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Articles from August 2015

Trusting God in Tough Times: When God Seems Silent

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It’s inevitable. Tough times will come along during our lives. A pastor friend once told me something along these lines: “You’re either coming out of a time of struggle, in the midst of a difficult time, or heading toward a challenging time.” The Christian life (or any life) is not always a bed of roses—and the Bible doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. This week, let’s take a Scriptural look at trusting God through difficult circumstances.

 

When God Seems Silent

“Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” 

Psalm 22:2-3, NLT

Prayer_Statue_WEDNESDAYI have experienced seasons in life when I felt like God was completely silent. I poured my heart out in prayer to God and nothing happened. I struggled to feel God’s presence, even though I clung to His promises to never leave me. There have been other times when I felt intimately close to God, like He was sitting right next to me.

How do we explain those times when God is seemingly silent? What happens when our prayers appear to go unheard or unanswered?

Yesterday, we talked about how God’s ways are different from our ways. This is one of those instances where we can’t read God’s mind. We may need to accept a season when we’re not hearing God as clearly as we have in the past. Through His silence, He may ask us to wait on His timing. Waiting can be very challenging, though, especially if we focus on our own plans and timetable.

Waiting is difficult, but it always has a purpose. Waiting has taught me to rely on God more fully. In some cases, my faith is stronger because some desires weren’t immediately fulfilled. I didn’t hear God for a time, but I didn’t give up on Him. We can learn to depend on God to give us peace and trust Him to bring good things, even if those things look different from what we expected.

In times of silence, it’s important not to become impatient and take matters into own our hands. I’ve made big mistakes when I chose to act rashly because I was tired of waiting on God to give me direction.

In the Bible, David sought God and had an intimate relationship with Him. Even though David made mistakes and sinned, He always ran back to God seeking forgiveness and restoration. Even considering David’s close relationship with God, he still experienced many instances of God’s silence (Psalm 109:1, Psalm 28:1, Psalm 83:1). Through it all, David praised the name of God and remembered His holiness. And God didn’t abandon or forsake David. In God’s own timing, He revealed His plans for David’s life.

Learning to trust God even when He is silent can be a huge step in our faith journey. And when we see the outcome, we can give all the credit to God:

“Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, Lord.” Psalm 109:27, NLT

Learning to trust more fully,

Allison

Trusting God in Tough Times: When Bad Things Happen

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It’s inevitable. Tough times will come along during our lives. A pastor friend once told me something along these lines: “You’re either coming out of a time of struggle, in the midst of a difficult time, or heading toward a challenging time.” The Christian life (or any life) is not always a bed of roses—and the Bible doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. This week, let’s take a Scriptural look at trusting God through difficult circumstances.

 

When Bad Things Happen

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:-8-9, NLT

Ship_Wreck_TUESDAYIt’s difficult for me to watch the nightly news. So many bad things happen in our world, and it’s overwhelming! I find it especially hard when I hear of a child who is ill or a tragedy that affects an entire family. As I write this, the news is reporting the murder of nine people in a Charleston church.

How do we deal with heartbreaking events such as these? Where is God in the midst of tragedy?

These are really difficult questions, and I’m not prepared or qualified to provide all the answers in this daily devotional piece. However, I think it’s important to know what the Bible tells us about God’s sovereignty. It also helps us know how to respond when our unbelieving friends ask these same questions.

It helps me when I realize that God is not surprised by anything that occurs. He’s not sitting on His throne frustrated because things aren’t working out. In fact, nothing in the universe happens without His oversight and purpose.

Consider these verses that demonstrate God’s complete control at all times:

His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, “What do you mean by doing these things?” Daniel 4:34-35, NLT

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. Psalm 115:3, NIV

We live in a fallen world affected by sin. It’s far less than ideal, but God has a plan. Bad things will happen, and we won’t be able to understand. Today’s verse in Isaiah 55 explains how God’s ways are far beyond our imagination or understanding.

Trusting God means believing that He has everything under His absolute control, even when it seems like the opposite and even when it’s beyond our own understanding. His hands are capable. He is good and loving and worthy of our trust, even when bad things happen.

Learning to trust more fully,

Allison

Trusting God in Tough Times: Expect Difficult Times

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It’s inevitable. Tough times will come along during our lives. A pastor friend once told me something along these lines: “You’re either coming out of a time of struggle, in the midst of a difficult time, or heading toward a challenging time.” The Christian life (or any life) is not always a bed of roses—and the Bible doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. This week, let’s take a Scriptural look at trusting God through difficult circumstances.

 

Expect Difficult Times

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 John 16:33, NIV

Expect_Trouble_MONDAYIn this world, we can expect trouble. John 16:33 spells out this statement for us in black and white. Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples, and He didn’t say you may have trouble. He said, “you will have trouble.” That sounds a little depressing, right? Thankfully in the same verse, Jesus also told us to take heart because He has overcome the world.

It’s important to set realistic expectations. Following Christ doesn’t exempt us from struggles or difficult circumstances. If our expectation is a life with no hard times, we will be disappointed and possibly even angry at God when the wheels fall off. Sometimes, the struggles we face can build our faith and character, creating a deeper relationship with our heavenly Father.

How do we maintain our trust in God when our lives are seemingly falling apart?

I’m reading a book right now entitled Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges. Bridges paints a beautiful picture of God’s providence over all His creation. In the book, he teaches that God only brings or allows things to happen in our lives that are for His glory and our good.

It’s a tough statement because sometimes we can’t see any good in a particular circumstance from our perspective. That’s when it becomes important to remember that only God sees the entire picture. Can we learn to trust God even when we don’t understand what He is doing?

God gives us some encouragement in His Word as we learn to trust in difficult times. We learn that He will keep us safe in days of trouble:

“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5, NIV

And it helps to keep our eyes on what is being achieved eternally (what is unseen, not what is seen):

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV

Most of all, we already know the end of story. Jesus has overcome the world. Though we may experience difficult times, and even walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus has overcome evil and is waiting for us in eternity. What hope and peace that knowledge brings!

Learning to trust more fully,

Allison