Thoughts on the Love of God
Lam 3:22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
When times are good It’s easy to believe that God is Good and
he loves us, but what about when times are difficult? Do you still believe that God is good when all of your plans have been shot to pieces and all that you’re left with is uncertainty? My contention is that in these times it is harder to trust that God is working for your good, and it is easy to lose hope. But what I have found in my own life is that the best times come right after the storms. There have been times in my life where I didn't know why God allowed things to happen a certain way. Relationships didn't pan out and the plans I made were completely eradicated. But in those dark times I kept coming back to the idea that God is going to use this for good even though I don’t know how…… And he did. From the age of 16-23 I had constant and severe back pain and I thought it would never go away. I prayed and prayed that God would heal me but no healing would come. But because that time was so difficult I realized that the only place I could find joy was in Christ. So the pain taught me how much I needed him and in the pain I learned that I could still be at peace because of my relationship with the Lord. Likewise, there were relationships in my life that I thought would pan out and they just didn’t. Many of you know that there is no greater pain than the ending of a relationship with someone you love. But in that pain God taught me that he was only one who could bring me contentment and joy. He showed me that he was the only being in all of existence who could completely meet my needs and fulfill my every longing. What I had looked to others to fulfill, God was able to fulfill infinitely more. Through the physical and emotional pain God showed me that he was what I needed.
So many people have asked the question how can God be good if there is so much suffering in this world? And I would answer them that God can often bring good even out of really challenging circumstances. You see if everything was easy and there was no pain in this world we would never know our need of God. But because life is hard and we are faced with many trials we realize that we cannot do it alone. That is why God allowed me to go through the difficult times I did. It wasn't because he was out to punish me for my sins……but to teach me that he was what I needed all along. And through all of my own sins and failings I found him to be faithful to continue to love me despite the pain. God broke me for a reason and that reason was to become a new man who no longer looked to this world for comfort but to God. I know many of you are going through hard times right now. Some of you have ended long relationships or are having to deal with the prospect of losing your job. But I want to encourage you that no matter what comes your way the Lord will use it for your good and if you allow him….he will make you a better person because of it. Just let go of what you have been holding onto and trust that he has something better in store for you. I know when you’re going through difficult circumstances it can be hard to believe that anything good can come from it. But I promise you if you trust him he will bring to places you never thought you could go. I have looked back on the storms in my life and have seen that it is in the storms in life that we grow. Look at God’s creation, it isn't the sunlight alone that makes the flowers grow….it is the rain. And if God is allowing rain in your life right now know that the sunshine is coming. His rest is coming and his peace is waiting for you.
About the Author: I am a Birmingham attorney who has been in private practice for over six years. I have a general practice, so I get the opportunity to help serve people who find themselves in some very difficult circumstances. My e-mail is reidfirm@gmail.com. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it encourages you. I always love getting thoughtful comments, so please email those to me. My website is www.reidlawalabama.com. If you know anyone who is going through a difficult situation whether it be legal or personal and they are in Birmingham area you can e-mail me at chris.reid@reidlawalabama.com. Our firm works with some excellent faith based counselors, many of whom are free or low cost. A lot of the times the legal issues people face are due to deeper underlying issues like substance abuse and other things. I have found the most effective form of treatment is getting a personally qualified counselor who helps get to the root of the issues someone is dealing with, and we will help people get connected for free (we never take a payment for referral fee for this). Again my website is www.reidlawalabama.com, which contains my contact information. God Bless.