and doing my part to protect his life by not overdoing it and risking miscarriage is important.
So, I will clean out the fridge tomorrow, for those of you who wanted to know =)

I have been thinking a lot about pregnancy and the importance of seeing it through biblical worldview glasses, if you will. Carrying a child is not a picnic to say the least. The adventure includes, though is not limited to: dealing with boughts of all day long nausea (forget "morning" sickness) for the first three months, finding that your bladder seems to be shrinking as you run to the bathroom for the third time this hour or getting up at 2 am for a bathroom break; you start wondering how your stomach became a bottomless pit that demands to be filled even when the very thought of food makes you sick; You may find yourself running from the kitchen, thinking that if you smell, let alone see food, you just might keel over and die, you can sleep for 12 hours straight and by 2 pm feel like you haven't slept in a week, and to top it all off your lower abdomen is sore from muscles being stretched as your uterus grows. Yep, the Lord wasn't kidding when He told Eve that in "sorrow thou shalt bring forth children". It can be easy to have a weak moment and cry about not wanting to feel this way for the next 20 years of your life.

We all need to take encouragement, the Creator and Sustainer of life sees a much bigger picture:

"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God. . . blessed shall be the fruit of thy body. . . and the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body. . . " Deut. 28 :1, 4 & 11

"So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. . . he also had seven sons and three daughters" Job 42:12-13

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward" Psalm 127:3

"The wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. . . "Psalm 128:3

"And did He not make make one? Yet had He the residue to the spirit. And wherefore one? That He might seek a godly seed. There for take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth." Mal. 2:15

"That they may teach the younger women to . . . love their* children" Titus 2:4


Scripture teaches that children are a blessing, that they are to be raised to the glory of God and that God will never give us beyond what we can bear. So when pregnancy wears on my body I try to remember the blessing of this little life that God has intrusted to us, to realize the priviledge of having a child knit together in my womb- a priviledge that men don't have and the barren don't have-one that shouldn't be taken for granted.

*in the greek "their" is not in the text, it is literally to "love children"

Some Frequent Concerns

*Note: I received a comment from Mrs. Milton for the post “True Power for Women”. Because many of the concerns she brought up are ones that frequently come up in relation to family integration and/or daughters at home I wanted to post her comment and my answer. I tried to ensure that I answered her concerns with the respect due an older woman (1 Timothy 5:1-2) and the love due a fellow sister in Christ.
I have taken it apart and answered it point by point. (The original comment is in black, mine in purple)

Enjoyed the post for it's call for women to remain firm in the roles set forth by the Lord, but I do have to take issue with a couple of things. One is that the family is the foundation of society. It is God who raises up and maintains societies for His purposes. We are to be obedient to His Word to bring glory to Him but God has determined the direction society will take to fulfill prophecies.

To the best of my knowledge God, in scripture, never establishes Himself as the ‘foundation’ of society as He does the church (1 Cor. 3:10-11). He establishes rulers (Rom. 13:1-4) and calls leaders to account (Ps. 2:10-12) but He never claims to be society’s foundation. By the same token I am not aware of any passage of scripture where God explicitly calls the family the ‘foundation of society’. This is rather an extra-biblical assumption based on history and logical deduction. For example, as American’s we look back over our relatively short history and see that at the beginning of our foundation we had strong families, a strong church and a strong government (not in the sense of a powerful government, but one where politicians at least were willing to take responsibility). We were a culture that understood that freedom is derived from God, that understood that the government was accountable to a ‘higher power’; where men and women understood and were dedicated to their roles as fathers/husbands and mothers/wives. We then watch as over history the family was attacked through feminism (which did not start in the 70’s and 80’s); Marxism; public, government funded education (which is by the way an unconstitutional institution) and we see the decline in the church, and the government as the next generation arises under the training of Darwin, Spock, Stanton, and others. As the say, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Men such as Hitler and Lenin understood that in order to build that order they sought (whether it be Nazism or Socialism) they had to train the next generation from a young age.
Destroy the family, you destroy the country. -- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

We must be careful not to assume that just because we maintain a right standing before the Lord that our society will remain untouched.

