%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 20 0 R 22 0 R ] /Count 3 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 17 0 R /GS4 18 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250903131409+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250903131409+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1155 >> stream xVn7}WL@l '@b}h@IvIYQ>S;d[pfΙ!'˲ c3GQL̖p^ f+?_5an?Wx[wٱ7}_^u6gL\dU0EߋnMg] La o89%tfY~VٜE E 8(E\|ȃRJ&yJ&|v V\jV`N0q~o84."?"KƫlOn\<{mGl?[ʶgA)[.Zt~8p,%\[CR;UeaFZ}!~@p 0ht^2!Tڙ{9Y‚@o L+R${"ByZsV;.ց]AHK=5|҃7ྦྷrƙ(RtX蛋"U*VߎgsAz Pduv}r>-fzkQQ3EBmX۵A;g)BJZ)kH{ o@C<@P zYv|$#tG='x@R+"G~՚% :< չRэ0Av\lY=ҩ$Zȿ<cwY]ٚr`epjop< (ȪJ6ӗVw SR)Y~K:;lWgCȁE L>Ιn)kʊum F^/>.F_<lueԿOf- yAfܔAt|stcz<MbDjxȪhǶ|PvCqE*%5*8:OVʋ'ͼ Mѧ &USIuUA]yt=2!b>Lwǝ'+K[n]c-h}~X~p狈`^F?5<>cTvd 5T ]WڢB{%.3O|g?. endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 21 0 R >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1108 >> stream xuVˮ6+fy8޺)i4Q킖hYD*dO! 4gΜ{NYw P/^)1 20i] ~K(vb~ЦC31~E߯bi4L=5Ȉ>9[*=jY"Ѷ4ZRjE;ˊfPy"S, CԸZ,cJd^}n#$۶)F+Ժ ,KYĔd O(qR& >I-M J㎶jH3O'>3#q+:Hy 0ݜ B(@OSdڢVJaF:4Q3 YbSU)?9+o^Qpϫ_$1R“$-=v/OME7>4byz*IVj~ڷ#VdiуZR%QQgA<>a'Zh+]XIa546&5HaVOX7{iL3 U"}\}n?復Oo}lŅg̃R(phi/OtT+z7T%VXE;=;ϦG(Ǔ+'^sV9i7s pX%KU 8g&D-%Wm9 +q_'.48.XXf򹱃 2/hdXkZmJC u7XaH*&Β+࿚WoF#"֞'<ߗ;0\(E\qmJ <'έe ~[Xtxh&, y4g_ endstream endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 23 0 R >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1232 >> stream xVM6ܠj*p9hly,ֶKމISZYv@\Fc[j~kk$(kJH8I.'"GםZHNFu$u3z~A?]{Ci)b")RQY+>[JiKE^ʅao77@K35054NH#&I԰LNqCSj \3Ke,"WFKG8D8M?Ϧ';9wO./kog3#̴#gQ{̘yE_*9?+B z5]3^/^Bp~=] >> startxref 5569 %%EOF the spice box " New every morning " | Caring Magazine
Read Caring Magazine Volume 29

Vol. #29

Hope in Action

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

the spice box ” New every morning “

September 11, 2012
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

By Sharon Robertson, Lt. Colonel

“Misery loves company,” it is said, and I believe it! The only thing worse than bravely suffering in silence is bravely suffering in silence and no one noticing it.

The Jews of the Babylonian Captivity knew the feeling:

 

Is it nothing to you,

all you who pass by?

Look around and see.

Is any suffering like my suffering

that was inflicted on me,

that the Lord brought on me

in the day of his fierce anger?

(Lam. 1:12 NIV).

 

Self-pity can be one of the most debilitating emotions one can experience. It strikes us all at one time or another, whether in time of loss, in moments of great disappointment, or in times of physical, emotional or mental distress. It destroys one’s ability to focus on anything but the wrongs, real or imagined, and the afflictions we suffer. It tells us we are hopeless, powerless, that no one understands our pain. We lament with the biblical poet:

 

I have been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

So I say, “My splendor is gone

and all that I had hoped from

the Lord.

I remember my affliction and my

wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within

me…

(Lam. 3:17-20 NIV).

 

And when hope is gone, what remains?

One thing only: faith—pure, plain old stubborn, determined “I will not let thee go” faith.  The enduring, unquestioning, unreasonable faith that gives substance to things hoped for and is the evidence of things we cannot otherwise prove,  the faith that enabled Job to declare, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him  (Job 13:15 KJV). The faith that declares in the midst of trouble, I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8 NIV).

The Hebrews had a fierce, stubborn type of faith that convinced them that even when God’s punishment seemed unbearable, God still cared.

 

Yet this I call to mind and

therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great

love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. 

I say to myself, “The Lord is

my portion, therefore I will

wait for him.”

 

The Lord is good to those

whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

(Lam. 3:21-24 NIV).

 

When I was  a child my brother brought me a toy from Japan. He called it a Japanese handcuff. The thing didn’t look like much—just a slender tube of straw, maybe five inches long. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it.

He told me to stick a finger in each end of the tube—easy enough—and then to pull my fingers out of the tube. Not so easy! No matter how hard I tried, as long as I kept fighting the tube I couldn’t get free. Finally he told me to push in with both fingers at the same time, and instantly the tube relaxed to its original dimensions. I was free.

Sometimes life can be like those Japanese handcuffs. We can only break free by abandoning our determination to fight against the circumstances, and seek instead the victory found in waiting in faith for the salvation and release our Lord has in mind for us.

Like Paul, we need to determine that we are not objects to be pitied and sympathized with, but are still victorious in Christ, content in whatever situation we find ourselves, and praying that God will find a way to use us to bring honor to his name.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like