As I sit here and think about the world around me my soul aches for my upcoming home with Jesus. As bad as we see the world right now the world is set to get much worse before the return of our Lord. Do we have hope that the world will get better? Some might, but I don’t because the Bible says it will only get worse and worse. I know I have faith but some days that faith seems to get smaller. I think that my faith is again under construction. What is going on around me and in the world breaks my heart. My life feels drained and sometimes it seems so hard to make it another day, yet I must…you must too.
I have a heart for the brokenhearted. All around me I see pain and sorrow, evil, meanness, anger, hatred, and so on. The thing is I see that even in the worst of times God is in control and knows exactly what is happening and has a plan for you and me. God wants to guide each of us so we make it through the difficulties of our life. When problems overwhelm us who exactly do we run to? Why? God wants to draw us closer to Him. The hard times in life can draw us even closer to Jesus. He doesn’t leave us. We can reach for Him 24/7. If anyone walks away it is us: not Jesus. Every day of our life Jesus is inviting us to spend time in His presence. Do we make quality time for this in our day-to-day life?
If my misery could be weighed and my troubles are put on the scales, they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. Job 6:2–3 (NLT) That is a heavy statement from the book of Job. Does that statement mean the same thing to you? I can’t even imagine what Job went through but I know God put this in scripture for a reason. Maybe today you feel like Job did. Are you sitting in the ashes of your life? What dreams of yours never came true? What loss to you was so great? What love of your life never came? You can fill in your question here because all of ours are different. We all face the “stuff” of life and each has to make choices on what to do about it. We must learn to get through them so they don’t overwhelm us. As for me, I have had my share of pains and sorrow that I would not wish upon anyone, but each day I get up is a new day. There were many times I truly believed I could not go another day from the weight of the crushing inside of me. How many times: My eye pours out tears to God. (Job 16:20 AMP) Then I realize that is a good thing to pour out my tears to my Lord for He is the only one who can truly comfort my soul.
I remember, like millions of others do, the date of 9/11. As I watched in horror that morning the emptiness my soul felt at the loss of life and that America would never be the same again. This was ground zero. The pain, the loss, the fear, the anger. I can’t even tell you all the different feelings I felt then and for so long afterward. Why? How many said why? How many could not understand why our heavenly Father would allow this pain and suffering? Did you ask this even to yourself? There are times in life/history when God brings us to our knees so that we will look to Him for answers. I believe that was one of those times. Right afterward how many people, even worldwide, came together and prayed? How many came together to help others? How many turned to God? A lot! The pain from 9/11 still haunts my soul. So much pain, so much loss, so much fear of the future. Then I think of all their loved ones and the pain they felt. It overwhelms! Did all those people get justice? I don’t think so, but I know that God is the judge, and one day we will understand, and justice will truly come.
So many times, in life, we can feel overwhelmed. We want answers that don’t come (yet). Many will blame God for not intervening in their circumstances. But what they feel doesn’t mean that it is the truth for God knows exactly what will happen and when God is in the equation, He can take the worst of the worst circumstances and transform the situation. When all our hope is gone, and we turn to the Lord we can find peace in Him to carry us through the worst of times.
As I think back over my life and the different times of my pain, hurt, sorrow, and loss…yes, it can still hurt, but I know that when I gave it all to God and looked up to Him instead of to my circumstances, I found His peace to hold onto. How many times did I walk away from the very one (God) who was the one who could truly help me? No matter how far I fell…there He was to pick up the pieces and carry me on. How many times did my life feel like I was at the end of my rope, and God cut the rope to save me from myself? I know that I didn’t understand that even in my hurt God was trying to draw me closer to Him so He could help me make it through. The things that took me down and I felt was the end…was just the beginning because God took my heart, my hand, and led me through the worst of the worst of things in my life. I thank Him for that. Without God, in my life, I can’t even imagine where I would be today. God is only as far away as we put Him.
The devil is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. He is deceptive beyond words. God does not leave His kids. The devil wants you to believe that, but it is a lie. The only time God will go away is if you push Him away. But know this…He is still there waiting for you to call upon Him and put Him back in your life. So, if you believe today that your life is drained…let God fill you again. He is right there waiting for you to call on Him. Allow Him to help you. We live in a fallen and evil world, but soon that will all change. Jesus will return and set everything new. I know that if I am alive when Jesus returns…praise the Lord, and if I have gone on to be with Him first…praise the Lord. I put my hope in Him for I know my redeemer lives and that He loves me. He has taken me through much…and in all of those things He picked me up and walked it with me. I trust Him with my very soul. Do you?