Neither Miss.Brodock or myself ever made this comment. However, I would remind you of passages such a Deut. 28 and the entire book of Proverbs where God says that He will bless obedience and curse disobedience, notice He does not make salvation a prerequisite for these blessings.

We live in a very important time in history where we have the joy of demonstrating to the world Christ's work in our lives. God's word calls us to live a quiet life of honor toward the Lord which speaks volumes in our society. We must always keep in mind that this life is not about our comfort, rights and privileges; but taking up our cross and following the One who paid our debt. It's not us against them, our fellow sinners. We are just privileged to have been chosen and must be about in all humility urging others to follow the way of the King of Kings and praying that He will open their eyes.

agreed, but I don’t understand your point, it was never said that we should do otherwise.

Yes, the family is very important as it is one of the institutions the Lord has used to demonstrated how authority and submission in the Godhead works, but should not be elevated as the foundation of society. Christ alone has that honor.

Nowhere in scripture has Christ given Himself this ‘honor’. See first point.

We should not be offended nor surprised that our society does not recognize the importance of the Christian woman's role, but excited when we see a glimmer that they do.

Speaking for myself, I am not offended nor surprised that neither society nor the majority of Christians for that matter, do not recognize the importance of woman’s God-given role (Gen 2:18-24, Titus 2:4-5). The purpose of my blog is to encourage young ladies who are going against the grain and seeking to be obedient to this calling.

This nation has never been "Christian" as many in the believing community purport. We are just fortunate that God, in His mercy, has allowed us the freedom to worship Him without physical persecution over the 200+ years. Yes, many came here to have that freedom, but our government has never been truly Christian; moral, yes, but not God fearing.

I don’t recall ever commenting on this blog that our nation was Christian, though I may have made the comment verbally. Perhaps this needs some explaining, this nation has never been Christian in that there was never at one point all citizens born-again believers. Even Israel can’t claim that! However, the people I know who make comments like this or similar are referring to the incredible influence of Christianity on this nation, her laws and her founding people. For instance, even men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, who were not saved, made comments such as “I tremble for my country when I think that God is just” and requesting prayers and fasting for God’s intervention on behalf of America. So, it is true that America was never a nation where all people were born again believers, but there was a time when the majority were under the influence of the word of God.
All this to be said, I don’t see the purpose of this comment since there was no mention of America being Christian in this post.

I know this was a lengthy response, but I see many young ladies making some assumptions which go outside of Biblical teaching, and thus am genuinely concerned about the increase in legalism within the Christian community.

In this comment the word, ‘legalism’ is taken way out of context. Having been accused of this often our family has taken some time to research it. The basic definition of legalism is, “adding work based requirements to salvation.” I have never stated that a woman must be a keeper at home or else she won’t be saved. There is nothing legalistic about evaluating woman’s role in light of scripture and in contrast to our society.

Always remember that there is a distinct difference between the specific do's and don'ts of scripture and the preferences which we choose to set up in our personal lives to assist us in remaining holy before the Lord. These are not the same for everyone. It's really OK that the society in which we live does not embrace our choices. We need to make sure that we are not trying to impose our choices on others(this includes other believers as well). Then it becomes sin for us rather than the holiness which we desire. We must stop looking around us and strictly look up, otherwise we compare ourselves to others and elevate parts of our lives to a level where it was never intended to be... we begin to judge in ways we were never instructed to do.

Our lives must be evaluated in light of scripture rather than compared to society, I agree. By the same token it is important to hermeneutically evaluate the cultural shifts in America and it’s effects on us today. We need to know what God says and how I am to live and to also understand that our society has by and large rejected biblical truth. While we are not called to pass self righteous judgments we are called to discern.

Believe it or not, I am simply trying to encourage young ladies to make sure they are living according to the Word of God and not according to personal preference which leads to unrighteous judging of others and a critical spirit as time goes. We become like the ones who we say judge us for the choices we have made personally to serve our Lord in holiness. (Titus 2:3-5, I Corinthians 10:23-33, Romans 14: 1-15:13, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, 11:1)

I believe you :) , but I think you missed the point entirely.

Thinking Biblically on these issues:1. Remember we are not the one who accepts our brothers in Christ, Christ is. (Rom 15:7)

How have we rejected our brothers? I still have fellowship with sisters who work outside the home, girls in college, etc. We still pray together and love each other. How is that a rejection? Where in Miss. Brodock’s post was there any inference to rejecting our Christian family over this issue?
I think you have misjudged us.

