Grace to you!

     Recently, I awakened with these thoughts and decided just to write them down.  A few weeks ago, Hal and I attended the "Welcome to the USA" party at the Baptist Student Unit building on the campus of Mississippi State University. It is a welcome gathering for the international students at MSU.  Before we got there, Hal mentioned he would have to leave at a certain time in order to take a phone call from a parent that was calling him in regards to her son coming out to his parents about his struggle with homosexuality.  Hal left the party and I told him I would stay for a little longer and then walk to the car and meet him.  As I got in the car and sat down quietly, I could hear the mom talking and my heart just broke.  I could hear the brokenness in her voice.  I could hear her crying. I heard her say  it was like a tragedy.   It’s like news you don’t want to hear.  Then I heard her say what do we do? How do we handle this? Again, my heart is just breaking inside.  He finishes his call and we head home.  My phone goes off as we pull into the drive and it’s a text from another mom.  My heart broke as she texted me of her brokenness over her son.  
     I came inside and sat down in my chair and I was reminded of the verses of scripture that God had shown me just the day before. The verses included....
     Psalm 56:8 – “You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book.”
     Psalm 56:9 – “My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.  This I know, God is on my side!”
     Psalms 57:10-11 – “For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.  Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.  May your glory shine over all the earth.”
     Lamentations 3:20-24 – Jeremiah writes, “I will never forget this awful time as I grieve over my loss.  Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends.  His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness, His mercies begin afresh every morning.  I say to myself, The Lord is my inheritance, therefore I will hope in Him.”
     Lamentations 3:55-57 “But I called on Your name, LORD, from deep within the pit.  You heard me when I cried, ‘Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help’ Yes, You came when I called you told me, do not fear.” (Yes, Jeremiah did find himself thrown into a literal pit but he was also in a pit of despair.)
     I know that we all may at times find ourselves in a pit of despair.  Wondering, is there any hope?  Does God hear my cry on behalf of my child? Yes, He does.  He hears your every plea!  He sees your every tear! God is on your side! He promises in His word that as His child He will never leave you or forsake you.  The same God that has been with you in the past is the same God that is with you in the present and is the same God that will walk with you in the future.  In Hebrews 13:8, His word reminds us that “He is the same yesterday, today and forever.”  His faithful love NEVER ends!! His mercies NEVER cease!  His compassions NEVER fail!!  GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!  This is where we find HOPE!
     

                                                                        Hal & Lisa Selby