Sweet Relief

i was talking with a friend last night. he lives in NYC and we (amongst other things) discussed the weather.

he said it was 85 and humid...and it was 10pm!

i remember those days...it was so hard to sleep. i would put a fan on the night stand and have it blowing right on me...but it never really cooled me off...it gave me a sense of comfort...a false feeling that it wasn't really all that hot. but it never cooled me off and gave me real comfort. it just fooled me into thinking i could sleep. but i would toss and turn. alternately throwing the sheet off and pulling it back on...twisting this way and that...sometimes getting up and sitting out on the porch...or taking a shower to cool off. sometimes i wished i could sleep in the shower.

i would wake up as tired as i was when i went to bed. in other words, there was no relief.

my friend asked me what the temp was. it felt cool, and i could tell it was going to be a good night to sleep...so i went and looked. it was 55! no wonder i wanted to put on a sweat shirt!

now, it does get hot here in vermont. we've had quite a few days in the 80's and 90's this summer...but, usually, it cools off in the evening...maybe not as cool as it was last night. but at least into the 70's.

it is our sweet relief.

this is the difference between the lives of the believer and the unbeliever. trouble comes to everybody.

we all get sick (or our loved ones get sick).
our relationship sometime break down.
we sometimes lose jobs.
we all stub our toes.
we encounter trials...

no one is immune or exempted from them.

but the christian has a sweet relief.

we know God is in control. we know this is all a part of His plan. we know He will work it out to our eventual good. we know He is Lord over each and every situation in our lives. we know that as we learn to trust Him more and more we will grow closer to Him.

we can rest easy, He is our sweet relief.