From Our Beginning To Our End

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13 (NIV)

In the movie “Arrival” a woman is given the ability to see her life, from beginning to end, the good and the bad. Interestingly, she decides she would not change any of it, not even the bad times.

I think if we could only see our own lives that way, from beginning to end, both the good and the bad, it would completely change our perspective. I believe the good would far outweigh the bad. And better yet, if we could fully see and grasp our eternal destination, these fleeting lives with the bad and good would seem a flicker, a mere spark of existence in the huge scheme of things.

This is why the Apostle could write under the influence of the Holy Spirit:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17

Looking back over my life I can remember bad times, even months and entire years of suffering. Yet I can also remember my wedding day, the first time I held my baby daughter, family celebrations, nights out under the stars, mornings watching the sunrise. And Importantly, when I became born again, the day the Lord filled me with the Holy Spirit, the peace and love of God in my life.

It is easy to become laser focused on our pain during periods of suffering. Yet I am reminded of the line from “It’s A Wonderful Life” when Clarence said to George Bailey:

You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?

Life is not always wonderful. Indeed, sometimes it is downright painful and miserable. Yet when we look at the entire panorama, from our birth to our death, I suspect we will agree with Clarence the angel that: “you really had a wonderful life.”

This is even more true for the born again child of God, for even our best days down here cannot compare for the glory that awaits us in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus and the great destiny He has planned for us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, each day we have the chance for good or bad to occur in our lives. Help us not to get caught up in the minutia, but to stretch our perspective until it encompasses a view more like Your own and we can better appreciate the beginning, and the end. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

He Causes The Blind To See

One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” John 9:25b (NIV)

I was overdue for an eye exam and needed new glasses. Indeed, I could almost see better without my glasses than with those I had worn for nearly two years. When my new glasses arrived with a new prescription--I was shocked at how much better I could now see. The difference was incredible.

Recently a sweet, dear lady I had corresponded with died. She was blind, and now I’m trying to imagine what heaven must be like for her. Can you picture having been blind, then passing over to heaven and your once blind eyes not only now see, but the first thing they see is the incredible panoramic view of heaven, all its colors, the brightness, the beauty beyond description, and then the face of Jesus!

I think one day when each one of us crosses over to heaven we will say that until that moment we had never truly seen anything. It will be like my new prescription which restored my vision--only a thousand times so. And those who are blind here, in truth, they haven’t missed anything compared to what they will see on that glorious other side.

It hurts when we lose loved ones. When dear friends and acquaintances are removed from us we all die a little bit on the inside. But once we see them in heaven, as scripture says:

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

We sorrow for a little while at our temporary blindness here on earth. We are too often blind to what really matters, to those around us who are hurting and suffering. We are blind to the most important things in life and instead go chasing after the foolishness of shiny things. But one day we'll realize our blindness down here, and thanks to Jesus, we’ll see all the glory, majesty, and wonder God has in store for us.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we go through life blindly, or at best see life around us as through a dark glass. And we do not fully understanding the pain and suffering of those around us. Open our eyes and our hearts to the important things of life, and thank You for the promise of better things to come, reunions with those we love, and seeing You face to face on that glorious day. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2010

Why Do Some People Get The Short End Of The Stick?

The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Zechariah 3:2 (NIV)

In the big scheme of things life does not seem fair. Why are children stricken with cancer? Why do good people die young? Why so often do the innocent suffer and the guilty go free? It is a fact of life that some people get “the short end of the stick”.

In the verse above some Bible commentators believe Israel is being described as having been a stick snatched from out of the fire. Bible commentator F.B. Meyer says of that verse:

We are as brands scorched and charred with the burning. But we have been plucked out of the consuming flame. Surely then we are being kept for some high and useful purpose.

That is the hope we must hold onto. God in His sovereign purpose has allowed some people on earth to suffer terrible things and endure many hardships. We may not know on this side of heaven why this is so, but with faith and courage we can look to God and believe these miseries in the here and now will be recompensed on the other side.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)

When we see or experience unjustified suffering something within us rises up in anger at the injustice of it all. We all know people who are terrible sinners and yet they go through life with hardly a day of illness or any problems it seems. We can get to the point that we question both God’s goodness and His justice when we observe the world around us and the unfairness of it all.

The truth is that if this world was all that there is and nothing came after--we would have good reason to despair. The Apostle Paul recognized this type of thinking. He understood that if there is nothing more than the suffering of this world we would have reason for cynicism and doubt.

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32 (NIV)

Thankfully there is more to this world and our eternal future than the suffering and pain and “short end of the stick”.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;  it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 42-44 (NIV)

These bodies, these troubles, and these difficult times are not eternal, but our relationship to Christ promises something far better. We have eternity awaiting, a great promise from Jesus that through His sacrifice these mortal bodies will put on immortality, and these miseries we now suffer will seem slight and momentary in the light of eternal glory with Christ.

Brothers and Sisters, heaven awaits. We have been robbed here of health and suffered much affliction, yet riches await the child of God. If you are a believer you have every reason to hope despite the unfairness of life. And if you are not a believer, then invite Jesus into your heart, ask Him to become your Savior, and you will receive the Seal of the Holy Spirit to comfort you and secure you now for heaven, and eternal glory will be yours’ through Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life brings discouragement and pain, misery and suffering. Yet You give us Your Spirit, and precious promises that though life may be unfair now, eternity offers us riches and blessings beyond our comprehension. Thank You Jesus for hope and courage and for securing us for our eternal, glorious destination. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

How Painful Are Honest Words

“How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?” Job 6:25 (NIV)

Why is it so painful to be honest? Why is it I would rather make up just about any excuse for not doing something than admit my health is not up to some event or activity?

