Trusting God When It Just Doesn't Make Sense

I sincerely ask God to give me the words I should provide in my daily posts, and today, I was compelled to share these words. Maybe your heart is breaking because of a recent tragedy and you don’t know if you’ll survive the pain and heartbreak. I know some of you who are there right now. You are on my mind.

I heard a speaker share about when his dad was so ill, and in so much pain, that he really thought his dad would take his own life. He called his friend, a Christian psychologist, for advice. His friend said, "We pray that he won’t, but you may be right. He just might. And, it would be heart wrenching and painful for you. But, you will be okay, because you will still trust in God's sovereignty. You will bounce back because you will hold to your faith in God and you will live on with hope and determination. I know you. I know the storms you’ve come through. You will survive.”

That is so true for those of us who have met with a personal crisis, have experienced the loss of a loved one, who knows the tragedy of financial loss, who knows the pain caused from a divorce or broken relationship.....and we carried on. We made it through those times or, we are making it through those times right now. The speaker went on to say that his dad lived beyond that time and, in fact, his last days were filled with sweet times with his family and friends and trusting in God.

Yesterday, after our faith community had prayed months together for a dear 26-year old man who was battling cancer, I received the request for prayer for his beautiful wife (just married in June) and his parents, as his battle with cancer was over. As heart-breaking as that story is, without a doubt, I know there will be loved ones and friends who are already stepping up to give them support and comfort in these very tough times. There will be a healing process and they’ll be desperately looking for answers. But, with God’s abiding faith and love, they will make it. I know it because I know so many tragic events and I know those families survived and are thriving today.

When tragedy comes, we have an Anchor, and if we hold onto that Anchor, we will not go under. Yes, it hurts. But we will be okay because we still trust in our loving Father’s plans and purposes for our lives. We will bounce back because we will hold on to our faith in God and live on with hope and determination. Yes, we will carry on -- that is, those of us who know that this life is just a breath, compared to eternity. We will live another day and rejoice in our ability to stand strong in the face of overwhelming circumstances -- not in our own strength, but in His strength. "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Jesus said, “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) One of the most beautiful promises in the Bible is that God “causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28). On this side of eternity, we don’t always see how He takes the broken pieces and creates something beautiful with them, but we can have peace in knowing that He will redeem the tragedy somehow in His perfect timing. Perhaps some of the good He will bring is to use the pain to bring us closer to Him or bring us into a relationship with Him for the very first time. And at the end of each day, we will still proclaim: "God is good. All the time. And, all the time, God is good!"

God's Kaleidoscope of Colors

I haven’t seen one of those fun toys in a long time, but I saw one yesterday and I remembered the awe and wonder I had as a child peeking through the hole in the end and turning the cylinder to see the vivid colors and shapes change dramatically. Isn’t that like our lives with its vivid colors and changes that alter the way things look in our lives from one season to another?

Yesterday, Staci, Denise, Alexia and myself met up with dear friends that we hadn’t seen for well over 20 years. The kaleidoscope of our lives has changed a lot. Marnie, Pat and Denise were a part of Staci’s Bible Study group (before she was married) that met in our home weekly. Staci was teaching young people to live as fully devoted followers of Christ as she taught her Pledge for Purity to them. Pat was a “motorcycle gal” who gave her heart to the Lord at that Bible Study, and now lives in South Dakota on beautiful property where she enjoys her singleness and her relationship with God. Marnie Freeman who was Staci’s graphic artist for her Cinderella Ministries and did the graphics for her newsletters as well as the CDs she recorded and published. Marnie's life was transformed also at the Bible Study. She was also a part of our missions team that went to South Africa to minister there. We talked about how she came out of her comfort zone as she prayed with so many people on that trip. Sne married Kevin, and have two beautiful daughters and are very active in politics. Marnie, an award-winning Artist of Liberty, recently accepted a public commission to paint a picture that will be presented to President Trump and Vice President Pence.

Then there are the changes in our own lives -- my husband and I who opened our home to those young people in those early Bible Study days and Staci, marrying Larry who was one of the attendees of that Bible Study. We have encountered so many kaleidoscope changes in our lives also. Ron, my husband, who went to heaven almost seven years ago, Staci and Larry going on to help establish churches, continue with our family’s hearts for missions, and being world changers through active ministry and business opportunities. We talked more about those kids from that Bible Study and how each and every one of them are serving God passionately in their families, homes, businesses and ministries.

I recognized the kaleidoscope colors: White – the Pledge for Purity that was the model for those young people to establish their own measure of rule for purity. The white dress Staci wore as she told the story of Cinderella over and over to young girls across the country of how there is only one pair of shoes that God made for each of them and the Prince of Peace came to help them understand there is nothing impossible as they trust in Him.

I thought about the color pink as I looked at Marnie’s two beautiful girls, and next to me, my Alexia, who God treasures and loves so much. I heard how God is using each of them in music, dance and public speeches.

I was thinking about the color silver as Marnie and Staci shared they’d been married 18 and 20 years respectively, each being blessed with such Godly, beautiful men.

I thought about the color gray as Pat has let her hair grow natural – she was proud to say she was turning 66 this year – she was in her 40s when Staci led the Bible Study. I thought about my silver hair that is hidden quite nicely with the color only my hairdresser knows for sure. LOL!

And I thought about here and now and how each of us has had to muster up a lot of courage over the years to press through tough times. That would be the color green that I’m noticing as the trees’ leaves are turning beautiful green everywhere.

And, lastly I thought about the vibrancy of red – fire engine red—blazing and bold because we’ve learned that trusting in God has been our life support, our anchor in the good and not so good times. Each gal that sat around this table yesterday, are women of character and honor, who are determined to be flexible to change, to be a cylinder of colors that reflect the ONE who looked at this world and, while He could have made it all black and white, said, “Nah, I can do better than that!” So he came up with the brilliant genius of making a world that daily gives us a kaleidoscope of beauty!

TRUST GOD!

Day 70 of Photo Inspirations -- TRUST GOD
Enroute to Dallas yesterday, I saw a man joyfully dancing down the street and waving a sign that said, "TRUST GOD" on it.   This isn't the photo.  I wish I could have gotten it because I would visually be able to show his unabandoned joy to you, but way too much traffic held me back.   Nevertheless, he inspired me.  The first impression of passer-bys was probably "That guy's a 'looney-tune'!"   But, when I saw him, I gave him a big thumbs up as I passed him.  I recognized that joy from personal experience.  Maybe he was deliriously happy because of some great answers to prayer and he was wanting everyone to experience what he was experiencing.  On the other hand, maybe he was acting in faith, TRUSTING GOD, for something that seems almost impossible in the natural.  Either way -- he had the "goods" on trusting.

Think about what a "looney-tune" Noah must have been to those who watched him building the ark for over 100 years.  How about the little shepherd boy, David, standing up to Goliath!   What about Daniel in the lion's den?   What about those of us that trusted God in the storms of life and we came through it all?  Actually, maybe it’s the people who don’t trust in God that are the real "looney tunes".   Maybe people who never take a risk,  never face their fears, and those who don't know how to dance in the storms are the real "looney-tunes".

Honestly, there are days that I am so profoundly overjoyed at the answers to prayer, the blessings that come my way, and sheer delight in my relationship with God -- that I could be that guy in my desire for others to see that TRUSTING GOD truly pays off!   Yes, there are prayers that don't get answered the way we'd like them to.  Often we get a "No" or a "Not yet" answer, and, even so, we learn that total TRUST with complete certainty that He will work it ALL for our good, just becomes our way of life.    TRUST GOD!