2. Remember we are not their Lord, Christ is. (Rom 14:4-9)
3. Remember you will not be their judge, Christ will. (Is 45:23, Romans 14:10)
Agreed.

We are to confront sin and error not the morality of the issues of conscience. We must not take pride in our convictions. We must leave room to grow to see God's Word is sufficient.
not Moses.

What about the verses like Titus 2:4-5 where God says that young women need to learn certain qualities so that the word of God is not blasphemed? That is not an issue of the conscience, that is truth, it is sufficient and it is serious!

I think you misread the post entirely. The post asked “why the inconsistencies? Why am I praised if I am out in the world and condemned if I am at home?” and then answers those very questions, “because our culture has lost sight of something it once treasured, Motherhood in the home. We once understood that a mother’s influence in her children’s lives was invaluable. Right now we’re too busy worrying if she got the right raise, how soon she can return to work after the birth of her baby, if her husband is contributing 50/50 rather than leading in love and on it goes. Our culture is decaying and becoming horrific just looking at the news reports will prove it. Yet another mother has murdered her own child-outside of the womb, a young college woman murders her roommate, children are failing in school, marriages are falling apart, young girls committing suicide and we could go on.
To be very honest, if I had to choose something to point out in this post it would have been this, the example of Moses it a very weak one. His mother nursed him for somewhere around two years and then he was raised in the pagan house of Pharaoh. Moses is, if anything, a good example of God’s divine intervention to prepare a leader for His people despite the child’s surrounding. I would have put someone else up there like maybe Benjamin West, who said, “It was my mother’s kiss that made me a painter” ie her love and support. Or Abe Lincoln or George Washington, or John Quincy Adams, but not Moses.

True Power for Women, from Miss. Brodock

Here is a beautiful post from Miss. Olivia Bodock over at "Heart of a Southerner". Before I let you read it I do have to take a moment and note that we Northeners are 'open minded' (and I say that carefully in light of it's cultural context!). I actually read several southern blogs :)
Okay, now that I've made my point, I hope that you are blessed by Miss. Olivia's
"The True Power for Women".

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

The True Power for Women
If I cook great dishes, make them into literal works of art as I work them up in a commercial kitchen, and serve them to people I've never met, or will ever meet again, I am called a chef, an artist!

But, if I cook those same dishes for the ones I love most and I nourish my family in the realm of my fathers home, it is said that I am wasting my talent.

If I go to school for years, become a CPA, and manage books for other people that I have absolutely no ties with; I'm a career woman, I'm independent, I am a woman of the twenty first century!!!!

But if I, after years of studying, keep my dad's books, I am then wasting MY life, all that training down the drain!

If I take care of a other people's children, I become their nanny, I am then a childcare professional, I am valuable and important!!!

But, if I take care of and nurture children GOD gives me, then I am old-fashion. I am repressed by a sexist society of dominate males! I am told I am WASTING MY LIFE!

If I care for rooms, homes or offices that belongs to strangers; I'm a housekeeper, a cleaning professional.

But, if I remove dust bunnies out of my own home and make it clean and orderly for my family; It is thought that I am a house wife and am wasting my life with coupons and soap operas! (who has time for soap operas???)

What is the difference between the examples above? Why is nanny-hood OK, but motherhood frowned upon? Why is professional respected and domestic criticized? Why is going through a secular college an assumed event in every high school graduate's life, but simply learning at home and continuing education in many mediums highly disregarded?

The answer is clear. Karl Marx saw it plain and simple. Feminism. If we as a culture can get Mom out of the home, make her feel that she has to bring in a paycheck or other wise she is useless, then we can easily destroy the family. When you destroy the family, you will then destroy the local church. If the churches are destroyed what is stopping the destruction of communities and countries?

Everything... EVERYTHING has a foundation. The foundation for society is family. God gave us this order for governing:

Self-Government

Mother & Father

Church Elders

Government Officials ( Police\Judges etc..)

