Ever have great emotional highs? Where you’re like yes! I can do it! Everything’s going to be amazing! Only to then have such negative lows it’s almost like you had a bipolar personality switch. Like what was I thinking? This is terrible. I’m a failure. Why bother trying? And then you’re back to being hopeful before you sink down again just trying to remind yourself you can’t just sit there and take it all lying down. No, you must get up and try, right? But I’m so tired, do I have to? Can’t I just give up? And you pray, open Scripture, and look for signs on what you should do. Well, God doesn’t always answer in the moment and we’re left to figure out things for ourselves. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could call Him up and He’d tell us, “Oh yes, take that job, but it won’t work out a year from now. No worries though because if you wait about 5 months through unemployment, you’ll find your dream job after you meet the owner in a coffee shop.” Great, thanks God! Phew, now I know I don’t have to worry because you’ve got it all covered. Awesome right? Well, real life isn’t like that.
Three applicable Bible verses come to mind here. One is that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Good and bad things can happen to anyone, but sometimes this truth can be hard to endure. Naturally, we want to see the good triumph and our hearts don’t always want to love those who have wronged us. Maybe you’ve never wished harm on someone, but have you genuinely prayed for that tough person in your life? Have you gone out of your way to be nice to them when you’d rather avoid them? The world cannot experience God’s love and mercy if we don’t show them by extending His grace to them. Forgive seventy times seven. Again, easier said than done, but completely necessary if we truly want to be followers of Christ. Anyway, sometimes bad things happen to good people or good things happen to bad people. We don’t always have all the answers or the ones that we’d like. But we can know that God is still sovereign and will use all things for the good of them that love God. That much we do know, even if in the moment we can’t see it. The book of Ruth gives a prime example of this, when Naomi and Ruth are left desolate widows only for Ruth to end up marrying well-off, God-fearing, honest Boaz. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). In our instant-gratification society, it is harder to wait than ever! You get immediate feedback on social media when people like your post (if you’re on social media…), you get coffee (if you like that sort of thing) or (better yet) ice-cream in hundreds of different flavors, you can watch movies instantly on Netflix, and if you order from Amazon you can choose fast 2-day shipping. We’re used to getting things now and if we can’t, we go elsewhere. If we can. You can’t go anywhere when you’re stuck in traffic! However, I know that unless I have someone to talk to or a good book with me, I hate waiting in lines. I avoid them if possible. There’s a line? Forget it, I’ll just go elsewhere or come back later (with a book!). If I have to, I endure. Sometimes we have no choice. A lot of times we want answers or results now, but that’s not how life or God work. We have to wait. This is especially true of single people trying to find “the one.” You can’t rush into marriage just because you don’t want to be lonely! You need to make sure you’re compatible and dedicated to the Lord if you don’t want to end up divorced, which is all too common nowadays. If you are meant for marriage, it’ll happen. God knows what He’s doing. Blessed are those who believe without seeing (John 20:29). We like and want to know and see, not just trust and remain blind to what’s ahead. It’s like we have blindfolds on and instead of letting God lead us, we keep stopping and asking Him questions like “Are you sure this is the right way? Are you still there? Why are we going this way? Can I take the blindfold off and see where we’re going?” And God is there the whole time, guiding us in the way we should go, even if we stray and wander off the path. He’s waiting. He’s good. And yes, He wants us to TRUST Him! Again, easier said than done, but I’m learning! He’s shown me time and again He’s there, so I trust Him now more than ever. An atheist might think that with years and experience, people would give up the God “fairy-tale” and “crutch,” but time has only shown me just how much the devil and God have influence over and guess what? My faith is stronger than ever. My trust could still use some work, but God is most definitely real and in control. He knows what He’s doing, even when we don’t. Just because you feel He doesn’t answer your game of Marco Polo, God’s still in the pool and we’ve got to learn how to follow Him. While we’re still dog paddling, He wants us to walk on water. Scary, but keep going and keep trusting. He didn’t let Peter drown and He won’t let you go under either. Comments are closed.
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DisclaimerWhile I love open discussions, not all internet users are kind. I'd like to build people up, not have others cut people down. Therefore, no comments, but feel free to email me if there's something you'd like to share with me. Archives
July 2020
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