Kitchen Sink
Some ladies carry everything but the kitchen sink in their handbags, but not my baby; she actually had a kitchen sink in her purse. No lie. She was three years old and I poured out the contents of her little handbag and lo and behold, a kitchen sink, a tub of Play-Doh, a bus, a spoon, a Lego, a monkey, dog food, a plastic egg, some sidewalk chalk and of course, some hand sanitizer. Wow, I thought to myself, my baby is prepared for a variety of unusual situations. The truth is, she gets it from her mama. I have been known to carry around the most random items just for the sake of being prepared for anything. When I was younger, people used to tell me that I would make a good mother just based on the fact that anything anyone could ever possibly need in any given situation was in my purse. Mothers carry a lot of stuff around with them, something I can now confirm. Yes, I am dragging even more stuff around with me these days, everything and the kitchen sink. And now, it is my pleasure to be raising my own little “kitchen sinker.” Hey, if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready!
Some things you just cannot be prepared for, like the phone call I received from the mother of my daughter’s best friend asking if I could watch her little girl. “Definitely,” I said, “What's going on?” She went on to say that the doctors found a large mass near her heart, and she would need to go in for testing. That is not the type of thing you want to hear when a friend is on the line or anyone else, especially when that person has a small child. I had prayer with her and we hung up the phone. I am not going to lie, it shook me. My daughter and I did the only thing we knew how to do, fast and pray. We fasted and prayed for her during her stay in the hospital. I tried to encourage her every day and found myself ministering to myself as I ministered to her. Indeed, there was no reason to fear, the LORD thy God is with thee! Trust Him, He will deliver! Speak and pray His promises of healing over your life! And then, the test results came back... Cancer.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). At the very same time that Judas was betraying Him, Jesus was encouraging His disciples with a message of hope and peace. He was doomed, most would say, headed to His death by crucifixion and still, He managed to have enough peace, not just for Himself but enough to offer others.
It is not a matter of if but when. When will trouble find you? Are you prepared to face whatever trial is coming your way? What will be your response? “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Heb. 11:8).
What is God taking you through? Better question, what is God taking you to? “Be of good cheer,” Jesus told the disciples, after promising them they would have tribulation. Why? Because He had overcome the world! At the Cross, Jesus overcame everything that could cause us trouble so while we can expect trouble, we also have the opportunity to accept the peace that Jesus offers in the midst of that trouble. His is the peace that passeth all understanding, that guards our hearts and minds, that says I can overcome cancer or anything else with God by my side and be better than ever because I trusted Him through it (Phil. 4:7). The great thing about the peace that God provides is that it coexists with the trouble in our lives. That is how you know it is from God because you can be in the thick of it and still trust and encourage others with your faith, not because you know the exact outcome but because you know the One who has your life and your situation in His hands.
God uses suffering to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us (1 Pt. 5:10-11). Nothing surprises God, remember He will use all the attempts of the enemy for our good and His glory. Stand fast and be strong as He works in and through you. You may not see what is coming but you can be ready for anything (Gal. 5:1, Ephes. 6:10).
Believer, God has called you to go to a place but there might be sickness on the way, there might be hardship or broken relationships on the way; Go. Even though you may not know where you are going, by faith, just go. God is with you and He will never leave you alone so be of good cheer; the outcome is victory!