GOD HIMSELF

In the end we end up answering to God. This is the pecking order so-to-speak, plainly laid out before us. If we can destroy this order by neglecting self-government (personal responsibility), remove parental athority, reject church athority, believe ourselves above the civil law, then God help us as we place ourselves in the hand of an angry God. If you think God is not serious about His principles and precepts, I suggest you read what happen to the Israelites.

To sum it up, we as women cannot listen to the ridiculous lies of the Feminist society. Period. Our culture KNOWS the power of a strong, Biblical woman. The problem is, I don't think we as Christian women realize the power we possess!!!

The power we possess is not a corporate power, not a power in the sense that we are as physically strong as men, but it is a deep power that determines the culture of tomorrow. The power Moses' Mom knew she possessed. By raising that baby, she helped lead Israel out of slavery into the PROMISED LAND!! The power of Moms, who for centuries have rocked the cradles of the men WHO CHANGED THE WORLD!!!

The feminist idea of power has taken that true power away from us and we MUST get it back. No one else can do what God has designed us as women to do.

Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace;Psalm 144:12

Subdue the Earth?

"And God blessed them and said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the face of the earth."

~Genesis 1:28

Jasmine posted a wonderful entry on her blog, "The Environment" and along those lines I had a thought to share. I was reading a book on theology recently when I came across this comment, "(during the time of the Noahic covenant). . . The command to subdue the earth (cf. Gen.1:28, 9:1) is no longer present; that was forfeited through sin." The word 'subdue' means: 1) to conquer and bring into subjection. . . 3)to bring under cultivation. Some synonyms for subdue are:
1)tame
2)subjugate
3)discipline

Keep that in mind as we continue.

Another word used along side subdue in Gen. 1:28 is dominion. Dominion means, 1)domain (i.e. a sphere of influence or activity) 2)supreme authority. Synonyms for dominion are:
1)power
2)authority
3)control
4)command

Now then, according to the author of the theology book I was reading we (mankind) no longer are commanded by God to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over it as His representatives. I think he draws this conclusion based on the fact that when God is talking with Noah after the flood, He commands Noah to 'fill the earth' but does not reaffirm the task to subdue or exercise dominion. Does this really mean that we have forfeited the responsibility and priviledge of being representative caretakers of the earth?

I don't think so. Psalm 8:3-8 clarifies this:

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

Yet You have made him a little lower than the angles,

and You crown him with glory and majesty!

You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,

Whatever passes through the paths of the seas."

So, why did God not reiterate His command to subdue and have dominion? I think it was because it was understood that is was a command already given to mankind and God had not given any reason for man to think that it was no longer his duty.

This task of taking dominion and subduing is truly an awesome one! Think of all that we have learned in the process of harnessing some of the forces of creation: electricity, nuclear power, medicine, gardens, air conditioning, paper, pens and ink. . . Science is a facinating study of creation and ways that we are and can exercise our dominion for the glory of God and the good of mankind! We cannot be wasteful of this creation if we truly understand that we derive the responsibility/authority to care for creation from God and if we opperate in a true fear of Him.

And yet, I love that in the midst of all we have learned and all we can do, God is still ultimately soveriegn over His creation. Think of the wonder and terror of hurricanes and tsunamis, volcanoes and ice storms and think of the wonder of the One who can calm a storm (Matt. 8:26-27) and cares for His children (Matt. 6:25-34). Think of the blessing of being redeemed and loved by the God of Creation!

Survive or Thrive?, Answers, Part 2

* As an introductory note, make sure you read "Survive or Thrive?" before reading the following.

I sent an e-mail to Miss. Cara Horn, asking the same questions I asked Jasmine. Below are her well thought out answers. Enjoy!

