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The Bottom Line

These life-giving, refocusing and aligning type words were just the ticket for me yesterday afternoon as I sat down to read for a moment. Found in the piece by Dr. Chuck Swindoll in the magazine publication Kindred Spirit, the article reads:

These life-giving, refocusing and aligning type words were just the ticket for me yesterday afternoon as I sat down to read for a moment. Found in the piece by Dr. Chuck Swindoll in the magazine publication Kindred Spirit, the article reads:

           “Satisfaction comes when we step off the escalator of discontent
            and say, ‘this is enough. What I have will do. What I make of it is
            up to me and my vital union with the Lord.’

           The Father loves us. Christ arose. The Spirit will never leave us or
           forsake us. The Almighty controls the weather and the 'heart of the
           king.' The heavens declare the glory of God. The One who clothes
           the flowers has arrayed them with more beauty than Solomon in all
           his glory. All shall be well.”

After it’s all said and done this is what makes the most sense. Really. What else do we need? All the pressure, all the worry, all the striving after –what? God is in His heavens. Ultimately He will write the last chapter. He sees all. He knows all. He has our best interest at heart. He knows how we are wired and what we need and when we need it. He promises in Isaiah 43:1-3 to be with us when the waters are too high; when the fire is too hot and when the pressure is overwhelming. He is all in all and He never fails.

Julian of Norwich (1342-1416), an anchoress of the church during the particularly harsh period of  history in England, the Hundred Years' War, said it earlier when trying to make sense out of all the suffering around her, “It is true that sin is the cause of all this pain, but all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well.” Trusting is God's loving sovereignty is the ultimate and only comfort. That’s an accurate perspective…the bottom line.

You, too, can be encouraged by this publication. Check it out www.dts.edu/ks

Gail Seidel served as Mentor Advisor for Spiritual Formation in the Department of Spiritual Formation and Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) and as an Adjunct Professor in the D Min in Spiritual Formation in the D Min Department at Dallas Theological Seminary. She has a BA in English from the University of Texas, a Masters in Christian Education from Dallas Seminary and a D Min in Spiritual Formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She is a contributor to the textbook, Foundations of Spiritual Formation, Kregel Academic. She served as co-director for Christian Women in Partnership Russia with Entrust, an international church leadership-training mission. She and her husband Andy live in Fredericksburg, Texas. They have 2 married children and 6 wonderful grandchildren--Kami, Kourtney, Katie, Mallory, Grayson, and Avery.