crushed?

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair"  --2 Corinthians 4.8


I don't usually get up early.  I can't usually think coherently early.  But around 6 a.m. this morning, God brought this scripture to mind.  Oh, how comforting is the Word of God!  How appropriate a salve it is to calm our minds and cover our wounds!  I don't pretend for a minute to be suffering what Paul & the early church were when this was written.  And yet... the words are still true, meaningful, and powerful today.


This week, we are looking for a house.  We came to our new location with 21 listings printed out, all ready to look at.  We took a drive Monday night and eliminated 6 properties, just by seeing the outside.  I thought that was good, as I would rather not spend time touring the ones that simply won't work!  Tuesday night, we found out that our top 3 on the list have sold or gone under contract in the last 5 days.  "Seriously?  There's no hope for that one I think I love??"  Then we went driving again.  We marked our new favorites, and drove up to one.  We saw it and said "Wow."  We put it at the top of our list.  The house was vacant, but a security guard came out and greeted us.  He asked if we were there for the auction.  Auction?  No, just to look.  He proceeded to inform us that it had sold for $150K less than the listing price (which we could have afforded) just 3 hours prior.


Crushed.


Really?  Are we really just a few days, and even just a few hours late?

I spent the drive back to the hotel assuring myself that God is in control, and that he is answering my prayer of making our way clear-- just not in the way I had imagined.  

Then God himself assured me with this verse.  No longer crushed.  Yes, I am perplexed.  But I'm certainly not in despair, because we have GOD's help in this process, and he can see infinitely more than we can!  Imagine, God as a realtor!  God holding our hand through the excitement and the disappointment!  


It has always been my experience than when God holds back something, it's because He has something else much better in store.  ALWAYS.  His faithful love endures forever!


Psalm 84.11
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." 


Thanks be to Christ, who makes me blameless!


Can't wait to see what's around the next corner!