-"What about college?"
1. First I would like to state that I do not believe receiving a college education is inherently evil. That said, I do believe that it is very unwise for a daughter to leave the protection of her father's home to obtain knowledge from the world. Unprotected women fill our universities, contributing to the breakdown of Biblical patterns for male and female relationships. I prefer to remain under my father's roof and further his vision for our family while learning life skills and continuing my education through self study. While advancing my education is something I greatly desire and actively pursue within the context of serving family and fellow brethren, simply obtaining a degree does not further my goal of becoming a godly helpmeet and homemaker. In essence, while I believe it is vital that a young woman should be well educated to better assist those God has called her to serve, I do not believe college holds the market on education.
-"How do you handle less than pleased responses?"
2. The best way I have found to handle less than pleased responses to my educational choices is to not assume that the responses will be negative. I know this sounds strange, but it is true. If your attitude is instantly defensive when the "college question" comes up, people are more likely to believe your motives lie in laziness or lack of intelligence. A brief, enthusiastic explanation of my goals and how those are being furthered through practical or scholastic study is often met with an albeit surprised but accepting response. Some people do reject my philosophy of advanced education regardless of the presentation, but it is helpful to remember that often these individuals honestly desire the best for me. The problem comes because they have been so ingrained with the belief that following societal norms and attending college is the only start to a successful life. While it can be frustrating at times, it is imperative to keep this in perspective and graciously respond to those who demonstrate combativeness.
-"What about extended family who are disappointed?"
3. Our extended family has always known we were different. My family has often made counter-cultural decisions, so my choice to remain home after completing high school was not the first time we broke societal rules. Although we are the "weird ones," for the most part our extended family has not taken an actively vocal response in this case. Comments do come, and I am sure we are the subject of much discussion, but my choice to not attend college coincides with our other "strange" desires to home educate, follow Biblical principles in relationships, and attempt to dress modestly. -"How do you handle the difficulties of going against the culture?" 4. The more you go against the culture, the more natural it feels. As I stated before, my parents have often headed down a different path than what society described as normal. They raised their children to search Scripture for the answers to life and not rely on the method of following patterns set by the world. Times come when it is especially challenging to be different, but if our focus is to glorify God as our chief end in life, societal expectations become less of a priority.
-When you are struggling, how do you refocus?"
5. When I find myself struggling, it is often because my focus has slipped off of God and has centered around me. We are a selfish people. So often our thoughts, actions and plans revolve entirely around ourselves. Yes, God has created me as an individual, but He also placed me in a family. I need to focus on serving others and not always be consumed with my own perceived needs and desires. Prayer, crying out to God for forgiveness, and allowing Him to change my attitude is how I regain focus on what is truly important in life.

'Survive or Thrive?' Answers, Part 1

* As an introductory note, make sure that you read, "Survive or Thrive?" before reading the following.

I sent Miss. Jasmine Baucham a list of questions to which she graciously replied. Below are the questions and her very well articulated answers. Enjoy :)

Q. "What about college?"
A. Whether or not a family decides to give their sons or daughters a college education is up to them, but I'm not sure it's entirely wise to send an eighteen-year-old of either gender across the country to receive that education without the guidance and discipleship of their parents. Most often, there are just too many other options to justify that choice. That's not to say there aren't good Christian schools out there, and that college degrees are evil. But it's also not to say that following another course of action automatically condemns me or anyone else in my shoes.
Q. "How do you handle less than pleased responses when people want to know what you're doing and why? "
A. I just try to remain calm, and to realize that the way I carry myself has a lot to do with how people perceive my decisions. If I am imperial and judgmental, and if I frown down my nose at young women who haven't had the blessing of making the choices that I have, people's response to me will be negative and defensive. If I'm full of grace and humility, if I learn to smile a little, be joyful :), I might get the same horrible reaction, but I'll be able to rest easy, knowing that I responded with Christian love and charity. We must also remember that we're not in this for the world's approval. If we're staying at home just so we can pat our backs and puff out our chests, we're doing it for the wrong reasons.
Q. "What about extended family who are disappointed with your decision?"
A. In my case, my extended family has been disappointed with us very often, whether it be for the choice to attend an FIC, the choice to homeschool, my choice not to date... so it's nothing new! :) But I do have a set of cousins who have been very understanding, and who -after realizing the reasons behind my choice to stay at home -have even started to make the same choices, or at least respect my choice. Again, we're not doing this for the world's approval. Some family members are just glad to see that I'm content and settled with my choice (the one's who always ask if I'm still "okay"), but there will always be some who just think I'm "weird," and that's going to have to be okay. We have to have a thick skin, and be ready to answer questions. :)
Q. "How do you handle difficulties of going against the culture?"
A. My daddy always says that I'm ever ready for a war! :) That's my personality. I always want to have an answer for any question leveled against me, and I want it to be articulately and gracefully stated. I had to realize that my family are the people who will always love me, and that as long as I was honoring my parents and glorifying God through my choices, I had nothing to fear from the world. Being a Christian, I'm promised persecution in God's Word. I've learned that it's coming, and that when it comes, I ought to be ready for it. That doesn't mean I walk about with a furrowed brow and a harsh demeanor, but it does mean that I know where and why I stand.
Q. "When you are struggling, how do you refocus?"
A. I center myself on God's Word. I talk to my parents -especially my mom -about my struggles, and they pray with me and hold me accountable. I talk to like minded friends, and we pray together and laugh together. And I try not to take myself too seriously. Life's hard enough without putting myself on a pedestal. :)

