I'm not going to lie, I love focusing my attention on God as a healer, a loving Father, and the one who turns my mourning into dancing. These are all true things and we should meditate on them; however, when something does not go the way we want them to sometimes, as broken and sinful humans, it is our natural reaction sometimes to question the goodness of God. It's as if we deserve His goodness and expect it always. When things do not go the way we planned them to go, we face trials of various kinds, or we feel vulnerable it is sometimes our natural reaction to think that God doesn't care about us or that He has left us. This is exactly what the Enemy wants us to believe! These are lies that could not be further from the truth. Let's replace those lies with Truth, truth that will set us free.
-His perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18)
-Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39)
-No matter what our circumstances are, He is always good (Psalm 107:1)
-He has no plans to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11)
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-He is perfect (Psalm 18:30)
-He knows us better than ourselves and therefore, knows what is best for us
-Jesus is always on His thrown (AMEN!)
Often times, God uses trials so that we may be more like His Son. Refining is a process and it sometimes hurts, but the end result is much better than we can ever imagine. It's an eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17) where we will see our Savior face-to-face and "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
In fact, Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy. He actually promised that opposite! John 16:33 says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” If you aren't facing an opposition then it is time to look at our hearts and see if we are actively following Christ.
Why would we follow Jesus if we are certain there will be trials???
Because of the eternal glory that God has saved for his children (us as followers of Christ) far surpasses our affliction on earth; it's only a momentary affliction. Until that day comes, let's be faithful wherever the Lord has placed us.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1
A couple weeks ago I went to a Bethel Worship Night in Atlanta. There Lisa Bevere spoke about what our lives should look like. She said, "We don't have the right to be comfortable when people aren't comfortable. God anoints us where we are weak to show us His strengths. He turns our bareness to fruitfulness and our nightmares to dreams. God has His hand on our life for something significant so we need to be bold and confront fear. God gives us boldness and not a Spirit of fear."
Let's let that truth settle down deep into our heart. He is a good Father and He is closer than the oxygen we breathe. His perfect love casts out all fear in Jesus name so that we can live this abundant life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
