Black Hole Times

Dear Friends...Something to cling to amidst adversity. I find immeasurable comfort and peace in the reminder that ultimately we are not our own. As a result of this truth, we are called to an understanding that everything the Lord allows us to undergo has implications much more vast than our own vision for what we are entitled to or believe our lives to entail. This concept then nullifies any notion of what we think is best for us when it's motivated out of our own selfish proclivities. This means that Despite the fact that I've experienced some of the most challenging, lonely, grief inducing longings and loss during the past two years...I am HIS and I will cling desperately to him even when admittedly I don't find that it comes even close to easy. BECAUSE...Long suffering produces the opportunity to honestly and truthfully put our faith to the test. God is looking for us to endure and thrive through him and because of him, trusting in HIS ways and HIS plans for our lives. This is a difficult process, a painful gut wrenching process at times. When Jesus talks about taking up our cross to follow him, it is the experience of dying to ourselves. Recently I've felt like my heart has been ripped open and out of it has gushed all sorts of emotions and feelings that have left me feeling like I'm dying inside. I suspect that this is exactly what I'm supposed to be feeling, yet I plead for him to take it away. God is merciful and kind, but will not spare us from his refining fire. I keep telling myself that this is good for me and good for others...even when I don't buy it because I can't always trust my feelings. So trust in the Alpha and Omega because he is infallible in all his ways.

MEL
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Deliverance from the Black Hole
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
09-30-2008

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Joshua 1:5b).
A black hole is a place of total nothingness. It's a time in our life when God removes the resources and supports that we normally rely on to feel secure - our careers, finances, friends, family, health and so forth. It is a preparation time.
When you find yourself in a black hole experience, don't just sit and brood. Take stock of your life. Take a look at your relationship with God.
First, ask God if there are any sins, habits, or attitudes that He might be judging in your life. It's important to discern whether the trial we face is the result of God's discipline for our sin?or if it is preparing us for a future leadership role.
Second, when you enter a black hole, don't trust your feelings. Trust God. Your feelings will tell you, "God has rejected you. Abandon hope. He has left you utterly alone." Feelings change; God never changes. Feelings come and go; God is always with us.
Third, remember that your black hole experience is not only intended to refine and define you; it's also intended to influence and change the lives of hundreds or even thousands of other people. Our adversity is not just for us, but others in our sphere of influence.
Fourth, don't try to hurry the black hole process along. Remember, when Joseph was in the depths of the pit, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't climb out, jump out, levitate out, or talk his way out. All he could do was pray and wait upon the Lord.
Fifth, lean on God. Even when you don't feel like praying, pray. Even when you don't feel like reading His Word, read. Even when you don't feel like singing songs of faith, sing. When you pray, don't just talk; listen. Be silent before Him and listen for His still, quiet voice.
Sixth, be alert to new truths and new perspectives. During a black hole experience, God often leads us to amazing new discoveries. A black hole can be a storehouse of unexpected riches for the soul.