Black Church News in Virginia
Marriner’s Moment: Celebrating God’s Grace, Mercy and Love – Pt. 3
Grove Church
Struggles are an important part of our development process. Sometimes God does not take away or deliver us from our struggles simply because His answer is ‘not yet.’ We are under construction. We have not fully developed or matured to receive the blessings He has for us. We must learn to accept that when God’s response is ‘not yet,’ He is still with us; sustaining us and loving us in the midst of whatever we are going through.
Struggles, disappointments and trials help us grow, develop and blossom into the ‘butterfly’ God desires us to be. If we had no trials or struggles, if we had no pain, or suffered no losses, many of us would not be the strong, faithful or wise individuals that we have become. Experience and struggles—and yes, even history—have taught us that we can endure, survive, thrive and come out on the other side, bruised but not broken; scathed and scorned, but not hopeless. Life has taught us to suffer without surrendering. Maybe God didn’t stop the pain, hurt, loss or tragedy, but He stayed with us through it. The knowledge, peace and comfort that He provides can and does strengthen and grow us closer in our relationship with Him.
Most of us that have emerged from some kind of struggle and can fully embrace and celebrate God’s grace, mercy and love. We see His hand in our lives, and fully appreciate and embrace1 Peter 5:10: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
”Peace and power.
© Dr. Melvin O. Marriner,
Grove Church
February 2017
