THIS TOO SHALL PASS
by Kathy Pegram

Have you ever had one of those weeks when God went out of His way to encourage and strengthen you? I had one of those awhile back. I won’t go into detail about it but I had just about reached the end of my rope with the why’s and when’s of a situation. I had been praying to God, or maybe I should say complaining, for quite a while. I had truly been ready to have an old fashioned pity party! I knew that there were millions of people in worse situations physically, emotionally, financially, etc. than Steve and I were at that time. But, whereas it is easy to believe and have faith for others, when things hit home sometimes it’s not so easy. That’s when I see God holding true to His Word. I think that there comes a time when He realizes you can’t take much more so He sends someone along to give you some encouragement.

We were at that time visiting a church in Georgia when the pastor and his wife were the ones with the words of encouragement. They showed their concern and spoke the words that I believe God needed for us to hear. At one point they used the phrase, "This too shall pass." This came on the heels of a full week of reading in books, hearing on television or the radio, Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT). I was finally to the point of saying, “Okay God, You’re trying to let us know that this is going to pass and it will work out for our good. I know I’ve complained a lot lately and gotten discouraged, but You are using others to speak into my life. Please help us to remember that You are in control, and that, no matter what we are facing, we can trust You, and You alone, to take care of us.”

The origin of the saying "this too shall pass" appears to date back to a story told about King Solomon. It is said that the King, feeling blue, asked his advisors to find him a ring he had seen in a dream. "When I feel satisfied I’m afraid that it won’t last. And when I don’t, I am afraid my sorrow will go on forever. Find me the ring that will ease my suffering." Eventually an advisor met an old jeweler who carved into a simple gold band the Hebrew inscription "gam zeh ya’avor" – "this too shall pass." When the king received his ring and read the inscription his sorrows turned to joy and his joy to sorrows, and then both gave way to calmness.

I want to remind every one reading this right now that "This too shall pass." You are an overcomer. You are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus our Lord. You are the head and not the tail. You are above only and not beneath. Everything that seeks to harm you cannot prevail. Why? Because “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”

Love & Prayers,
Kathy