I can not claim to coming up with this beautiful acronym; a dear soul from my church shared it with me two weeks ago. After she told me it, I went home and couldn't remember what she said, so I had to go back to her today to have her remind me, because it was that good.
To anticipate means to look forward to, to expect, or to foresee. For me this acronym means that while I anticipate the return of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I trust that he is sovereign, and in control of all things.
One of my favorite books of the Bible is Romans, and one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." God uses it all, all the circumstances we encounter, all our intentions- whether they are good or bad. God is perfect, his plan is perfect, even though we are not.
We (my family) have found an amazing church family in our brothers and sisters in Christ at our church, in Sanford, Florida. In the past few weeks, I have witnessed some of my dearest friends go through very deep valleys, with tremendous loses. Their faith has not wavered. They know and trust in Jesus Christ, and trust in God's work in their lives.
If you know your Bible, then you know that Jesus never promised a life of health and wealth to his followers. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." We are to put Jesus and his truth before ourselves to follow him. This means the results for us may be suffering, inconvenience, sickness, being hated by others, poverty, or a variety of other undesired things. In Jesus' teachings, he tells us in Matthew 5:3 that "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So even though we may suffer, if we belong to Jesus, we are comforted by the Holy Spirit.
God has purposes in our suffering. I think of my own experience, my greatest suffering being the loss of my youngest son. Through my suffering, I was brought to Christ. Through my families suffering, we were all brought to Christ. He used the pain and loss of our son, to bring us to him. Our lives have been turned upside for Christ, and it has been so incredibly good, and we are so blessed. He is so incredibly good, and I am eternally thankful.
I pray God uses me for his good, whatever that may look like. I pray that God uses my husband, our family, all for His glory. So I wait, and I trust, and I look forward and long for my permanent home in heaven with God, for all eternity.
