Gateways to Praise

        Gateways to Praise (Sonnet 25)
That trials and tests are hard I can’t deny;
At times they seem to cruelly break my heart
And pierce right through me like a wounding dart.
With grief and heaviness they make me sigh.
I share what Christ faced when He came to die;
Like Him, in learning suff’ring has a part.
In tests, Christ-like compassion gets its start.
“You’ll be more like my Son,” is God’s reply.
When testing ends, what blessings there will be
Because of how God ably brings me through.
I’ll stand amazed at all my God can do
And see what otherwise I’d never see.
The glorious vict’ry yields abundant song;
His awesome answers bring praise sweet and strong.

The bottom line is that no matter how deep the pain of a situation may be, God is big enough to bring good out of it. At times God changes the outcome of a situation to achieve a victory that no one else could possibly achieve. Other times He changes His children, giving them grace to endure the situation and blossom in it in a manner completely outside human comprehension. Whether His transformation is of the situation or of the people involved, God puts His power on display. His responses are worthy of praise.

"According to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." Philippians 1:20 (NASB)