He Has The Last Word!

I've mentioned a women's group that I attend and last week we touched on what I believe is a pivotal issue for any of us that have gone through childhood abuse. We talked about the fact that when I have been giving God "what for" because He did not PROTECT me, what I was really upset about is that He did not PREVENT those bad things from happening to me! Boy, that smacked me right between the eyes. Then we discussed our definitions of protection.
I had a definition immediately that felt inspired to me. It was this: protection is to be brought through some horrible experience or situation and not only survive but be a better person afterwards than if I had never gone through it at all. Now I can't think of any material thing on this planet, that after being struck by lightening or battered by golf ball size hail or going through a level 5 tornado or hurricane that would be BETTER for it! Yet, to my little girl's heart and emotions, my day to day existence was like living in the middle of a level 5 tornado or hurricane! But by my own definition, "Daddy" DID protect me. I have no doubt that surviving abuse has given me a level of understanding and discernment that I never would have possessed otherwise. I also learned that for Him to prevent the evil done to me would have required that He change the whole foundation of mankind and take away my stepfather's God-given right of free choice to do right or wrong! Realizing the truth of that and seeing that according to my definition of protection He never did fail me or abandon me has truly been yet another life changing step in the healing process for me. So it is with these thoughts that I share the scripture He directed me to.
1 Peter 5:10 in the NIV says, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." The Message expresses it this way, "So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ - eternal and glorious plans they are! - will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does." I JUST LOVE THAT!!!! So when the enemy would have us believe that there is no point, no good that could ever come from such bad things, be confident and assured that the One who gets the last word is, as we speak, making us better than before! We just have to hang on and cling to His word when we don't have the strength to hold on to anything else.