Let’s keep it real simple. Life is hard. Bad things happen. And. God is not only present, He is good and active. Do you hear me? He is actively working in every moment of your life. And, in the lives of those you love. Our Faithful God is fulfilling the purposes of His heart for His children.
There is no need to be “bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you.” 1 Peter 4:12 TLB
I heard a prophet once say (my paraphrase) it doesn’t take a prophet to predict that bad things will happen. Most humans do that fine on their own steam. It takes a prophet to help us see the goodness of God, the love of God in impossible situations.
Bad things make us question God. Not look for Him.
Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. 1 Peter 4:12 MSG
Glory just around the corner.
Hmmmm.
I want to release testimony that God’s glory puts more fuel in my tank than doom and gloom ever did. I have been knocked down more times than I care to count. I have had seasons, not days, but entire seasons where I had to clutch every scrap of faith I could find. Frankly, I’m in one of those right now. Maybe you are too.
I usually say at one of these moments: BUT God.
However today Holy Spirit is correcting me. Today, She is pressing me with the same question Jesus asked Peter.
Who do you say that I am?
God is not the one under the microscope. We are.
Are we increasing in boldness, overflow, and hesed? Are we carrying the peace and hope of the Kingdom of God that comes only after much practice and spiritual rigor? Endurance is grown in the soil of adversity.
I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing.
John 15: 11 AMP
Go back and read what “these things” are. What I have learned through it all, is His joy and delight settles me, motivates me, directs me, shapes me.
It is through the real tears and real disappointments that God reveals His hope in our well planned future.
Hold on dear ones. Not to your bitterness or disappointment. But to His joy and delight. Then a true joy will soon be pouring out.
Remember, His glory is just around the corner.