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Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado
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"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5 English Standard Version
The starburst captured in this picture of the setting sun only appeared on my camera's sensor after I pushed the shutter button. I didn't see it when I composed this picture. I didn't see it through my viewfinder. Only when I took the shot did it appear.
Stating the obvious, this picture would look much different if there wasn't a starburst, but would it look better or worse? The answer could go both ways depending on how these pictures affect the person viewing them.
Whether you like the starburst or not, your perspective of this pic is affected by its presence.
Hope is the starburst that God interjects into our suffering.
As I've mentioned in other blogs, suffering has a way of isolating us from others and causing us to focus on our need and to lose hope.
For Paul, suffering produces hope that will not put us to shame or disappoint us when we view our pain in God's hands. When all we see is suffering, we're led to despair, but when we see suffering in God's hands it leads to hope.
None of us prays for suffering. We don't desire suffering, yet suffering is a result of the broken world in which we live. The question is not whether we'll suffer, but how do we handle suffering.
I've seen people who were stuck in despair over their suffering and I've seen people with an amazing joy in their pain, people who ask, "How is God going to use my suffering?"
For the latter the key is seeing the starburst of God's hope in the midst of their suffering. May God produce this hope in us when we experience pain.
The starburst captured in this picture of the setting sun only appeared on my camera's sensor after I pushed the shutter button. I didn't see it when I composed this picture. I didn't see it through my viewfinder. Only when I took the shot did it appear.
Stating the obvious, this picture would look much different if there wasn't a starburst, but would it look better or worse? The answer could go both ways depending on how these pictures affect the person viewing them.
Whether you like the starburst or not, your perspective of this pic is affected by its presence.
Hope is the starburst that God interjects into our suffering.
As I've mentioned in other blogs, suffering has a way of isolating us from others and causing us to focus on our need and to lose hope.
For Paul, suffering produces hope that will not put us to shame or disappoint us when we view our pain in God's hands. When all we see is suffering, we're led to despair, but when we see suffering in God's hands it leads to hope.
None of us prays for suffering. We don't desire suffering, yet suffering is a result of the broken world in which we live. The question is not whether we'll suffer, but how do we handle suffering.
I've seen people who were stuck in despair over their suffering and I've seen people with an amazing joy in their pain, people who ask, "How is God going to use my suffering?"
For the latter the key is seeing the starburst of God's hope in the midst of their suffering. May God produce this hope in us when we experience pain.
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You can listen to the Praying With the Eyes podcast on iTunes on the 1st and 15th of each month, as well as at SoundCloud.com by searching for "Praying With The Eyes."
(Click on picture to enlarge.)
Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2015 Douglas P. Brauner. ARR.
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