Good Friday to You!

I came across this passage in my devotions. I thought it befitting of my circumstances.
“...blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”- Jeremiah 17:7-8

Today is good Friday, which is in perfect keeping with the events of my morning! I have spent most of this week stressing about my job and finances. I had not heard from my immediate supervisor at work until this morning, so I was somewhat worried that she would post my position! I was also concerned about disability income. I am a month overdue and have not yet received a check. The thing about bills is that they don't fall under the "ignore-it-and-it-will-go-away" category. I was feeling a little overwhelmed.

My supervisor called this morning and assured me that she WOULD NOT post my position. Legally, after three months, it is the policy of the hospital to do this. Mary (my fearless leader) said that she wants me back on the floor and will hold the position for as long as it takes. PRAISE THE LORD!

I called the bank this morning, as I do every other Friday, to see if my disability income had been deposited yet. Well, it had indeed! My check was over $300 more than what I had expected it to be. I was hoping only to make next month's rent. Well, I just paid next month's rent, made a car payment AND paid the phone bill! I still have a little left over to get me by until next pay day.

I'm loving this Good Friday thing, however, it came at a very high price. All my stress and struggle are meaningless in comparison to this:

"As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" 'For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last."
John 22:26-45

"Amazing Grace / My Chains Are Gone"

-Chris Tomlin