A New Outlook

God lives and works today. He is at work even when you can't see or feel Him, when the sufferings and difficulties are so great that you don't know where to look for help. It is in such times that you need a new outlook, and today's meditation by Vassily Ishchenko offers one, a new outlook that even can help you be thankful for the times of darkness.

Cross-bearing, blessed pain, Glory its final aim, Loaded with gold is the cross, Bringing grace, holy soul, From heaven's highest throne, Cross-bearing brings us peace. Bearing the cross of Christ, Who can such grace assess? Glory in love is such lot, Sharing with Him the weight Of what an honor great, Bringing eternal peace. Yes, it's easy for you to preach about accepting your cross, loving it, being thankful for it, but you don't live in my circumstances.

If you were in my shoes, you wouldn't be so fast to preach. Your bitterness and self-pity will never help you to overcome your present situation. Let me share with you one of my experiences.

The first time I had to fight through such a battle was many years ago. I can still remember how much self-pity I had, because someone was making life so difficult for me. I realized that I was bitter, but I thought I was justified, because this other person seemed to make life so incredibly difficult.

I was unhappy and frustrated. But one day, the Lord let me see that it wasn't the other person that was making me so unhappy, but actually my own ego. The sins of bitterness and unwillingness to forgive were the cause of all my troubles.

Suddenly I realized that God had sent me this person so that I could recognize my sin and fight against it. From then on, everything changed. I asked the Lord for repentance over my sin.

Through my bitterness, I had become guilty. Now that I recognized that I was the sinner, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. Now I was the one who was standing before the judgment seat of God.

I begged Jesus to set me free from my unmerciful heart. I was driven into the arms of Jesus, and He was able to deal with me. During my battles of faith and prayer, which lasted for months, He gave me more and more repentance.

After much fervent prayer, God granted me a merciful love for this person, and our relationship to each other was completely transformed. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see everything in His light. Tears of repentance over our sin change everything, even the most impossible situations.

Give me your light, and do not let it spare me. Show me my sin, and to repentance grant me, then I'll be free. You have been listening to a program written by Basile Schlink of the Little Land of Canaan.

To learn more about how God lives and works today, visit us at our website, www.canaan.org. That's K-A-N-A-A-N dot org. If you contact us, we would be happy to send you a free inspirational booklet. If you do not have access to the Web, please contact this radio station for our postal address.

God bless you.