He is in control

To say the least, this last month has been crazy.  

Actually there are several words I would use to describe this last month, but for every emotion the opposite feeling was to follow. There were scary times followed by peaceful moments. Mountain high experiences to valley lows, joyous experiences to sorrow, emotional and spiritual lows to an overwhelming presence of the Lord. Happy to sad, crying to laughter and the list goes on and on…

When the doctors told Jonathan, my 19 year old little brother that all signs point to Leukemia, I was scared, sad for Jonathan, angry, emotional etc. As Jonathan lay in the hospital bed, our hands held tight, tears of sadness streaming, heart monitors beeping in the background we did the only thing we could do. We prayed. We gave it to God, and that is when we knew. I wish I could describe the peace that I felt after our prayer. It is something that Jonathan and I will forever hold dear to our hearts. We knew in that moment, God had this and was in complete control. 

Throughout the Bible the word Peace is used in almost 250 verses. These are several verses that have been dear to my heart these last few weeks.

Romans 5

 ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 15:13 

 ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I have felt the peace of the Lord that scripture talks about, but I have also felt conviction, there are so many people that do not have this Hope. My dear friend Brittany and I were talking about the hope we have in Christ. She stated what we would do if we didn’t have that Hope in Jesus? There is so many people who are hopeless, who do not have the hope and peace we have in Jesus. My heart breaks for those who have not heard the gospel. I long for them to know the love that Christ has for them. How no matter what life brings you, you are a child of God. Through Him and only Him can you experience eternal life. 

I am not really sure the best way to close this. Actually I am not sure this makes any sense, my brain feels as though it is spinning. This has been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday other times it feels like it has been a year. Jonathan’s courage, attitude, strength, and faith are something that amazes me daily; I pray that he knows how strong he has been. I pray through his testimony others may know the Hope and Peace that is only found in Jesus.