Her Identity is not Her Pain but Her Hope

I can only describe what I saw as Shechinah Glory. Her frame was small and twisted by her battle with rheumatoid arthritis. She had known both the unrelenting pain and fatigue that this jailer brings it's victims but though she suffered she was not conquered. What I saw shining in her eyes was nothing less than the abiding presence of God.

She did not deny the agony she was suffering and yet still she spoke to me of how she was rejoicing in the Lord. My heart was humbled by the beauty of her faith. I recognized as she spoke to me that she had gained access by faith to the throne of grace. Even though there were tears of pain in her eyes she spoke to me about how she rejoiced in hope. Though her physical frame was weak her faith was strong. 

The long sleepless nights that she rejoiced in her Lord had produced endurance. During these nights she had made the Lord her dwelling place. She had sought shelter in the shadow of the Almighty. He covered her with His feathers and while she waited beneath His wing of protection a transformation had taken place. This intimate time with her Lord had caused her character to reflect His character.

The crushing pain this beautiful woman lives with is not her identity. Her identity is not her pain but her hope. Her confidence in the Lord is seen by the love God has poured out in her heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. The last time we spoke she told me of the praise she sings to Lord in the night. She told me it was an act of obedience and she wasn't sure what her song had sounded like. My eyes filled with tears as I imagined the beautiful song that rose before the throne of God accompanied with the voices of the cherubim and seraphim.

Father, thank You so much for giving me the privilege of seeing Your Shechinan Glory glowing in this precious woman of faith.