I think God may be spying on me

Over the last few months, God has really gotten my attention. The latest incident was last Sunday while I was exchanging pleasantries with my Pastor, Scott. Before the service started, he walked over and asked me how I was doing. Man, that is a rough question. I'm not fond of being fake or lying, and honestly, life has been overflowing with challenges. So, I vaguely hinted that I'm muddling through, just trying to figure out when I will be able to finally relax and breathe. He responded, "Actually, my sermon today is kind of about that. Remember that I wrote it before we had this conversation." He proceeded to preach a sermon titled "Bitter Hardship and the Glory of God" from Exodus 1:1-14, 2:23-25. The following five points were outlined in the bulletin:

• There is no place in this world that is not affected by sin.
• There are times when following God leads us into hard places.
• There is a place to turn in all hardships.
• The Lord knows His people in every hard place.
• For the believer, every bitter hardship leads to experiencing God's glory.

Seriously? If you would like, you can hear it for yourself (click on the MP3 to download).

Now, mind you, this is not the first time this has happened. Earlier that same week, I was filled with [in my opinion] righteous anger, and I picked up one of my Bible studies that I had neglected for a number of weeks to read this " This week we study patience....mercy drives this patience." The themes of the chapter, which focused on Job--Job, people, come on! Talk about trumping whatever I'm going through--were hope and endurance. My heart was completely transformed in 20 minutes. Wait, there's more! During a time of mental struggle with sin, I read a chapter in a separate book about taking thoughts captive in Christ. In Living Beyond Yourself, the study I mentioned earlier by Beth Moore, I studied sporadically for weeks on the subject of peace: Christ had perfect peace in aloneness, in provision, in the storm, in the wait, in tears, in God's plan, and in his own death. In some small (or sometimes large) way, I have recently dealt with ALL of these. Each time, I would open that book (and my Bible) at the exact moment I needed to hear those very specific lessons.

I am overwhelmed and humbled by God speaking so specifically into my life. Job 23:10 says, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." As it turns out, life is hard, and it may not get much easier. But at least for today, I'm not discouraged. My hope is in the glory!