“So are you working outside the home right now?” my well meaning friend asked. Inwardly, I winced, “well, right now I work for a family once a week as a mother’s helper. Other than that, no, I am at home helping mom care for the house and the younger ones.” She nodded and we moved on to other topics.
The truth is that I love being at home, I know that what I am doing has a huge impact on the future generations. I am seeking to help my parents as they raise my younger brothers and sister to be God-fearing agents of multigenerational faithfulness. The difficult part is when others, well intentioned or not, ask what I am doing with a predisposition that assumes if I am not out working or getting a degree, I am living unsuccessfully and unfulfilled. There are the extremes, on the one hand I have been told that I am brainwashed, on the other, I have been pitied. Sometimes I feel like I can’t win, and the impression I get is that I am a lazy and inept daughter, stifling her full potential.

Bearing Discouragement

Even if we are fully convinced of the eternal value of remaining at home, the world’s response can dampen and discourage a young maiden. How does one handle these times?
Perspective. For instance, I just came out of a discouraging period where I was so emotionally drained that I was having a hard time focusing on my God given responsibilities and the littlest thing was threatening to set me off. I spent two-three days praying and asking God to show me what my problem was; on Saturday my dad and I had a talk and the Lord, using that conversation, as well as Sunday morning’s message cleared enough clutter from my mind for me to see that the reason I was discouraged was loss of perspective. I had taken my eyes off the Lord and, as daddy said, was, out of lack of faith, trying to do His part. In essence my attitude was saying, “Lord, You have no clue how badly this hurts, You don’t know what it means to be me, and if You think that I am going to let You lead me through another painful trial, then You have got to be kidding me.” How’s that for lack of faith? One of my struggles did arise from my friend’s comment, but the reason for that was my loss of focus. I allowed myself to view success through the world’s reasoning instead of through God’s wisdom.

Keeping Proper Focus during Times of Discouragement

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” ~Colossians 3:1-3

Keeping proper focus is a decision, an action that must be taken on our part. God gives the grace and we must act upon that. We are created with a will, the ability to decide and choose for ourselves. In the midst of this, God is sovereign over the affairs of men, the Psalms are chock full of examples of this as are the Proverbs 1, but His sovereignty does not negate our responsibility to strive to keep a biblical focus.

What I am NOT saying

If we continually strive to view everything with a God-honoring perspective does that mean there won’t be so much pain? No, not really. Job kept incredible perspective after losing all his children and his material possessions: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” 2. Job had the right perspective but the next thing that happened to him was he lost his physical health. The bible says that he was covered in boils from the bottom of his feet to the crown of his head, and that he used a broken piece of pottery the scrape himself. Later on, during his discourse with his friends, Job says that he gets no relief from his pain. But what Job doesn’t see that the Lord graciously reveals us, is the purpose for his trials. He never knew that around two thousand of years later Christians would be reading his account and being blessed by his fortitude.
Pain will come, but when it does our response should be like that of King David, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” 3.

Persevere

When the going gets tough, keep on going; take your hurts to the feet of our Lord and be faithful-the Lord will lead you out of the valley in His time and give you a beautiful mountain view, if you are faithful. And be encouraged, the Lord Jesus suffered as a man and understands grief and pain, follow His example and finish this race well, one lap at a time.
“Looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds”
Hebrews 12:2-3


Foot Notes:

[1] i.e. ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will.’ Prov. 21:1 (His sovereignty)
‘A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on and are punished’ Proverbs 22:3(Man’s action or decision).

[2] Job 1:20-21
[3] Ps. 57:1