Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee (Psalm 55:22). How else can I explain to others why I can feel joy despite hardship and gratitude despite suffering? It doesn’t happen automatically. Sometimes I have to wait much longer than I had hoped, but peace does come.

I keep thinking that I need to try to explain something of how this works in my life with the hope that someone out there can benefit as well.

My first sincere turning to the Lord for peace occurred just after I turned 12 years old. I had been taught to pray but did so as more of a routine at mealtimes or with the family rather than a heartfelt conversation with my Father in Heaven. At that tender age I learned my family would be moving. I was leaving my friends to go to a small town in Colorado and I was none too pleased about the whole thing. And so… I turned to prayer. I guess I knew that I needed a friend. Don’t we all need a friend like God?

It began as an experiment for me. My life has been blessed because I tried the experiment when I was young. I didn’t have any sort of heavenly manifestation, but I did feel better. I have been praying nightly ever since. At some point I added morning prayer and lately I am learning the blessing of midday prayer as well.

Just like all those years ago, prayer helps me to feel better. I began to experiment at 12, but you can experiment at 20 or 50 or 80, or try it again if you have forgotten how it felt years ago.

Here’s the thing – finding peace is not as simple as just praying and then feeling better. At least not for me. Well, it is “feeling better” by degrees. Looking back through my life at times when life was most difficult I have known to turn to the Lord for guidance, for strength, and for peace. Usually, I get a little frustrated or worried when I feel that perhaps I am going to be left to struggle on my own. I plead for the peace that I have felt in the past and wonder why it isn’t forthcoming?

And then it comes. It always does! I have come to the conclusion that those days of waiting make it more miraculous and more powerful and more beautiful.

Sharing some of these thoughts came to me as I skimmed through some of my most recent posts… particularly the titles, “Don’t Let Go” and “Abide With Me.” How very well those titles represent my feelings and my pleadings to the Lord. I Need Thee Every Hour!!

I have written about my night of fear and sorrow and tears. The following night I was in my room and had a whole new set of tears when I looked over and saw our pie containers from two nights previous. I was missing my best friend and worried for our future. Then… morning came. I woke up and felt so good. Through the next days, despite bad news and being unable to leave the hospital I just felt good. I searched my soul and realized I couldn’t even make myself be sad or worried. I also knew that if I did try to focus on sorrow it would be like denying this gift of peace that I was being given.

How is this done? I certainly don’t understand or comprehend the process, but the answer is the Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The greatest news? It is available to every one of us! We know that He took upon Himself our sins, but I believe that in His suffering, He took upon Himself our suffering as well. ALL of our suffering which includes physical, mental, spiritual… fears, sorrows, insecurities, and on and on.

Paul speaks of “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). I don’t think that we are meant to understand it, just trust. He is GOD – He can do this! Paul also gives us a few guidelines in verse 8 and then in verse 9 to do these things and the God of peace shall be with you. Here are the “things” which he mentions:

Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of any virtue or of any praise. He says that we have learned them, received the, heard them and seen them – and so we are to think of them and do them. So I guess we cannot just sit around and hope to feel better, but feeling better can occur!

One more scripture to share… and it is beautiful. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty ye might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Tonight, to me, this sounds like he suffered so that we would not have to…

Surely there are many trials ahead which will fill me with fear and sorrow, heartbreak and worry. Haha, and I am not even counting this whole cancer nightmare in which we are currently entangled. Thus is life. As much as I don’t like saying it… I believe that we need to suffer so that we can receive and recognize His Grace… His Amazing Grace.

P.S. In keeping with tradition, I linked Amazing Grace – the Gentri version, but only because I don’t have a recording of my sister-in-law, Brenda. Her version has always been a favorite for Mark.