Originally posted July 2014.
Tonight this world is spinning along its usual path in a universe so gigantic that we can’t even really conceive of its magnificence. Earth is just one small dot on a grid of millions of heavenly bodies of different kinds. Yet, here we are, special creation, made in the image of God, bent under the weight of incredible sin, grieving over wars that are raging as I write, powerless to control what cannot be controlled. Worried. Terrified. Wondering how it all turns out okay in the end.
And, where is God?
We wonder what He is doing. We question whether He is good. The bad news just keeps coming. And it seems like there’s a hole in our faith bucket. We read the stories that seem to point to the end of the world as we know it, and we tremble inside. We wish that we could see what God’s ultimate plan is. We wish that we could understand what is really happening when it looks like everything is chaos and craziness.
But, we don’t have to know every aspect of God’s plans or His will or His interesting way of accomplishing things. We don’t even have to like what we see Him doing. We don’t have to approve of His methods or be happy about every twist and turn that He has built into our road ahead.
But, even when we are heartbroken, when we are discouraged to the point of despair, when we are crippled by the fear of what is to come, when we are angry at God, when we feel abandoned, when we feel anxiety coming over us in waves, when we don’t even know who we are anymore, the Truth is still true.
Our feelings about the Truth don’t change it. They don’t weaken its power. They don’t deny us access to it. The Truth is always completely real, even when we are feeling around in the pitch black of our own fear just trying to lay hold of one tiny corner of it. It is there.
The Truth is that everything is going to be okay.
If we are in Christ and He is in us, if God has us held tight in His hand, nothing can snatch us out of it, not even our fear. So, in the light of Truth we can imagine our worst fears, things we are too afraid to even give words to, images and terrors that reside in our minds that seek us out as we lie in bed at night. Fears borne in irrational thinking or fears based on what we have already experienced–it doesn’t matter. We can imagine that our very worst fear comes true, and we can face it because we have the hope of Jesus Christ.
A friend revealed that she had a crippling fear that someone would break into her house and murder her family. The Truth came back to her in the echos of Scripture she had memorized as a child: The Lord is good and His word endures forever. . .Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding. . .Fear not, for I am with you. . .I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from my fears. . .If we are faithless, He remains faithful. She agonized over this fear for quite some time before she finally embraced the Truth that even if her very worst fear came true, everything would still be okay.
Because God is in the business of making things right. He is good and trustworthy, and His Truth remains, even when we are having a hard time remembering it.
Maybe you have already faced your worst fears. Maybe you are angry with God. Maybe you are so heartsick that you don’t believe you will ever recover. And maybe you won’t, in this life. But, God is working. Please believe it. His Truth stands, despite our circumstances. We can trust Him. And, at the end of it all, which is really only the beginning, everything really will be okay, if we know Him. Rest in His hand, my sweet, tired friends. He is good.
Thank you for your words of encouragement in the Lord! There is a poem by Rosalind Goforth, wife of Jonathan Goforth of China that you may want to read. I found it. This poem, which I first saw in Rosalind Goforth’s book, Climbing, embodies my own thoughts and feelings as well.
Call Back!
If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back-
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perchance, Faith’s light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.
Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when forest’s roots were torn;
That when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill.
He bore you up and held where the very air was still.
O friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.
But if you’ll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you’ll say He saw you through the night’s sin-darkened sky-
If you have gone a little way ahead, O friend, call back-
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.
I love this, Martha! Thank you!
A book I highly recommend about how God is intricately in charge is called “More Than Meets The Eye” by Richard Swenson. It is comforting to know the truth is true, and this book gives scientific facts supporting this truth.
Thanks, K!
Wow…did I ever need to hear this word today. Many of the truths you have listed were actually words I used in my prayers this morning. God bless you dear one!
Thank you, Laura! You’ve encouraged me!
I found this poem earlier in my grief walk after losing Max. My favorite line is “Safekeeping is what I do”. It brought me much comfort.
So my world came crashing down on me. The ground pulled from under my feet. I was lost and so heart broken, crying so much, there was no coping. Then out of no where, a voice hard to miss, thundering from the Heavens, He said: Child I’ve Got this!I’ve got it under control! I’ve got your heart here. You go on and don’t worry, be patient and just tarry. The day will come that I’ll be calling for you, and telling someone else: I’ve got this too! I’ve got this. He said so loud, I could hear Him so clearly, my head I bowed, I asked why oh why does this have to be? He answered in love, and said this to me: My Child, when you think I’ve taken something from you, just know its still yours. Safekeeping is what I do. Everything in your past, everyone you have lost, you will find when its your time, right here with Me at last. Do what you can with what you have, til I call you to Me. Until then know: I’ve Got this!Written by: Debra K. Griffiths, All rights reserved 2012
I love your love for God and your blog. It is so good to be reminded of the Truth that God gives us. I know that the Truth will set us free. God always has a plan even when we are going through painful circumstances and His plan includes working all things together for good to those who love Him and to God’s glory.
We live in a corrupt world and we all have old sin natures. Life is not always fair. People hurt us. Evil abounds. The joy of the Lord does not mean that things will always feel good. In fact feelings will rule over truth if we let it. The joy of the Lord comes from knowing Truth. The joy of the Lord is not mutually exclusive to still hurting or feeling bad. The joy of the Lord is a place we get to by spiritual growth where God is more real than our circumstances. Hebrews 12:2 For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. I certainly do not want to go through some of the horrors that martyrs have suffered but I believe God will gives us the strength to go through whatever comes our way by staying focused on His Truth.