I go to a great church here in the South Bay of San Diego. This week's message was powerful and really touched my heart. It brought me to ponder my own circumstances, which I'll get to later.
I have several friends who are going through difficult times. It's so easy to doubt God, to wonder why, and to start losing faith when it seems like things just aren't going our way. Why do bad things happen to good people? How can a loving, merciful God allow these things to happen? Why can't God just swoop in and intervene when things get tough and when people are hurting?
These are all questions I ask myself every time I feel the pain of a loved one suffering.
This message was perfectly timed in my life. Pastor James talked about how Easter is the forever reminder that with God, ANYTHING is possible. Jesus' life here on Earth was anything but easy. He was ridiculed, persecuted, betrayed and died a brutal death. God could have rescued him...but he didn't. Because God's plan for Jesus went far beyond what ANYONE could have imagined.
As James said, there's always a bigger story. A story that reaches far beyond our earthly existence. This is so hard for even me to comprehend, but it's all part of having faith in God that he has a plan for us.
Think of what would happen if Jesus never died on the cross? If he was never brutally beaten? If he wasn't relegated to hang out with the misfits of society?
Think of all the lives that wouldn't have been blessed, touched or saved.
Life is crazy and not always pleasant. The Bible states that in this life we will have struggles, but that we need to take heart because God has already overcome the evil one. (John 16:33)
God can use us, even when we feel defeated. Here's how:
1) Fight - Don't give up! Fight the good fight.
2) Finish well - Go down swinging. Give it your all and pray continuously.
3) Keep the faith - God can use you, even when you feel like you've lost. We just have to trust God, even when we don't understand the circumstances, or feel like we've lost.
While I have two beautiful girls, they didn't come easily. I went through not 1, not 2, but 3 miscarriages to get them.
I was heartbroken and my faith was tested to the max. I honestly had given up hope that I would ever have a child of my own, other than a puggle needing orthodontia. But God pulled through when I least expected, and now I have these two precious girls that were worth everything and beyond what I went through for them.
I have so many friends and have met so many women who have gone through either the same or similar events. If I hadn't gone through what I had, I wouldn't have been able to help them when they needed it.
Everyone has a gift from God, a strength he gives them to use in serving Him and other people. Mine is the gift of encouragement. I firmly believe part of my purpose here on earth is to use this gift. I now know that God allowed me to go through fertility issues so I could support other women. In the end, God redeemed the situation when all hope was lost and now I see how he's using IT and using ME for a bigger purpose.
If you're going through something and you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I just want to encourage you to keep fighting and keep trusting in God. Remember, we can't see the whole picture. We only see a tiny slice of it. We don't need to be afraid or live in fear because God has our back no matter what.
Every time you get discouraged, meditate on this verse. This verse has saved me so many times:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
We don't need to understand God to TRUST him.
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