And It Came to Pass

Luke 2:1

And it came to pass… My sister quotes this phrase a lot and we laugh every time she does.  She uses these five words as a reminder that what we are going through came to pass. Our difficulty didn’t come to stay.  That’s good news when what we are going through is hard to bear.

This phrase – “it came to pass,” occurs 120 times in the King James Version.  Apparently, God thought we would need reminders from time to time.

Disease is difficult.  Pain is difficult.  Not having answers is difficult.  Hearing a doctor deliver bad news is difficult.  Seeing hospital bills and doctor bills pile up is difficult.  Not knowing when it will all end is very difficult.

The good news to us is that these things came to pass.  They aren’t going to be the landscape of our life forever.  They are temporary.  Only God knows when they will pass.  He sees the end from the beginning.  We can only see so much, and we can quickly lose sight of the fact that God sees a much larger picture.

In the waiting, we can turn to scriptures for comfort and keep our focus on God, not on the evidence of difficulties that may be surrounding us. God is with us always, difficulties – well, they came to pass. They are only for a season.

God knows the plans He has for me, the plans He has for you, and He is capable of bringing them to pass in spite of the difficulties that come our way.  So if you are going through a difficult time, remind yourself that it came to pass.  Maybe that will even make you smile.

Father God, help me to remember that these difficulties have not escaped Your notice, they do not usurp Your plans for my life; they came to pass. Grant me the grace to keep my focus on You, on Your goodness and love for me when everything around me is screaming louder than Your still small voice.  Thank You for watching over Your word to perform it in my life. When I can’t see an end date for this trial, would you remind me that You are my ever present help in time of need and help me to  relax and let you take care of the timing. In Jesus’s name, amen.

pic credit: The Dolphin