Even after all these years of affliction, I still don’t like to admit that my health is the reason I can’t do something. I guess none of us like to admit to weakness of any sort. We would rather excuse our health situation and blame anything other than admit to weakness.

Somehow, admitting to a physical disability seems like a defeat. We cheer on those who do not let handicaps get in their way, and rightly so, but even in a culture that ought to be a bit smarter by now, we still steer away from afflictions of all sorts. There is still a discomfort level at seeing someone in a wheelchair or using a cane, because we correctly surmise that, being human, it could be us in that chair or leaning on that cane; age and disability reaches us all eventually, but no one likes to think about that.

Perhaps it is pride, perhaps it is social pressure, whatever the reason, we like to hide our disabilities. And those of us with invisible illnesses are probably the worst of all. We are both favored and disfavored by the invisibility of our illnesses. Because we can hide it–we do. But because we are ill–the affliction often shows itself whether we want it to or not in the way it shuts us down.

No one wants to be afflicted, and it can be hard to admit to affliction, but we are not  fooling anyone, especially not ourselves. Call on the Lord for help, lean on Him and depend upon His strength in your afflictions, and be honest both with yourself and everyone else regarding your affliction.

Prayer: Dear Lord, how we hate affliction, give the courage to be honest about our weaknesses. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

A Friend In Need

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:7 (NIV)

When we first moved into our neighborhood many years ago we were the youngest couple here. That has changed over the years, and seeing older neighbors die and move on to be with the Lord reminded me in my youth just how quickly time flies and circumstances change.

I had one neighbor who was bound to a wheelchair. He was a tall guy back when he could stand up, and solidly built. Sometimes he would fall out of his wheelchair, and his wife would come over and ask me to help him back up again. I was younger and stronger then, and did not at all mind helping him back into his wheelchair.

As I would lift my friend back into his chair, often I would think to myself: I hope there is someone to pick me up if I ever get into a situation like this. It is hard to imagine being stuck on the cold floor, helpless and unable to pick yourself up.

We have many opportunities to “pick people up off of the floor”. They may have fallen spiritually, emotionally, or be struggling under the weight of various afflictions. They need help, even if it is just an encouraging word, planting a bit of hope into their life. Any kind act can help to pick up another person who is about to fall or is struggling to get up from a bad fall.

I’m convinced that one of our main tasks in life is to help each other. It seems there is so much arguing, politics, and general foolishness when it comes to interacting with others, but what really blesses people is to help, and be helped, to be willing to accept and give help to others.

This world can be a hard place, let’s make it better by lifting each other up.

Prayer: Dear Lord, when we have fallen, please send others to pick us up. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

Ministering To Others In The Midst Of Our Strife

“Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.” Psalm 41:1 (NIV)

How can we who are afflicted, disabled, in chronic pain and struggling with our ailments possibly be of any help to someone else? How can we minister to others with all of our own troubles? It is quite tempting to simply say that we cannot, we have enough problems of our own without taking on anymore. But I think that we are more uniquely qualified to help others in ways that more energetic, healthy, physically fit people cannot.

There are various ways we can help. First we can empathize with others who are going through trials and afflictions because we have been in their shoes. We can honestly say that on some level we do understand what it is to be tried and tested, as we have been in our own afflictions.

We can also give them the Good News that God is helping us to endure and overcome and continues to help us overcome on a daily basis. Just as God has helped us, He will help others.

“Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” 2 Corinthians 1: 3-5 (NIV)

There is really no limit to the ways we can help each other, whatever you are going through, you can be sure some saint of God has been there before.

Prayer: Lord God help us to help others, even as You have come to our aid time and time again.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017

A Cheerful Heart Is Good Medicine

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:21-23 (NIV)

You have heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” If it isn’t the best, it is right up there at the top of the list.

I’m not particularly known for my sense of humor. Too often I am serious and at times even morose. Yet I soon realized after my operation that I had better find a sense of humor or otherwise go insane.

Going through a colostomy is an awful business. The procedures, tests, exams, pain and suffering beforehand, and the recovery and adjustment afterward require a certain mindset. You cannot afford to be overly serious. If you haven’t got a sense of humor, you had better develop one, because you will need humor as much as anything else to get through and live with the situation.

My little brother, who is an Registered Nurse, was gifted with the sense of humor in our family. He loved playing jokes on people, so I took it as high praise when he complimented me about having a sense of humor regarding my recovery from surgery. Being able to laugh and joke about my condition helped me through the healing process.

Some things simply are not funny. When our health is on the line it can be very hard not to be filled with anxiety and fear about our condition. But as often as we can, we truly need to find a place for humor in our lives, we may need to laugh at our crazy health issues more than others just to keep our sanity.

I would encourage you to smile more often, to laugh more often, to try to find humor where you can, because it can improve your mood, soften your heart, and lift your spirit.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to find humor, and to smile instead of frown, even as we struggle with affliction. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017